Dad will sort it

Due to restriction on the width of the board, we have had to deviate from the standard track layouts - slighlty daunting for a Father and Son team of novices! The intention is to run two (existing) locomotives on this: a West Coast Highlander and a Flying Scotsman. I have attempted to draw our track layout (see attached). LINK WIRES Tested the track with the Flying Scotsman and its speeds seems to dip/pulse slightly in places which suggests to me a lack of power (you?). The West Coast Highlander runs fine (but it is harder to tell as it runs slower anyway). When it comes to placing the link wires, I have tried following page Beginner's Guide (found on this forum) and this is where I would appreciate your guidance: I have placed a link wire kit (labelled 1st) in a similar location to that shown in Fig 16 of the beginner's guide. We do not have the points for the external branch line so I have taken the opportunity to instead connect our 2nd and 3rd radius loops. Is our positioning ok?Page 18 refers to placing a 2nd link wire kit between the two ovals (as first shown in Fig 11/12 - Isn't this technically what I already have (above)? Given our 2nd and 3rd radius are not concentric this location creates an issue with the length of the link wires. Is there a better location for this second link wire kit on our track layout? Note that we have two pairs of points joining the 2nd and 3rd radius loops/media/tinymce_upload/987049445b782dee1bf779c1e2d82d2e.JPG SECOND CONTROLLER? The intention is two mount this layout on a board but I am conscious that a second controller may help. My thinking is that my son can have the Flying Scotsman "flying" around the 3rd radius loop while he takes his West Coast Highlander up/down the branch line (with its station/engine shed). In your opinion would our two train layout benefit from the second controller? If we choose to introduce a second controller then would our track still adhere to the logic shown in Fig 16 of the Beginneer's Guide? This being: Controller for 3rd radius loop [GOT]Controller for 2nd radius loop [NEED]1st link wire kit REMOVED [GOT] or are one or both of these needed somewhere?2nd link wire kit REMOVED [GOT]SLIGHT DIFFERENCE: R920 insulating fishplates between the two pairs of points which connect the 2nd and 3rd radius loops [NEED] Is this correct?

Hello, Not sure if you are the right person/able to help but I tried adding a new post to this forum. Thos post contained a drawing of the track I originally tried to describe - consequently it says it needs moderator approval. This was over 24-hours ago and my post is AWOL. Can you advise?

Excuse the simple drawing but this is shows what I was originally seeking guidance on (when I raised this post). The board (green) is not wide enough to accomodate the Expansion Pack D branch on the side. Meantime, I have at least 2 foot of board to utilise. Is there a way of replacing a 3rd radius curve (R609) with a point and shorter curve - to allow us to mimic the branch for the engine shed or potentially loop back to another point on the main circuit? /media/tinymce_upload/15142f8713ae204711cbe36f8766eb0d.png

Ps, thanks everyone for your valued input

@samfieldhouse Please add the photos. I've very intrerested to see what you described. I am toying with the idea of pivoting our layout (along one of the longer sides) so that it be folder up(?) against the wall. Obviously, some form of frame is required and this causes its own problem (reduced height for scenary, fxed positioning of buildings, etc). On a general note, what is the best way of attaching an image? I would like to add a drawing to show the challenge that I was originally trying to describe (i.e. room sizes, board sizes, etc.

Thanks both for the feedback. I've never had Hornby so this is a new (son inspired) hobby for us. @Chrissaf I've read and used your guide - very useful. Certainly helped as we expanded our son's track and needed to understand the logic of using a single controller, etc. Our current challenge means we have to deviate away from the standard track layouts but as yet do not understand the different track pieces and how they interact, etc. I suppose we're a little "trapped" between building the first layout while ensuring we leave options for the future (I.e. expansion, redesign, etc). I grew up with Lego and that offers endless flexibility as you never fix it to a board!!) @mjb1961 The room is oblong and the board sizes are based on allowing access along one side and both ends of the board. The board would be fixed (possibly hinged) along one wall. The suggested access hole is probably more necessity than preference as the size of the board makes it difficult to reach the items (i.e. points or derailed locomotives). I'll take a look at the Freetrackplans.com site - thanks for the heads up on that.

The wife and myself have finally cleared our box room in preparation for providing our son's Hornby trains with a permenant home/layout. The room is long and narrow so we intend to build on a 8' x 4' (2.4m x 1.2m) board [albeit cut to approx 44"/110cm wide MAX and possibly 7'/2.1m - this is to allow space around the board]. Note: We anticipate cutting an access hole somewhere in the middle of the board! My son has the following: West Coat Highlander Starter Pack + Extension Pack A (inc. std. DC controller)Flying Scotsman (and carriages)Extension Packs B, C, DAccessory Packs 1, 3, 5His current layout (which live on our dining room table!) follows the standard Expansion Pack D layout BUT do not have the width to build the siding that is introduced with Extension Pack A. How do we utilise the 8" length of the board? We'd like to use the engine shed in the manner shown in Expansion Pack F but we cannot go wider (so cannot add the point). Is there a way of replacing a 3rd radius curve (R609) with a point and shorter curve - to allow us to mimic the branch for the engine shed? Can anyone guide us towards the best single level layout (utilising the at least the bits that we have and the anticipated 44"/110cm wide MAX x 7'/2.1m long board). Thanks in advance if you can!