Crack open any one of several older Marklin catalogs and the pages are adorned with pictures of a plethora of trains crisscrossing a layout which, in some cases, is also featured in the catalog’s center, complete with track plan.  The same can be said for the European manufacturers’ presentation layouts at events and exhibits.  Generally these layouts exist, as a primary purpose, to showcase the model trains the manufacturers have produced.  In other words, they are train layouts, relying less on scenery and more on tracks and trains.  Sure, there are buildings and mountains, but generally they are secondary to the trains themselves.  On the other hand a model railroad defines itself by reproducing the railroad prototype in miniature.  There is nothing wrong with wanting to run as many trains simultaneously as possible- it is what train layouts are designed for.  But for those who are in the planning stages of a layout and who are struggling to be less train layout and more model railroad, read on for a few suggestions to keep in mind for designing a dream layout while still following a “less-is-more” philosophy.

1. Manage Your Expectations.  A full-length Thalys needs about twenty feet to be enjoyed in its entirety as it races across an HO-scale countryside.  The busiest lines in Switzerland have trains passing roughly every 5 minutes.  If your available space (and budget) don’t allow for getting even close to those numbers then consider dropping the main line as your layout’s focal point and focus instead on a branch line.  Watching a train chase its tail gets old quickly, and those Viking cars will never be able to cross the tracks when the crossing gates are down more time than they are up.
2. Design for ‘Creative Realism’.  The Internet has an unlimited number of European railway images.  Books by the dozen help with prototypical modeling.  Google Earth provides access to almost every railway line/station in Europe.  However trying to replicate a prototype exactly in your chosen scale is usually not a good solution.  Instead, use prototypes as guidelines and compromise as needed to increase your layout’s entertainment value.  That big-city terminus station will keep you just as busy and entertained with a few less tracks than the prototype.
3. Flex track is your friend.  Even R5 curves are too tight to be realistic on any main line.  When possible, keep all fixed radius track hidden in tunnels.  If it’s absolutely necessary to use sectional track in a visible area then try and keep your curves short, with no curve more than 15 degrees.  If necessary, cut track (yes, even if it has roadbed) to make your curved sections shorter for a more slender look.
4. Embrace the third dimension.  When planning your layout consider the added benefits of going above and below the ‘station’ level.  Hidden staging yards, visible freight yards, and parade sections of main line are perfect for going one or two levels down.  Commercial helix kits are available, or consider a completely independent loop of track above or below your main layout.  Multiple levels provide a natural ‘break’ between areas of track and make the layout feel less crowded.  Putting stations on two different levels and at opposite ends of the layout provide more of a ‘from-here-to-there’ feel.  My current layout design includes two staging yards, one below the other, and both of them below the main station.  The bottom level is a mere three feet off the ground!
5. When All Else Fails, Change Your Scale.  To many of you this will sound sacrilegious.  I have been a die-hard 1-scaler (1:32) for nearly twenty years, and although our new house has a decent basement for a 1-scale layout, I’m contemplating switching back to HO, the scale of my childhood.  Why?  Because of what I’d like to accomplish on my next layout, including the afore-mentioned Thalys run.  A few years ago when I had zero space for even a modest HO layout I built a layout in Z-scale, which I enjoyed thoroughly.  Don’t rule out the possibility of switching scales, either until available space changes or for good.

 
Our hobby, like so many others, is an evolution.  The more we do, the more mistakes we make, the more we learn.  Unfortunately this isn’t like knitting, where we can try over and over again to ‘get it right’.  But with every trip to Europe or every episode of ‘Eisenbahnromantik’ I watch on Youtube I get just a little bit smarter on the minutiae of European railroads.  Unfortunately that leads to new ideas and new desires when it comes to replicating those into a smaller scale.  With these tips hopefully you can join me in making sure that at least at the track planning stage the result is a little more ‘railway’ and a little less ‘train’…  

No, it's not a weird new version of Monopoly, but an opportunity to enjoy the ETE Great Lakes modular HO scale European themed Marklin model train layout.  Member Matt Moore brought a tiny HD video camera to the National Train Show which took a trip around the layout.  Here is the result: 

There are many, many reasons to travel by train in Germany and Europe.  It is cheaper, more comfortable, and sometimes more practical than driving and finding a place to park. That said, there are other moments which arise that really hit home.  Here is one such example.
     I was travelling in Germany with a group of my students in June of 2014.  We had just finished three days in the Berlin-Potsdam area and were now on our way to the Dresden area for four days.  It was Sunday evening, and we had elected to take the regional trains (RegioBahn) rather than the speed trains (IC/ICE).  It would give us a chance to relax and rest on a quieter trip after all the walking and fast-paced visiting of Germany’s capital.  This was my first trip through the old areas of the DDR (East Germany), outside of the yearly rides to Berlin via Bremen.   Occasionally we passed towns with mixed Prussian and Czech or Polish names, but the real thing was the amount of, as Joyce put it, “undeveloped” land.  Definitely the population density was much lower in this part of Germany than elsewhere. 
 
