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The last comment made a lot of sense, as well as your idea of having the inside elevated. The other thing is that you might like to stop and think out how you're going to switch the tracks in the centre. Remember that Z is not really considered to be a scale for switching, although lots of Z...

Hi MAB and welcome. Model railroading is supposed to be a hobby, and each person's layout should be the realisation of their own personal vision, so you stick to yours! As far as I'm concerned there's far too much "cultural correctness" about in the hobby. The only comment I have is that your...

If you take out the middle you reduce the lengths of the sides, and hence the train capacity of the sidings etc. However, having said that, you might still be able to preserve the "essence" of the layout (which I recall being a good concept).

If you can work it the national (eg French, Italian, German etc) railcards are usually better value than Eurailpass. In May and June of last year I spent nearly seven weeks travelling around Germany on a Bahncard 50, and it worked out very well.

Overall it's an excellent plan. I'm tempted to adopt elements of it into my own current planning. When do you think you might start construction?

If there are medium to sharp curves watch out for the overhang of long cars and locos.

Try this website, if the European scene interests you: http://www.miniatureville.com

Tetters wrote: "I envision a maglev bullet type train". How difficult WOULD it be to build a model Mag Lev train? I'm just curious....

Iif you're talking about the North American environment then I think it's a whistle sign - ie it's a direction to the engineer to blow the whistle. However if you're talking about Germany it means "Wait".

Try these websites: NMRA Introduction To Model Railroading All articles @ WorldRailFans RailServe.com Directory of Railroad Travel, Hobby & Industry Sites iRail : Railway and Model Railway Web Directory, Search Engine and Links

Hey, we're all in this together, and if we can't help each other with our hobby stuff then there really isn't much hope for our civilisation. There are lots of forums and other online resources. I'd tell you all of mine, but most relate to Z Scale. Give me until tomorrow (I have to go out...

It's called the Laurel Highland Railroad and is oriented towards mining (coal?), which could easily be changed to timber, and it includes a distillery

Addendum: In the Layout Planning forum, near the top, there's a "Givens and Druthers" form that you might find useful. Gary

Hi Are you using the Woodlands Scenics foam system? I'm considering that for my planned Z Scale layout, but it's hard to find modellers with experience in using it. Gary

Hi Zachary Given that most modern equipment is long, you should perhaps be looking at a layout with curves as broad as possible, both for reliability and for the sake of appearances. Model Railroader publish a wide range of books with track plans, so you might be able to find something in one...

Adding weights to locos can help with track adhesion and control slipping, especially when starting or going up grades.

I forgot to say that the track gauge is 6.5 mm, which is about a quarter of an inch. Some larger scale modellers use Z scale track for N or HO narrow gauge.

Z is about 70% of the size of N. If you're having trouble with the small size of N.... It was launched by Marklin in 1972 and for a long time there were mainly European (and especially German) models, but in recent years a number of US manufacturuers have started to make US outline models of...

In an MR article I read a few years ago it was suggested that you don't necessarily have to have a visible destination for every car in your freight trains. If, in the course of its run, your train "disappears" from view for a short stretch you can say that it has been switching "virtual"...

I'm sure I read somewhere that it's not only horrifically expensive, but also they don't make turnouts (at this stage anyway). A German company makes non-powered Zf ('f for feldbahn - feldbahn = industrial railway), with 3 mm gauge track. This would represent 26" gauge track in the prototype...