Breaking down the plan

[Tileguy]

Recently i was spending time with my layout plan(after having put it away for some time due to other commitments) and trying to determine operations,scenery and the myriad of other items that go along with the planning stage,Then , i had an epiphany.
Break it down.
Draw to scale seperate area's and plan these area's for scenic affect,buildings and operations goals.
On paper this can then be done on a much larger scale.
If you develop the main elements of your track plan, (main line,Hidden staging and main yard area) All other area's can be seperates into manegable segments(similar to John Armstrongs Squares or the LDsigs Dominoes) yet based on the entire area you want to devote to a particular whistle stop, industry or city.
As each area is laid out the track portion can then be Transfered to your main trackplan knowing that you have allowed enough room for each feature to not only fit,but function properly in your scheme.
Wow, what a concept and one that woks(at least it did for me )
I also found an obscure problem with my mainline routing that i may not have caught until it was too late.This alone saved me one major headache and fortunatly i was able to rectify the situation quite easily even though my mainline track installation was nearly completed.
So, put your trackplan into magnify mode,develop thoroughly a small segment then move to the next.In this manner you will not only have a very complete idea of how things will fit,work and operate,you may even find you have improved on your initial idea simply due to viewing the Tree rather than the Forest !!

 

[Matthyro]

That's a good thought process TG. Most of us end up with changes from the original plan but by doing the step the way you did makes sense as it should prevent changing something that you just did.

 

[Tileguy]

Here is a photocopy example of the above idea.It is 1 layer.several can be done as i will explain below.
This is a Corner area of my plan measuring 50" x 36".
It includes all trackage running through the area including mainline,Steelton,Wrenshall Branch,Steelton interchange track,Mill tracks,several buildings with notes naming tracks etc.
Additional notes can be made on a photocopy reduced somewhat to give you a side margin and you can then indicate Wiring particulars,Switch type,operation,Business names Items wanted lists,notes on superdetailing needs,weathering needs etc etc for organization ,maintenance and operating purposes.
The amount of information that can be included is endless just by Layering the photocopies.
Everything you could possibly ever need to know about this particular 50 x 36" area can be at your fingertips in a color filed 3 ring binder.
You could have 4, 8 ,15 area's or even more.
The area's can be seperated By colored dividers and the layers organized within the dividers,or Each layer type could be kept together and types seperated by color code.
Want to know about your wiring?? Flip to wiring layer division and go directly to section getting the information required.
In this manner you can have many sections partially developed and never lose track of where you are at and what improvements you would like to make.Include a pocket folder for each section and you can even keep your quickly scribbled notes and idea's for each section.
Now we are organized