Somewhere along the route between the towns and station of Grossenhain-Cottbus and Priestewitz, our train had to halt and allow a transport train to come through.  We stopped a mile or so from Priestewitz, and one of my students, Jacob Anderson, called we over to where he was sitting and pointed out his window and asked “what is that?”  He was pointing to an old farmstead… 5 buildings- a house, a barn, two tool sheds, and a garage/mechanic shop.  All were overgrown and severely damaged.  “Is that from the war,” he asked.  It was clear that the place had been a family home destroyed during the Russian push to Berlin.  It looked like a scene from the old classic war movies, but it was real.  I confirmed his suspicions, and other students quickly came over as the train started to move again.  The students remarked how it was amazing that 70 years after the war it was still there, neither re-built nor torn down.  They expressed wonder and what had happened.  It allowed me to explain how the family probably fled (or were killed) and no one came back. 

My students were deeply touched by this frozen moment in time, and wondered about the family, its history, and if they survived, do they even know their old home is still there.   We discussed the population shift to the West both during and after the war, and how these areas were completely depopulated.  As we started to roll on, we saw land which was once cultivated but now returned to the wild.  My wife Joyce was able to point out the former field lines and crop areas, so subtly different that other wild areas, and the students quickly seized on this knowledge.  Long discussions and questions about the war in Germany and the struggles of East Germany ensued.  The students spent the last hour of the ride to Dresden looking and hoping to find more poignant moments trapped in time.

Such events, I have learned over the years, occur much more often and more deeply on trains than travelling in a car or even a bus tour.  In a car you focus on the destination and trivial moments of chat.  On a bus, you are packed and cramped, and some even have video to watch.  On a train, you can read a book, put on headphones, or even do a crossword puzzle book, but your eyes are always drawn out the window.  There is something magnetic to the passing scenery that interrupts your attempts at distraction and take your eyes and thoughts to the world just beyond the glass.   Add to that the ability to have a group discussion session all at once when a topic arises, and you understand just one of the reasons trains are so amazing to ride on. 

Today we'll take a look at the letters and numbers generally mounted above and next to the tracks on passenger platforms and how they show passengers where to be to catch their train.  The first part, the number, is fairly self-explanatory.  It represents the track next to it as a number in ascending order from the station.  So track 1 would be closest to the station building, track 2 would be next to it, etc.  Note, however, that in some cases a very high number, like track 21, might actually be closer to the station building than 21 tracks out, but we'll stick with the most common situations for the purpose of these articles.

The station departure board above lists only the track / platform for the first two trains.  Why is that?  In some countries and/or stations the track number ​isn't shown until shortly before the train arrives.  That's to allow just about any train to leave from any track.  In some countries and/or stations the same trains always leave from the same track, so it's not necessary to hold off on showing the track number.  But in either case if a track number is showing it's a safe bet that's where your train will be departing from.  Okay, so now that we know which platform to be on for the track, let's take a look at the other half of the signage in the first image of this article, the letter.

The letters that appear above the platform represent different segments of the platform that help passengers know roughly where to stand when the train rolls in.  Today I'll explain how to know roughly where to stand if you are in first class or second class, and where to stand if you'd like a cold, refreshing beer from the dining car for the start of your journey.  In a future article I'll explain how to identify where a particular coach will stop if you've made reservations.  But for now we'll just get you to the right part of the train...

Near the track number and platform segment display is usually a flip-type or digital display board that provides information on the next train coming in on that platform.  This is where we'll identify where to be when the train comes to a stop to quickly get on board and not have to drag luggage the length of the train to find an open seat in the right class.  An insider tip: it also shows us where the end of the train will be, and as a pro will tell you, the ends of the train are where the coaches are the emptiest!

There are a few items of interest on the board to note.  First is the train number and train type.  This display shows a French TGV (France's high-speed train) with train number 9576.  Its final destination is Paris Est, and it's making intermediate stops in Karlsruhe and Strasbourg.  Not all stops will be displayed, usually only a couple.  Now note the small symbol above and to the left of 'Paris Est'.  This actually tells you where the train will be situated on the platform.  It looks like this TGV will be stopping between sections D and G.  Looking very closely at the display (it's hard to read in the image above) one can ascertain the number '2' underneath the 'E' and the number '1' underneath the 'G'.  This tells us that second class will be located in sectors 'D' and 'E' and first class will be in sector 'G'.  The dining car, which can be designated by the letter 'R' or sometimes as an icon of a coffee cup, sits between the two in section 'F'.  Now imagine if you were waiting in section 'A' when this train pulled in for its 2-minute stop...

The destination board here provides information on a longer train.  It shows a first class coach or two in sector 'B', it shows us that limited food service (in this case a 'Bord Bistro') is located in section 'C' and also shows that bicycles (or other larger equipment like wheelchairs) can be stored in a car in sector 'F'.

Here is one final destination board that will save you a world of grief if you know how to read it.  Although fairly unusual, there are times when trains will take part of a journey coupled together, then split up at a particular station to continue to individual destinations.  This is done most commonly on heavily trafficked lines where train density is high.  When the train above pulls out at 19:10 it will run as one unit, but in Duisburg the train will split, with part of it headed west to Amsterdam and another part headed north to Dortmund.  Thanks to your new knowledge, you should now be able to get into the right train to make it to either destination!