This plan is actually a MODIFIED version of a plan originally drawn by George Sebastian-Coleman and published in the January, 2002, issue of Model Railroader as “A Western Coal-Hauler in N scale.” We have modified George’s plan to eliminate the need to trim several pieces “to fit” as he originally drew it. Our design requires no trimming of any sections.
Furthermore, George’s original plan is a point-to-point configuration. This arrangement essentially required the train to always enter the large yard in the center of the layout. It is not possible for the train to go around the layout without returning to the central yard. Our design, on the other hand, will allow the train to go completely around the layout without going into the yard, if desired.
As you can see, we have also re-sized the layout so that it will fit on a 3′ X 15′ table. However, if you do not want to cut your table to this size, two pieces of 4′ X 8′ plywood laid end to end (4′ X 16′ overall) give you plenty of room to increase your operations.
Finally, with the stategic use of Insulated Unijoiners and additional Feeder Tracks and/or Terminal Unijoiners, it would be possible to operate several “blocks” independently from one another with this layout. One train could be running on the mainline while separate switcher locomotives work the central yard and spur track in lower right corner.
