When I first started in the hobby, the 4x8 was the standard building block that everybody started from. From there, you would expand into these "spagetti bowl" configurations, & we would crawl around on the floor, & pop up through holes like gophers to run the trains, or work on the layout. I filled up half of a basement with one of these monsters one time, & it was one of the biggest wastes of time & money I've ever been involved in.
Thank God for people like John Armstrong, David Barrows, & others who brought layout design out of the dark ages. We can now build layouts cheaper, easier, more efficient, & much more interesting to operate.
There are so many great ideas out there now. George is right, we don't need to keep using those Atlas plans.
Remember, you don't have to build a carbon copy of a published plan. You can incorporate ideas from several plans to fit your space & theme. If you've got room for a 4x8 (which, by the way, takes quite a bit of space), then you've got room for an even more interesting layout.
There's a new Kalmbach book out by Iain Rice, called Small, Smart, & Practical Track Plans. He's got some interesting ideas in it.
[This message has been edited by Charlie (edited 02-03-2001).]