Evolution of Design, Part 1

So my previous post was a quick introduction into the layout - Since construction is still about a month away, I'm going to review the design process and show how the layout has evolved into what it is today.

Lower Level - v1:

Upper Level - v1:

As you can see, it is quite sparse!

After talking to some people about the design, and researching the actual baseboard layout, it was realised that there was a lot of wasted space on the second level, even with 25cm wide modules. If you look at the second level, you can see it has a 'teardrop' shape. This serves two purposes:

-Large Radius curve, and subsequent crossing loop - allows the trains to look realistic as they traverse this part of the track, tight curves cause the bogies to swing out from under the chassis otherwise.

-Ability for crews on the line to pass in the ailes where they would congregate: The control points, and the upper level yard.

I'll mention here that I'm a member of the NMRA, and subsequently I have tried to design this layout with NMRA Recommended Practices and Standards. This allows the minimum radius to be calculated depending on what type of locomotive is being used. Since the layout is geared to modern image 70ft+ locomotives will be common, for example  GE GEVOs, SD70Ms and most likely SD90MACS. Consequently the curve radius is quite large. In the design above the track radius through the teardrop is 26" for the main, and 24.5" for the loop. The minimum curve radius is 15" on the helix, and 23" on the curves leading to the peninsula.