Lessons learned on track planning - Part 1

So, with a couple of days of good weather we had the track out and started to see what I could do and fit on the patio.  My working area is a little smaller (angled sides) than 13 ft by 9 ft, with a couple of potential extensions where the path comes in and goes out.

In the Mark I we had the station nearest the steps out of the house.  From a health and safety viewpoint this is probably an accident waiting to happen with damage both to people and rolling stock compared with the alternative - the Mark II version of moving it all to the other side of the patio and just having a single line - part of the loop - going in front of the steps.  The following article on the web - Model railroad track plans proved very interesting, especially the concept of lapped sidings.

The photos show me trying out various configurations.  Part II will cover a couple of principles that emerged.

The original "station" near the steps onto the patio.

Moving the "station" to the other side of the patio