In model railroading, a layout is a diorama

Diorama

The word diorama can either refer to a nineteenth century mobile theatre device, or, in modern usage, a three-dimensional full-size or miniature model, sometimes enclosed in a glass showcase for a museum...

 containing scale track

Rail tracks

The track on a railway or railroad, also known as the permanent way, is the structure consisting of the rails, fasteners, sleepers and ballast , plus the underlying subgrade...

 for operating train

Train

A train is a connected series of vehicles for rail transport that move along a track to transport cargo or passengers from one place to another place. The track usually consists of two rails, but might also be a monorail or maglev guideway.Propulsion for the train is provided by a separate...

s. The size of a layout varies, from small shelf-top designs to ones that fill entire rooms, basements, or whole buildings.

Attention to modeling details such as structures

Building model

Building models are scale models of structures. They are commonly used in model railroading as well as wargaming and diorama making. Architectural models are also made to demonstrate and promote buildings before they are constructed....

 and scenery is common. Simple layouts are generally situated on a table, although other methods are used, including doors. More permanent construction methods involve attaching benchwork framing to the walls of the room or building in which the layout is situated.

Track layout

An important aspect of any model railway is the layout of the track itself. Apart from the stations

Train station

A train station, also called a railroad station or railway station and often shortened to just station,"Station" is commonly understood to mean "train station" unless otherwise qualified. This is evident from dictionary entries e.g...

, there are four basic ways of arranging the track, and innumerable variations:

• Continuous loop. A circle or oval, with trains going round and round. Used in train set
  Train set
  A train set is a set, normally consisting of a model train and a small circle or oval of track. A set of rail tracks of more appropriate size for a train set is a model railroad layout...
  
  s.
• Point to point. A line with a station
  Train station
  A train station, also called a railroad station or railway station and often shortened to just station,"Station" is commonly understood to mean "train station" unless otherwise qualified. This is evident from dictionary entries e.g...
  
   at each end, with trains going from one station to the other.
• Out and back. A pear shaped track, with trains leaving a station, going round a reversing loop
  Balloon loop
  A balloon loop or turning loop allows a rail vehicle or train to reverse direction without having to shunt or even stop. Balloon loops can be useful for passenger trains and unit freight trains, such as coal trains....
  
  , and coming back to the same station.
• Shunting (US: Switching). Either a station, a motive power depot
  Motive power depot
  Motive power depot, usually abbreviated to MPD, is a name given to places where locomotives are stored when not being used, and also repaired and maintained. They were originally known as "running sheds", "engine sheds", or, for short, just sheds. Facilities are provided for refuelling and...
  
   or a yard
  Rail yard
  A rail yard, or railroad yard, is a complex series of railroad tracks for storing, sorting, or loading/unloading, railroad cars and/or locomotives. Railroad yards have many tracks in parallel for keeping rolling stock stored off the mainline, so that they do not obstruct the flow of traffic....
  
   where the primary mode of operation is shunting
  Shunt (railway operations)
  Shunting, in railway operations, involves the process of sorting items of rolling stock into complete train sets or consists. The United States terminology is "switching"....
  
  . This includes layouts which are built as a train shunting puzzle
  Train shunting puzzle
  Train shunting puzzles, also often called railway shunting puzzles or railroad switching puzzles, are a type of transport puzzle.Shunting puzzles usually consist of a specific track layout, a set of initial conditions , a defined goal , and rules which must be obeyed...
  
   such as Timesaver
  Timesaver
  Timesaver is a well-known model railroad train shunting puzzle created by John Allen. It consists of a specific track layout, a set of initial conditions, a defined goal, and rules which must be obeyed while performing the shunting operations....
  
   and Inglenook Sidings
  Inglenook Sidings
  Inglenook Sidings, created by Alan Wright , is a well-known model railway train shunting puzzle. It consists of a specific track layout, a set of initial conditions, a defined goal, and rules which must be obeyed while performing the shunting operations.-Details:The track is based on Kilham...
  
