I then tried an oval around a figure 8 it looked cool but I then realized I needed to consist my locos to run the grades. Less is more, leave room for scenery. Well that turned into a 5x11 layout. This is typically not a first-time thing. Do not be tempted to cram track wherever you can fit it. But then you come across those articles now and then where the owner has a beautiful basement filling layout, and when asked, it's his first ever layout. I didn't have a layout that wasn't some dort of round and round until I came back to the hobby after college - then I built a shelf switching layout. Staging requires a lot of space, and it is difficult to determine where to place staging on the layout and how much space to allocate for staging. Maybe they only had a mild case of train fever, because plenty of others including myself started that way and have stuck with it. Visit my web site at www.readingeastpenn.com for construction updates, DCC Info, and more. Order Ascending; Order Descending; 1 2 ... newbie to take in all this fancy "beyond the walls" concept and designing for operations when they've never even had a train set before. With time comes experience, and then the need for staging becomes obvious. 34 replies. It's not the age honey, it's the mileage. Shopping Made Fun. I wish I knew that the "train table" I was about to build a "layout" on was terrible benchwork. Everything since has been designed for operation. I've got two staging areas, one for freight and one for passenger trains but I could always use more. MR subscribers, check out the new All-Time Digital Archives, Things you wish you knew before your first layout, From: 4610 Metre's North of the Fortyninth on the left coast of Canada. Harrison, post photos of what's wrong with it, maybe we can help with a retro fix. Login, or register today to interact in our online community, comment on articles, receive our newsletter, Modeling the Reading Railroad in the 1950's. I am now looking at redesigning my entire layout again but unless I expand my layout all I can come up with is an oval inside an oval so again I need more room for the layout. I'm all over the place. since all my stuff was mismatched for a consist (GP9 with an SD45) I bought 2 new locos. You need to consider and plan for staging. I'll second the need for plenty of staging. Take advantage of them! Things you wish you knew before your first layout 1822 views. It's kind of too late to start again now... Homeschooler living In upstate NY a.k.a Northern NY. Looking back, I wish I’d done some of the pre-orientation programs like rock climbing with Quest or biking around Hartford for Bantam Beginnings. At the same time, I can see many of those newbies starting out with the basic 4x8 oval getting bored with the train just going round and round and then never going further in the hobby. I have no reason to suspect they are being anything but truthful, but sometimes I wonder if it's not like the farmer's axe, still the same axe he started with, but the head's been replaced twice and the handle 4 times. So, I don't think a newbie should stress over the need for staging on his first layout. Join over 500 million others that have made their shopping more smart, fun, and rewarding. I started 4x8 then realized I wanted to run minimum 22" turns because of a locomotive that I bought. Im learned quite a few things. These are things I wish I knew before coming to Trin: Put Yourself Out There Quest leaders during a May 2019 training to prep for pre-orientation kicking off this week at Trin. manage your account online and more! As I think about this, based upon my own experience, it may be asking too much to expect a newbie to plan for staging on his first layout. The Revivalists - Wish I Knew You (full tilt mix) - YouTube well the locos that I bought can't go through my switches cause I have the wrong switches on my layout and 1 will pull the other off the track. On one hand, I agree - it's too much for a newbie to take in all this fancy "beyond the walls" concept and designing for operations when they've never even had a train set before. This is What I Wish You Knew This is What I Wish YouKnew Reconciliation, insists Justice Sinclair, chair of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, is about bringing balance to relationships between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal peoples in Canada. first your layout is NEVER big enough! The problem, as I see it, is that a newbie will have no experience with how any layout will operate, let alone his own first layout.