The classic book

Track Planning for Realistic Operation by John Armstrong is the classic track planing book.  All the basic concepts are laid out nicely, along with some guidelines to getting decent accuracy pencil sketching plans.

Ken Rice

Awesome. Thanks I will have to check it out.

I want to model Delta Yard in

I want to model Delta Yard in Everett, WA and the main line that runs through Stevens Pass. I am hoping that I can get my layout to loop back around so it's not point to point. A little bit of everything should be in the layout.

10 by 25 feet

will be great for N scale. Perhaps look thru youtube for videos of modern era N layouts to get ideas. Also look for photos and videos of the area you want to model so you can figure out signature scenes that best capture the  feeling of the location......DaveB

AnyRail for design

It offers quick iteration times, modern user interface and easy interactions with objects. Can print the layout 1:1, export to PDF. Also can export to Train Player so you can test everything before committing to building. Full N Scale library of track vendors comes built in.

http://www.anyrail.com

links

There's so many sites out there for designing the layout. Just pick the one you like the most & that's easy to use. Here's a few.

http://www.cadrail.com                                                                                                                                                          
https://shop.atlasrr.com/t-software.aspx                                                                                                                      https://www.scarm.info/index.php   

Also a few in the MRH magazine as sponsors.  

" My plan right now is to

  24 inch is a good width for a layout but I'd widen the layout in places so I could maintain a 20 inch or so minimum radius curves. Modern N stuff looks and runs much better on wide radius curves. You have so much space that you can afford to spread things out and make them look more realistic.....DaveB  

Location, road

Any ideas on what area, railroad or theme you want on your layout?

Great point 

Great point 

I have played around with

I have played around with Scarm before but it is pretty challenging. I like the way the AnyRail looks and how easy it is to move stuff around.

In N scale a 15” deep shelf

In N scale a 15” deep shelf is a pretty wide scene (equivalent of ~27 inches in HO).  You can have larger blobs for turnback curves, but you may find that narrowing down most of the shelf allows you get get in either more layout (another peninsula) or more aisle, or widen out more for a yard area.

Depending on what you want to put on it, the difference between 15” and 24” is either 60% more track and scene space to make the layout better, or 60% more space to fill with scenery you’d rather be putting effort into somewhere it mattered more

Ken Rice

That another good point. I know there are some areas that I wont want as much scenery. I want to do at least one mountain scene. How do you make a mountain seem huge and beautiful but in as little space as possible. All while a few feet away there is a large open yard.

Scene composition and viewblocking

The Lance Mindheim books are

The Lance Mindheim books are definitely good (https://lancemindheim.com/book-store/).  I'm reviewing them again as I plan my next layout.  MRP does have a lot of good stuff, but it's spread out over the years and harder to find and read the relevant bits in one go.

But I still think the John Armstrong track planning book is the place to start - it covers the fundamental stuff you absolutely do not want to screw up.

try these links

https://woodlandscenics.woodlandscenics.com/                                                                                                           
https://www.modelrectifier.com/brands-jtt-s/146.htm.

Both offer products for scenery & tools to apply them.

 "How do you make a mountain

It kinda depends on the shape of the room and how you place the layout in it. Perhaps have the mountain scene on one wall and the yard on another so the operators aren't looking at them both at the same time. Maybe put the mountains on one side of a peninsula and the yard around the turnback curve on the opposite side.  You might even use a divider backdrop and isolate each scene along a long wall  with a stub wall between them. You can stand in you train room and visualize what you'd like to see then figure out the best way to frame it up. To me this is always the most fun part of layout building as everything is open to discussion and nothing nailed down yet ( and planning takes a lot less energy and dedication than actually building the thing) ....DaveB

back drop divider

That idea got me excited. I could do a 15" wide shelf all around and that would give me a lot of space to do a center module to separate the two scenes. Also making the layout bigger in the process. I think 10' will be just big enough.

You can do a lot in that space

Just for some context for what you can get in that space, my N scale layout (sadly demolished to move) was 16 feet long, and 3 feet wide at the wide end, with a 16” radius curve around the end.  Not much bigger than your 30” x 10’, which would have been plenty big for my industrial park too, but I had a piece of existing benchwork already there to build on so I used it all.

Here’s what that looks like from the end, with the track down, which gives you a bit of an idea of how big it really is in terms of what N scale fits on it:

And here’s the Quaboag Reload side with some equipment from a more normal point of view standing next to it:

As you can see that scene is plenty wide, and plenty long.  N scale fits a lot in!

Everett East and North

I like the route North over the flatlands from where the paper mill once stood toward Marysville to Silvana and Stanwood. Further North would take you over the Milwaukee Road to the cliffs along Chuckanuk toward Bellingham Harbor. 

East is interesting in a different way as the grade would require helpers at (help me here) Duval? or Skykomish before reaching the tunnel. There is/was a few industries eastbound as Craig points out in another thread here. 

I’d even focus on a very narrow shelf - 12” maybe - for the mountain region and use dramatic backdrops of the Cascades. 

Skykomish

Neil,

The helper cut-off point on the west side of Steven's Pass was Skykomish (Wenatchee on the east).  

As to the line along Chuckanut, that was the GN, and I believe in later years, the Milwaukee had trackage rights along that line, after the demise of the rail barge service to Bellingham.  At least, I think that is correct.  

Delta Yard in Everett is a busy place.  I always try to catch a glimpse of activity there when passing by on I-5 (not too safe for other motorists near me, I'll admit....).  

Years and years ago, the Milwaukee had a yard on the south (east) side of I-5, south of Delta Yard.  That was the northern "terminus" of Milwaukee's line up from Duval, Carnation, and North Bend.  But I digress....

Al Carter

Rail Cam

Virtual Railfan has a live cam on Youtube of Skykomish,  great scenery and a good idea of the overview of the area.

Peace Bill

Kato

Kato makes some really cool looking superelevated double track. If I was into N scale I would definitely consider using their track and investing in their locomotives.

Milwaukee road

Look at the Real World

First I would do a little research and look at real world examples of railroad track layouts.  (Google Earth is a good tool)

John Armstrong is “overrated” in my opinion and too “old school” in regards to layout designs.  I would suggest checking out Lance Mindheim’s website and books.  One of his shelf layouts is also featured in MR’s “Great Model Railroads 2019.”

Joe