Lots of little layouts

My thinking has been undergoing a change recently, which seems in line with where much of the hobby is going. Having spent the last couple of years designing, building and selling several smallish layouts, I'm ready to turn my attention toward a layout of my own.

So I've been knee-deep in trackplan books, scoping out where in our little apartment would be the ideal place. One thing I've been considering is the modular idea, in particular the T-Trak specification which is excellent for small spaces, but which requires expensive Kato turnouts for yards and switch districts.

Then another possibility hits me ... in lieu of small modules that connect together, what about a series of small layouts that operate independently? Maybe 2 or 3 shelf switchers? The obvious disadvantage here is very limited train sizes, but if we're primarily talking about yards or switch districts, that's not such a big deal. The advantage is that you can do quite a wide variety of times and locations without worrying if they match up.

So I'm still undecided, but very attracted to the idea of building and owning multiple independent layouts.