I'm more-or-less a newbie here. My only experience has been with HO scale about 10 year ago on a 4x4 square layout (not enough room for what I was really wanting to do!). I'm now to a point where I want to try again and I am planning an N scale layout.
Based on the [bad] experience I had with the 4x4 not being big enough, I'm planning this new layout to make sure I have enough room.... but at the same time, I don't want to have so much room that I am overkill on the layout.
First off, I know I'm going to go with an L-Shaped layout and not a square/rectangle. I have about a 10x10 zone to work with. I have been toying with three different dimensions; an 8x8 (48sqft), a 6x6 (27sqft), or a 4x4 (12sqft). The more I think about it, the more I lean towards the 6x6, but I'm not sure just how much real estate that is in the N-scale world.
As for my plans with the layout, I'm going for kind of a Rocky Mountain/valley diorama. I grew up in Idaho and I remember the pine-covered, rocky mountain switchbacks with the trains running through the mountains and along the river and finally coming out into the valley/town. This is ultimately what I am going to shoot for (or a much simplified aspect of it, anyway). I need to make sure I have enough space to handle the switchbacks and the grades. Any thoughts?
Based on the [bad] experience I had with the 4x4 not being big enough, I'm planning this new layout to make sure I have enough room.... but at the same time, I don't want to have so much room that I am overkill on the layout.
First off, I know I'm going to go with an L-Shaped layout and not a square/rectangle. I have about a 10x10 zone to work with. I have been toying with three different dimensions; an 8x8 (48sqft), a 6x6 (27sqft), or a 4x4 (12sqft). The more I think about it, the more I lean towards the 6x6, but I'm not sure just how much real estate that is in the N-scale world.
As for my plans with the layout, I'm going for kind of a Rocky Mountain/valley diorama. I grew up in Idaho and I remember the pine-covered, rocky mountain switchbacks with the trains running through the mountains and along the river and finally coming out into the valley/town. This is ultimately what I am going to shoot for (or a much simplified aspect of it, anyway). I need to make sure I have enough space to handle the switchbacks and the grades. Any thoughts?