In the summer of 2016 I had an idea for a small industrial layout set in the yard of a fictional engineering works. Trains would deliver raw materials to the factory and take the finished products out of the yard.

However, I couldn’t settle on a good track plan and I couldn’t think of an easy and inexpensive way of making the factory buildings. The idea has been nagging at me ever since. You know, in the way that some ideas do…

Then two things came together. I found a track plan on the Carl Arendt website that I could easily modify to create what I wanted. Plus, I discovered LCUT who manufacture kits in laser cut wood and sell all the component pieces individually. It would be easy to build the type of factory I had in mind from these components.

I decided to investigate and brought a couple of wall components from LCUT. Then I sketched out the idea using a scrap of plastic packaging material, a chinagraph pencil and some PECO point templates.

Looking at it from a couple of angles I think it could work.

England has had unusually hot and dry weather for several weeks. Perhaps the heat is getting to me, or perhaps this really is a good idea.

I will order some more components from LCUT to investigate this in more detail.

Uh, Oh! I’ve just built the baseboards for a new layout, should I really be thinking of building another one?