Layout ideas

I find when working within the confines of the APA box (27" x 14" approx.), that conventional track planning goes out the window and I can actually work full size. I might find a picture in a book that inspires me to recreate it in model form. Or I'll see a product photo and imagine building a scene around it. I'll be placing track and scenic components on the board, moving them around until I come up with an arrangement that pleases me and is operable as a layout.
My micro layouts have to have a working feature. Many years of exhibiting micro layouts have taught me that a working feature is essential, When guests at an exhibition see something other than trains moving they stop and watch and take in some of the other details. Youngsters love to see other things happening. Working cranes and ore/coal loaders are very popular on my layouts. Ore/coal loaders are slightly problematic in that the material being loaded bounces out of the cars and onto the track leading to derailments. Because I have some gondola cars, it's very likely that I'll have an ore loading scene on this model.

In this sequence of photos you can see how I'm working moving track around, messing with the bulk of structures and other things.

1. First steps in track planning. Boxes represent buildings. Loader at the back, Depot at the front.

2. Putting pointwork in different spots. Imagining how thing will operate

3. A less successful plan in my mind. The rear track is disconnected from the front

4. I'm feeling like this has a lot of promise. The depot might turn out to be a grounded boxcar. I have since tried  a standard gauge boxcar in this space and it doesn't give me clearance for a platform. 

By picture 4 I'm feeling good about things. There will be hidden storage sidings either side of the model. Probably individual plug-in train cassettes.

I'm a little disappointed that a boxcar won't fit in the space between the tracks to use as a depot at the moment. I used a Weaver kit in that space. Clearances were very tight. It was a more modern boxcar though, perhaps something older might fit better. We'll see. Still a little juggling to do with the spaces.