I spent a long time on

I spent a long time on planing my layout to get the longest runs I could.  In the end my layout looks much like the layout you have shown around the walls etc.  The only thing is my layout does not have a duck under or lift out to get into the layout. If you look at it from above it is shaped like a capital "G".

...

If you want a long, flat layout, then yes, fewer peninsulas are better...and if you have a warehouse, it's very easy to do...

... or Not

Whether or not long tangents look "good" of course depends on your prototype.  For example on my prototype there were only 10 miles of tangent in a 72 mile line.  Tangents also can be harder to scenic and can make a scene look smaller.  Broad sweeping curves are more photogenic.

So while I agree that a single peninsula may be the best use of the space, a long tangent may not be the best way to use that space.

Around the basement walls

This is how I came up with my current layout plan. I wanted long straight runs, as little 90 and 180 degree curves as possible, and no duck-unders or hidden track. My plan is a triple deck around the walls, point to point with the option of continuous running on each level. I will only have 3, 90 degree curves and 2,45 degree curves, with about 500' on mainline. (Not including the helix) I'm modeling the desert between Las Vegas and Yermo, so there isn't lots of curves there!

Actually, I don't even have 1 peninsula! I may add one eventually, once I get the layout up and running for a while!

One serpentine peninsula ...

Thanks to the LDSIG, I was aware of the one long serpentine peninsula approach being better, so that's how I designed the Siskiyou Line way back in 1990 - lower deck track plan here:

Tangents or curves?

     Depends on the railroad and area modeled.  A curvy steep route would be desired for a Tehachapi loop while in the central valley the SP was flat and straight. My CCT plan has a yard, an engine house,and three long tangents connected by the minimally required curves. I plan to scenic the curves as blandly as possible to draw the focus  away from them( might even be better to paint the curve benchwork and track flat black and keep the curves unlit? ) ....DaveB

That'd work...

Dear Dave,

Now, some may laugh, but that could well work really well!!!
(Theatre has been "minimising the visual bits the auudience shouldn't focus on" this way for literally centuries...)

Happy Modelling,
Aim to Improve,
Prof Klyzlr

I believe that topic was also

I believe that topic was also discussed in something I read by John Armstrong a while ago. It was covered in one of his many books. In at least one case he ran the peninsula diagonally to gain even more length and connected it to the around the walls portion in one corner.

Great idea and for many of us the desired straight runs will be much better than the continuous twisting that many layouts go through to get from here to there.

Lance gave a great planning

Lance gave a great planning clinic at the mid-Atlantic RPM Meet this past weekend. Well received and well done. Those  turn back curves on blobs are something you are best off with only one of.

Geography

Depends on the geography of your modeling location. If you modeling an Appalachian coal hauling branch line, one peninsula may not cut it. However, if you are modeling the C&NW across Iowa, that design might be exactly what you coule realistically use.

Lance typically has solid

The point is ...

The point is a single peninsula will give you the greatest length of run. The peninsula can be straight as an arrow, or curvy like crazy to represent a winding mountain line.

But either way, a single peninsula gives the greatest run length because every turnback loop you add costs tremendously in real estate. Even mountain narrow gauge lines don't have more than one or two turnback loops most of the time.

With a long serpentine peninsula, you only need one turnback loop at the end, then the rest of the peninsula can wind all over the place and be full of curves, but curves like a real railroad - winding curves, not turnback loop after turnback loop.

Prototype for everything

Yet there is a protoype for everything!

Curves attract the eye

Back in the late 50's or early 60's, Scientific American published a study that curves attract the eye away from straight lines.  Something to consider when trying to draw the eye of a viewer to a particular point.

Single peninsula?

The case for having a single peninsula would seem dependent on the parameters of the available space.  Consider, for instance, some of the early iterations of David Barrow's Cat Mountain layout.  There were both jutting peninsulas with turnback curves and "J" shaped serpentine arrangements.  I don't see that the Cat Mountain would have been improved by reconfiguring everything into one peninsula.

Where a serpentine peninsula does improve things is preventing operators from standing at the end to the peninsula rather than having to move along with their trains -- assuming, of course, that walkalong operation is the design goal.

"curves attract the eye"

   so do distant block signals on a long straightaway. I recall the anticipation of each approaching signal as my parents drove hiway 99 alongside the SP mainline when I was a kid ........DaveB

It may be a bit more complicated

There is no question that you maximize track run by orienting a peninsula down the long dimension of a room. But you are only limited to a single peninsula if your room is narrow. If you think of your minimum width of a U shaped layout as 7 feet (24" shelf, 36" aisle, 24" shelf) 14 feet is the minimum width for a one peninsula room. Since 20 ft and wider rooms are not that uncommon, a second peninsula is often possible, even if there has to be a bit of creative width shaving here and there. After all, Michael Rose has three peninsulas in his reduced size plan.

There are also valid reasons for building a stubby two peninsula pike even if it does reduce the straight runs:

• The entire layout can be visible from a single vantage point. This may be desirable for clubs and others that wish to put on a public display. It also means you are less likely to lose sight of a train you are running.
• The modeler may wish to depict large sprawling industries or cities. That could easily require more depth than the usual 24" available. The ends of peninsulas are a great place to put those.
• The stubby layout may have better traffic flow. The distance from work bench to a particular spot on the layout will be shorter if you don't need to walk around and down the long peninsula. Over the years it takes to build a layout, this adds up.
• The stubby version might provide maximum aisle space. This will be important for modelers who use wheelchairs or used to be football linemen.

So, the moral is, plan your layout both ways. Look at the plusses and minuses of all schemes, and pick the one that is most promising for your railroad.

(In a later post, I will discuss the advantages of using fractal design principles to maximize the amount of track in a given area.)

pqe

Classic Mistake

This column demonstrates the dangers of drawing the track plan before you know what the objectives are.

If your modeling a trolley line then the two peninsulas may be better because it generates more distinct scenes.

On the other hand if you're running 85 foot passenger cars with close coupling and diaphragms then that 24" radius is too small and the center peninsula is useless as mainline.  Same if Big Boys and 4-12-2's are your favorite locomotives.  You might as well have 2 small peninsulas and use one as an engine terminal and the other as a switching district.  And the 2 peninsulas don't have to jut out from the same side.

The column also cherry picked the room dimensions.  Instead of 14ft width try 16ft or 18ft.  At 21ft, 2 peninsulas running lengthwise becomes very attractive.

Track planning is very fascinating.  For many years when I didn't have time or funds for a layout, I drew different track plans for different kinds of railroads.  I used a compass and straight edge to avoid cheating.  One thing I found was every rule has situations where it is not the right way to do it.

Paul