A new layout replacing the previous Frankland.
I'm quite fascinated by the big suburbanisation of the 1920s and '30s:
The advent of shorter working hours, affordable mortgages and extensive public transport systems enabled workers to move from overcrowded dwellings in polluted cities to new housing developments in the countryside. Almost overnight sleepy villages and distant fields were transformed into bright new suburbs for the aspiring home-owner. The commuter was born and the Southern Railway invested heavily in electrification to provide fast and frequent services. By 1929 all suburban lines had been electrified and over the following years long-distance routes followed suit. This was the world's largest electric suburban network
The key features are:
South London suburbs, Southern Railway, 1920s/30s, with third rail.
Trains will be both steam hauled and EMU.
The station at the top has two sets of platforms separated by carriage sidings (like at Clapham Junction), but the station building will be similar to Wimbledon. The station at the bottom is inspired by Surbiton. This gives me three sets of platforms for trains to arrive at and depart from
Other buildings will include two Northern Line tube stations, a 1920s Odeon-style cinema and 1920s/30s blocks of flats. Obviously there's quite an art-deco theme going on here ~ but there will also be plenty of buildings from earlier periods too, I just haven't yet decided which.
By the way, the baseboard is curved bottom left due to the shape of the room. Controls will be bottom right.
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Basics:
The layout measures 2,100mm x 1,100mm.
N gauge: Peco code 55 track and Electrofrog points.
There will be semaphore and light signaling (signals will change with point movements etc, nothing more elaborate than that).
Cab control using three controllers.
Platforms accommodate a five-coach train.
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Trackplan:
Yellow = main lines (formally LSWR). Mainly express and semi-fast services.
Dark blue = secondary line (formally LBSCR). Mainly local services.
Pale blue = carriage sidings.
Red = platform for mail trains and terminating main line services.
Green = sidings.
I may put an extra set of points top right ~ I think without it the secondary line could well get quite congested
Baseboard:
I'm using 'L-Girder' construction. I read that it's stronger yet lighter than traditional methods, and allows for cantilevering sections too, so thought I'd give it a go. If anyone's interested here's a couple of links: Link 1 Link 2
I've bought a set of casters for when I build the legs. Then I can easily move the layout to work on the back or sides ~ reaching over from the front for any length of time is a complete pain
It'll also make it easier to take photos from all angles to post - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Here's what I've done this week ....
I had the track plan on the floor for a few days so I could check I was happy with the way it looked and happy with the amount of space it took up in the room.
I put the track plan onto three sheets of 2' x 4' plywood (9mm).
Next I trimmed the plan to just the track and station areas. I double checked details like positioning of point motors, radius on curves and clearances etc - especially on the right-hand side where the tracks run on a viaduct. I took a bit of time over all this because once I'd cut the the plywood it wouldn't be easy to correct mistakes!
btw - this is the first time I've used code 55 - I love the way the flexitrack bends to shape and stays there
Then a lot of sawing
So I now have a trackbed. The next stage will be to construct the L-girders and cross-beams. I did a rough dry-run to get an idea of positioning for cross beams and marked them out on the girders.
And finally - here are the casters for when I build the legs
Well that's it for now - any comments always welcome.
Mark
You have great vision to assemble open boards like that. I could never get the picture in my head so took the simple route of one big flat board 
What book is that track plan in, by the way?
