All of these plans were drawn using RR-Track v4. If you do a lot of sectional track work, this is the layout out software to have. I've used it on six or seven layouts of different sizes. It's a real timesaver. What I did for this outdoor setup was to first take some track outside and assemble it so that it more or less filled the area where I wanted the layout. Then I inventoried the pieces and transferred them into RR-Track. This gave me the rough dimensions of the final layout. Then I sat down with the software and modified the layout to my liking. As is usually the case, what seemed to fit out in the yard didn't actually fit in the computer plan. In the real world, track joints aren't perfect and it's easy to push or pull things out of alignment. So the first thing to do is to convert the real world plan into an exact plan.
Next, I added a second main line inside the original perimeter loop. This filled the space inside. It allowed two trains to run simultaneously. It would be simple to wire. And it obfuscated the simple nature of the plan. This was the plan that I finally set up in the yard. You can see the "finished" layout on the previous page. The layout is built from 184 stock LGB track pieces, comprising a total of 403 feet of track (111 pieces, 228.5 feet on the inner circuit; 73 pieces, 174.5 feet on the outer circuit)
But, I didn't stop there. I extended the plan to see what it might look like after adding reversing loops, interchanges and sidings. This next plan, is what I call Phase 1. Sidings have been added on both circuits and a reversing loop has been added to the inner circuit. The two circuits are still independent.
If I were to actually go with this setup as a permanent layout, this is the form it would probably take. More sidings have been added and the two circuits have been connected. A second reversing loop has been added to allow trains in either direction and on either circuit to turn around without backing up. This plan has 80 more feet of track than what is currently set out--all in sidings--and calls for 16 large-radius turnouts (9 left, 7 right).
