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For the forseeable future, I will likely not be building a detailed, intricate, permanent layout. Which leaves me with a basic floor layout to run trains. As of now I have three humble loops and a yard with a reverse loop inside - each loop is O72, O60, O48, and the reverse loop and yard trackage are O36. These loops start to get boring however, and I've been thinking about what I could do to give the layout some character. I feel like scenery options are limited because, again, this is not a permanent layout. An idea I had was a twice-around O72 layout, with a normal O60 loop and a small yard on the inside. I would have another O72 switch to lead off into a separate engine yard off to the side. The grades are 3% on the inner incline and 3.5% on the outer incline. My freight trains right now don't get longer than 10 cars, so I think my Legacy locomotives could tackle the grade.

The biggest issue though is I don't know what to do for the bridge. I was thinking of using Woodland Scenics' incline/decline sets to get up to the bridge - but what do I use for the curved bridge?

I'm not 100% sold on the idea of changing layouts - the layout has been through many iterations, and the more I change the layout the more track I have to buy I also need to double check the layout dimensions to make sure the layout isn't taking up more space than I can afford to give, but I thought it was an interesting thought exercise, and who knows, maybe I'll build it for the fun of it. But what do you think? Is a twice-around design a good solution for an exciting, semi-tempory floor layout? What would you recommend for the bridge? And what are your thoughts on scenery and accessories for a temporary layout?

Twice-Around 072 LayoutTwice-Around O72 Layout - Copy

Scarm file is attached if you would like to take a look at the file for yourself. Note that the engine yard off-side and some of the inner yard trackage are not complete as I hit the 100-piece track limit.

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  • Twice-Around 072 Layout
  • Twice-Around O72 Layout
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Grade?

Grades are 3% and 3.5%

@Dan65train posted:

For a "temporary" floor layout I would think it would be better to just put a 30 or 45 degree crossover into the "around the room twice" loops than try having a "over/under" No grades to worry about, mounting the piers, and easily upgraded/ changed for future plans if all on one level.  My 2 cents

One of the bonuses of the bridge is that I think I could run two trains on the outer loop. I can't have too many freight cars but I don't have super long trains to begin with, so it's not an issue. Introduce a crossover and now there's liability for collisions if there's more than one on the same track.

I should note here that this is not a layout that I disassemble and store at intervals, but is one I leave out. The reason I call it temporary is that I am using this layout as a holdover until I can get space for a more formal layout with benchwork, etc. Until then I don't want to heavily invest in a permanent layout that I know will end up getting scrapped and redone later on.

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