Planning, Designing and Making Railway Layouts in Small Spaces

If you want to build a model railway but feel constricted and frustrated because you only have a very limited amount of space available, then this is the book for you. The author demonstrates that a railway modeller need never be 'stuck for space', and shows the reader how to design and construct a rewarding layout in even the smallest of spaces. He emphasizes that once you have found a home for your layout, be it in a garden shed, a spare room, a bookcase or even the top of an ironing board, the same guiding principles apply. These are all fully explained in a very practical way and include the basic layout shapes, the importance of scale, standard and narrow gauges, fiddle yards, train length, curves and turnouts as well as track design elements such as head shunts, kickback sidings and run-round loops.There are individual chapters on: potential spaces; design principles; basic layout shapes; the art of compromise; levels, layers and shelves; planning your layout; baseboards; classic designs and micro-layouts.

Richard Bardsley is an experienced small-layout builder in N gauge and 00 gauge, and several of his model railways have been exhibited at shows. He has written over fifty articles in the model railway press, many of which have dealt with designing and planning small-space layouts. For over twelve years Richard has been the editor of the bimonthly N Gauge Society Journal, as well as being a member of the Society's management committee. He demonstrates and promotes N gauge model railways at shows and also designs and produces his nown N gauge wagons kits.