  

Common variations:

• On a point to point layout, the train can increase the time it takes to get from A to B by going around a continuous loop a few times.
• Single or double track or more, so more trains can run at the same time.
• Intermediate stations, to distinguish between express trains which go straight through and local trains which stop briefly.
• Branch line
  Branch line
  A branch line is a secondary railway line which branches off a more important through route, usually a main line. A very short branch line may be called a spur line...
  
  s, to add an excuse for more stations and different types of trains.
• Use of multiple levels.
• Arranging the continuous loop as a figure-of-8, possibly with one track going over the other instead of having tracks crossing on the same level.
• Folding one loop of a figure-of-8 over the other loop to produce a looped-8, so as to reduce the amount of space needed while keeping a long continuous run.
• Using one or more fiddle yard
  Fiddle Yard
  A Fiddle yard or Staging yard is a collection of model railway tracks that are invisible to a viewer and allow trains to be stored and manipulated. These tracks are required to allow most model railways to be operated in a realistic manner. Whilst it is possible to have a realistic shunting yard in...
  
  s (US: staging tracks) to represent the rest of the railway system. A fiddle yard is regarded as off-scene; it may hold multiple complete trains, and may also be subject to direct human intervention (fiddling) to re-arrange trains,
• Dog-bone arrangement of a continuous loop; the sides of an oval are squeezed together so it looks like a double-track section with a loop at each end where the trains turn around.
• Rabbit warren; a continuous loop folded over itself several times with multiple levels and lots of tunnels for trains to pop in and out of - often a small layout with sharp curves and short trains.

Station layout

There are three basic types of station, and sometimes combinations of these types:

• Terminus or terminal station. As the name implies, all trains stop here, and then go back to where they came from.
• Through station. Trains can go through this station; express trains don't stop, while local trains do stop briefly before continuing their journey.
• Junction
  Junction (rail)
  A junction, in the context of rail transport, is a place at which two or more rail routes converge or diverge.This implies a physical connection between the tracks of the two routes , 'points' and signalling.one or two tracks each meet at a junction, a fairly simple layout of tracks suffices to...
  
  . The tracks diverge/join here.

Other factors which affect the track layout of a station include:

• For passengers only, or for goods only, or for both passengers and goods.
• Use of steam engines
  Steam locomotive
  A steam locomotive is a railway locomotive that produces its power through a steam engine. These locomotives are fueled by burning some combustible material, usually coal, wood or oil, to produce steam in a boiler, which drives the steam engine...
  
   and/or diesel/electric engines
  Diesel locomotive
  A diesel locomotive is a type of railroad locomotive in which the prime mover is a diesel engine, a reciprocating engine operating on the Diesel cycle as invented by Dr. Rudolf Diesel...
  
  .
• Use of trains which can be driven from either end, e.g. Diesel Multiple Units.

The simplest possible station for passengers consists of just a platform beside the track, with no points (US: switches

Railroad switch

A railroad switch, turnout or [set of] points is a mechanical installation enabling railway trains to be guided from one track to another at a railway junction....

) or sidings

Rail siding

A siding, in rail terminology, is a low-speed track section distinct from a running line or through route such as a main line or branch line or spur. It may connect to through track or to other sidings at either end...

. Both terminal and through stations can be as simple as this; a junction requires at least one point.

For some information about actual station layouts, see railway station layout

Railway station layout

A railway station is a place where trains make scheduled stops. Stations usually have one or more platforms constructed alongside a line of railway. However, railway stations come in many different configurations - influenced by such factors as the geographical nature of the site, or the need to...

.

External links

• http://www.plasticoferroviario.it – Hints and tips for model railroaders
• http://modeltrains.about.com – Online resource for model railroaders
• http://www.gatewaynmra.org/project.htm – Small model railroad project layouts
• http://carendt.com/ – Micro/Small Layouts for Model Railroads showing hundreds of examples
• http://nevada-railways.net/page05.html – Model Railroad Track Plans