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Layout design analysis
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page last updated on Sunday 11 June 2006 by joef
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Some additional insights

Scenery details, rolling stock, and locomotives are the most expensive part of a layout -- for example, this scene along with the locomotives contains several hundred dollars worth of equipment and scenery details -- by contrast the benchwork and plaster scenery base you see here cost less than fifty dollarsIstarted analyzing track plans in depth as preparation for designing my "dream" layout, the HO scale SP Siskiyou Line. As I did this analysis I noticed how much useful planning and comparison information could be had from just a few extra track plan statistics. If we added these few extra statistics to all published track plans, we could quickly evaluate and compare track plans, regardless of scale.

In analyzing many designs over the years (both my own designs and published designs), I have discovered some things about layout costs that might be of interest.

  • Benchwork, roadbed, and rough scenery are the least expensive part of a layout
  • Trackwork and electrical are moderately expensive, with turnouts and their control being the single most costly element in this category
  • Scenery details, rolling stock, and locomotives are the most expensive part of a layout, with the level of expense growing in the order listed. Scenery details expense can go on and on, however. If you are into lots of detail -- the cost of details can in time eclipse the cost of locomotives!

In short, what you put ON the layout, especially what goes on the track, is what costs the big money. The layout itself is not that expensive (assuming you have the space -- the cost of which is NOT included in these calculations). In my case, the basic layout (benchwork, trackwork, rough scenery) is about 1/5 the total cost of the layout. The scenic details, rolling stock, and locomotives (especially the locomotives) are the other four-fifths of the cost! I have several SP modeler friends who have nice equipment but not a prototype-based layout to run it on. Hey, the basic layout's a lot cheaper than all that equipment, so I'll provide the layout and they populate it with equipment. What a deal!


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