Whittingly - What next?

Since the Rail200 event at the NEC National Festival or Railway Modelling, Whittingly Hospital has lived in its box in the garage. It was always intended to be the basis of an operational layout, not simply a diorama, so it is time to think about the transition. 

As a reminder, this overhead shot shows the layout as built within the Rail200 rules - which limited not just baseboard size, but overall height and the position of the front, disconnected, through track. The buildings were all constructed to fit within the available footprint and height limit. 

So here is Plan A. This was my original concept. The track layout is modified with a left-hand point by the end of the platform connecting the 3-way point to form a crossover, but otherwise the scenic area is unchanged. I would replace the backscene with a taller one, and add a cameo-style lighting pelmet. 

The key changes would be off-stage. To the left, a short extension gives a little more head shunt room beyond the platform canopy, and lengthens the two sidings through the buildings. On the right, a fiddle yard both provides for a change of train and completes a run-round loop with the 3-way point. I'd sketched a turntable yard, though if that doesn't look like it would work a sector plate would do. A train of 2 6-wheel coaches or 3-4 wagons and loco would be 15-18".

In this plan, the Rail200 challenge entry is kept largely unchanged, which minimises the work involved, and there are no board joins in the scenery. The downside is that only about half the layout length is scenic, shunting will go off-stage, and during key movements such as running around the loco can't be seen. 

Plan B is more ambitious. The extension to the left has become scenic, allowing the loco to be seen beyond the station canopy. A second board to the right provides the rest of the run-round loop and a point "on-stage", as well as the off-stage fiddle yard. This means pretty much all operation will be visible, and makes the scenic length around double that of the fiddle yard. 

The downsides are the complexities of extending the existing buildings. The engine shed would be particularly problematic, as sketched it crosses a board join, but the current structure is well fixed down and has an angled rear that is incomplete. I'm not sure how well the scene on the right-hand board works, messing up the balance of the existing scene without really adding to it. There's also an inconvenient backscene join, and it's harder to store. Finally, the resulting layout has lost the connection to the Rail200 challenge by growing well beyond its original size. While technically better, it would be better not starting from the current layout. 

Let me know what you think!