Been reading

Been reading a lot on operations and layout design.

I've been going with a min radius of 20" and #5 turnouts to conserve space. I'm really happy with my design right now but I'm still concerned about over reaching. Also after reading a lot, I'm thinking more and more that I need to work with broader radii and #6 switches. I know that I could operate with 20" and #5s but I do want to have some 64 foot hoppers on the layout and I do want it to look good (even if operations is my primary concern). Yes a 20" radii may even be prototypical for a tight switching set up (I have no idea what degree turn that comes out to) but even so, reliability is important to me.

Using the broader radii may also help in cutting down the amount of "clutter" on the layout. That is to say it might keep me from cramming in all the track work possible.

I'm gonna have another go round with a 27" 'main line' and 24" yard radus, and #6 instead of 5s. We'll see how that goes and if I loose too much of what makes it interesting.