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Having "almost finished" my first 26 x 75cm N-scale layout that is measured to fit a shelf in an IKEA Billy, I've already for some time been planing for another layout, or should I say module, as it will be built to fit together with my first one, extending the line that goes to the harbour. I thought I should let you in on the plannig process. This time I'm putting less restrictions on the layout design by not putting in a loop. I want trains to pass through the layout, not around it. It's going to be a crowded urban landscape with some street running, a station with a meeting track and a couple of abandoned freight spurs. This way I can have both a plausable contemporary scene with some light rail or trams, and I can be a bit playful when I want to and operate the layout as a switching puzzle deivering freight cars to the abandoned spurs using the meeting track as a run around. My planning process consists of drawing the size of the layout on a couple of A3 papers and then trying out possible track geometry and placement of streets and buildings. This was the first iteration that I thought worthy of taking a photo of so that I could set it up again later for further tinkering. My very first versions had a longer street running section and a straight station area. I decided that an angled station area would produce more visual interest than having the track go straight. To the left of the station area you can see where I planned to have a level crossing. Some empty plots can be seen in this photo. I was planning to add more buildings later. A view of the street running section. All the time I'm moving buildings around, trying to find visually interesting viewing angles. Sometimes just leaving a small gap between two buildings can create something interesting. Sorry about my very grainy photos taken in bad lighting. I wasn't planing to show them for anyone when I took them. On this photo from another planning session, I'm working on trying to break up the street grid by having the crossing street winding across the layout. Something else I'm experiementing with here is putting a single storey building at a strategic location to make the street intersection more visible. An aerial view of this version. Streets go parallell with both long edges of the layout "off the layout" so to say. Maybe a lane will be modelled, or just the sidewalks. This scene with the train leaving the station looked promising, but there's not much room for station platforms. Another attempt at getting a winding street. The problem is that getting buildings to fit reasonably with a winding street is tricky to say the least. I don't mind scratchbuilding a couple of houses for weirdly shaped plots, but I don't want to end up having to scratch building nearly everything. An aerial view of another version with buildings almost falling of the layout in the lower left corner. The upper right corner with trains disappearing in between buildings looked promising. The next update will feature what I think is the final track configuration.

Hello everyone, I've recently finished building a 20x20 cm Z shorty layout and thought I would share a video and some images. More photos and a layout building report can be found in the July 2020 issue of Trainini, a German magazine for Z scale enthusiasts, freely downloadable at https://www.trainini.de/download/Trainini_int_2020-07.pdf. Cheers, Chris

Hello, I'm just beginning on dual microlayout model of the Asakusa terminus of Tokyo's Ginza Line, with a "then and now" theme, using six Ikea APA boxes as baseboards/surrounds. One third of the model will show the current era, with the platforms underneath Edo-Dori and it's buildings. I have two Kato 01 trains for this scene. Fiddle yards will be in the middle. The other end will depict the same location 70 years ago, at the end of WW2. The Kato 01 trains will not be good for the 1945 scene, and so I'm in need of a couple of original 1000-series Ginza Line trains for it. Does anyone here know where such rare beasties can be obtained? Thanks, Roy Wilke

I needed a project to do while I spent two weeks recovering from the flu; so I raided my cache of scrap materials and left over supplies from other projects and created a micro layout. The theme is that of a trolley/rail museum. The size of the layout is 15 inches (38cm) x 26 inches (66cm). The track is by Tomix and the curve radius = 140mm.