With a simple track arrangement consisting of an oval loop of track with a short siding, there isn’t a lot of variation for the track plan. To keep the overall size of the layout to a minimum, I decided to place the siding inside the loop. This arrangement would fit nicely on a baseboard of 2 feet by 3 feet.
One could simply obtain a 2’ x 3’ baseboard and lay the track down, get the trains running and then add scenery to fill in the space; and a lot of starter layouts are constructed in this manner. But, for an exhibition layout I wanted to have a solid plan before starting any construction to: 1) ensure that my ideas would fit in the available space; and 2) prevent re-work later from not following a “plan” ... I needed to get it right the first time to meet the deadline.
One method to make our layout look larger is to avoid running the tracks parallel to the edge of the layout. Even a small angle of 3-5 degrees is enough to give the illusion of more depth. Another consideration is to avoid laying the track right next to the edge of the layout. Just a couple of inches of scenery between the layout edge and the track can make a lot of difference; and it gives a little buffer in the event the train comes off the track that it won’t end up on the floor.
So, to make the best use of my small baseboard, I rotated the oval about five degrees from the edge of the layout. I positioned the oval to ensure a minimum of two inches were available on the upper and right edges of the baseboard. That left about three inches along the bottom of the baseboard where I had positioned the siding, which would be useful for including some small structures to give a purpose for the siding.
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