While reading Jim Six's blog ( http://model-railroad-hobbyist.com/node/32127 ) on the one town theme, it really got me to start rethinking the direction my around the wall / shelf layout was heading. The responses and ideas have been very enlightening to say the least, with many bonafiable reasons to actually take this approach. With that being said I plan to model a time frame around 1976 early spring / late fall, The SD40-2 being my favorite workhorse sets me near that date (11'x24' foot room).

As I have admitted on other threads, I am a tooloholic.

The micro-Mark catalog makes me salivate, and after visiting the Jensen Tool site I have to breathe into a paper bag.

Hi everyone,

I am making some considerations before starting to lay tracks on my new layout. How to control the turnouts.

I am considering three options.

1. Manual everywhere (cannot have fascia led control and cannot link turnouts with signals)

2. Tortoise on mainline, manual elsewhere. Here i ll be able to have panels & signals for mainline only.

3. Tortoise everywhere (possibly the best solution, but is it an overkill to put tortoise everywhere including industrial sidings?)

WOW...okay, so, today I breathed new life into my layout... it's a small layout, built on top of my bookshelf, using EZ track. One of the tracks leads to a Hayse bumper just behind the headboard of my bed. I removed the bumper, and added two 30" long straight tracks, and extended the layout to the other wall on the other side of my bed, using Ikea shelf brackets anchored to the wall, and a 1x2 board (for stability) allowing the track to end just above my three display shelves...