best 4x8 layouts...

[Larry Launstein Jr]

I normally run two trains, one at a time, with one doing a passenger run, and the other doing a freight run or minor operations servicing the lumber yard. I usually park the passenger train on the mainline curve on the left, and have the freight train go on the inside curve going around the town. I'm having a decoder put in one of my other diesels to handle switching operations for the lumber yard and for a more modern-style freight run. I usually pull my passenger train into the station a few times, just to get that feel, as well as park on the mainline so the freight train can run.

 

[cuyama]

These plans are all nice and good - but how do you guys operate these layouts?

Although a 5X8, 5X9, or 5X10 is often a better choice than a 4X8 in HO, here are some ideas for operating a traditional HO 4X8

Of course, the same ideas work for other layout formats!

Byron

 

[West Virginia Midland Man]

I did several 4 x 8 plans for MR in the 1980s that you might like. They're almost all Appalachian based, except for one which was a city plan. Go to MR's website and look for the name Ed Sumner in their trackplan section under 4 x 8.