I have a side room on my basement that has a 8ft  x 7 ft 8 inches space to put a layout. 8 feet is the depth of this alcove, so slighty longer than 8 feet is possible, but there are walls on the 7'8" sides.

I currently have a 4x8 table setup with a double mainline, in work. Primary industry is a coal mine using some walthers kits, and set in Appalachia ~1980's (flexible). I have realized that once finished, I will not be satisfied with all the compromises a 4x8 has. 

After seeing the details of the TOMA layout concept. I realized that I have always built in a TOMA style myself. On one hand my dioramas are static models and I agree with that. But my other larger modules are all TOMA candidates.

After a 25-year hiatus, I've been working on the first module for a while off and on over the last year.  I used SCARM to see how the plan would work, because I'm handlaying the track and don't have any pieces of track to use as a mockup.  After laying out the yard module in SCARM, I started building it out.  Figured out where I would locate it in the house, then worked out a potential track plan. 

I have recently dismantled my home layout while I was moving to a new city. I have not yet determined how much I can spare for the new layout.

I can still run trains since I remain a club member on my former city, but I fell I need something to improve my modeling skills.

So I decided to build a diorama, a completely non-rail related one, and set in my country/region for a change. I plan to display the diorama at my workplace, so I will model a rural scene (I work for the state agriculture department).