Much frustration and wasted effort can be avoided by considering and defining the objectives of your layout carefully at the outset. This stage will be simple if the desired layout is to be similar to one with which you are already familiar, but, if only a vision, much care will be required; visions are difficult to pin down. Beware of those who say “just let it grow”. They have probably already built several layouts and, at least in their later projects, had a reasonably clear perception of their objectives and the limitations within which they would have to work. The preliminary phase should be enjoyable. Make the most of it – it will be time well spent

“What are your interests, what do you want to achieve?” Before making plans, be clear about the following basic points.

Outdoors, in a loft, in a basement, in a shed, in a living-, spare-, or bedroom? Is access easy, or only for the athletic? How much space is there, how wide, how long, how much headroom?

If indoors or in a shed, ensure the best lighting that you can. Make the most of natural lighting; you will spend a lot of time in and around the railway.

If it is intended to take the layout to exhibitions or moving house is probable, ensure that access allows you to remove the line in well considered sections.

What are their ranges? Without special treatment, a loft gets hot in summer and cold in winter; a basement stays much nearer to one level but may be damp. If outdoors in a shed make sure that heating is adequate for the worst of the winter. The more stable the conditions, the less likely is it that baseboards will distort and deform.

Is the line:

• To be built purely for your own use?
• To be built by you but worked by a group?
• To belong to a group or club?
• If it is to be operated by a regular team, consult them about its main features and scope. The happier they are with these, the easier it will be to achieve a purposeful team.
• If owned by a club, are the plans generally acceptable, especially to those who will do the most work on the project?

• How much can you afford, per month, per year?
• Is there any overall limit on cash?

• What can you draw on, will you need help with joinery work, point work, wiring and electrics; will such help need to paid for?

• How much can be allocated to the project, per week, per month, per year?
• Does the line have to be in a runable or exhibitable state by a given date?
• Aim to start running on sections as early as possible, both to encourage the builders, and to reveal faults while they are easily rectified.
• Is there an overall time limit on the life of the project?

• How will the line be equipped, especially with rolling stock?
• Will there be Group-owned stock?
• Does this have to be bought early on or can its purchase be deferred until the basic layout is up and running?
• Settle standards at the outset; these include, limiting dimensions, types of coupling, control systems, historical period, and even quality of modelling.

• Is the layout intended for frequent moves to shows, occasional moves to a new site, or to be indefinitely permanent?
• If the line is to be taken to shows, how will it be transported?
• If by car the modules will generally have to be small. If by lorry or large van, quite large ones can be considered.
• Make sure that these modules are light enough to be carried by members of the group.
• Heavy modules are more vulnerable to damage, but light ones must be sufficiently rigid to withstand the shocks of transportation.
• If moves are likely to be rare, the largest feasible modules should be aimed at but the size of these will be limited by egress and access routes and by the transport available.
• Even mobile cranes through removed windows have on occasion been used.
• Such modules must either be strong enough to be lifted as they are, or adequately strengthened for the move.
• E en a permanent layout should be designed so that dismantling involves the least damage to track and baseboards.
• If track can be lifted without distortion it has re-sale value and layouts can find new homes if not too much hacked about.

• Remember that the Guild has an Executor and Trustee service. An appropriate clause inserted in your will could prevent the whole of your life’s work ending in a skip.

• What kind of running do you want from the layout?
• Is it primarily for testing locos and rolling stock, for the display of trains in motion, or for fully developed prototypical operation. What is the basic time period to be represented by the line and the stock on it?
• Is it to be in an urban, an industrial, a rural, or an exotic setting?
• When the plans of the layout are becoming firm, mock-ups of the projected line can be of great value; ideas sketched two-dimensionally on paper may fail to reveal inherent problems.
• Mock-ups are fun to make and easily modified, helping you to get things of the right size in the right place.
• They also help you to plan the lighting, especially for an exhibition layout.

• Modelling a stretch of prototype railway exactly to scale is rarely possible and seldom desirable; artistic compression is usually needed.
• A mock-up allows the most to be made of the principal viewing points.
• Track, buildings, structures, rolling stock should all be of uniform standard if the illusion of reality is to be achieved. Reflect again on the skills available for the project. Will they all be in balance?

• How are the movements of trains to be observed and controlled, how will uncoupling and coupling be performed, and where will these actions be needed?
• Are you intending to use some form of auto-coupler?
• If so, how will it be installed and where will its controls be situated?
• Where may maintenance be needed?
• Is access adequate to deal with derailments and repair on hidden tracks and turnouts, wiring, and point machines?
• Think of these jobs having to be performed while exhibiting, make them as easy as possible (e.g. replacement of point machines).
• Can you see the train at all parts of the layout?
• TV monitors allow hidden stretches of line to be observed. Walk-about controllers, whether on a long lead or capable of being plugged in where needed, allow stock to be placed exactly over uncouplers or uncoupled readily by hand.
• Consider also the use of less common methods of control. Radio control, the wire-less railway, brings a new dimension to operation in the garden; track cleaning ceases to be a time-consuming chore, being only the removal of twigs and large leaves.
• Digital Command Control (DCC) does need reasonably clean track, but greatly reduces the amount of wiring and sectioning required.

All others are combinations of these. None-theless great variety can be achieved with these elements. Examples are noted below with their salient characteristics. The terminology and features in use generally in the modelling world are also introduced. These can have specific connotations relevant to operation and electrical connections.

• Main Line / Junction These configurations can be very complex. May be designed for end-to-end or continuous running. Can involve many builders and operators, a good project for a club or group.
• Branch Line Ranges from basic, with limited operational interest, to quite extensive. Good scenic features are needed to interest spectators.
• Loop to Loop or Dogbone The dogbone is an artifice to give main line double track over much of the layout. The loops may be hidden under hills. It allows continuous running, and is typical of display layouts.
• Oval, single or double track. The basic Test Track, offering continuous running. It can be elaborated with loops and spurs to termini, or developed by superimposing one circuit on another, linked by gradients, to become a doubled over figure of eight.
• Oval with Return Loop and Terminus* The return loop allows a train to leave the terminus, run for the required number of circuits and return.
• Point to Loop, or Out-and-Back* This configuration allows departure from a terminal and return direct to the terminal. A variant is to introduce a triangular junction to allow running round the loop before returning to the terminal.
• Because these configurations involve return running on the same track, this introduces wiring complexities which are addressed in Part 8 Section 6 “Return Track and Triangular Junctions”
• Micro layout; the above categories assume operations based on prototypical practice with trains running from place to place. The micro layout, on the other hand, is typically, a minimum space shunting layout with more emphasis on scenic modelling. They have the great advantage of being easy to fit into the average modern home and can be completed in a much shorter time span than a fully featured layout.

The majority of indoor layouts are build on inverted plywood topped boxes. There are very good reasons for this; it is not difficult to make a durable and accurate baseboard by this method and the underside provides a useful space for layout wiring, point motors, control modules and so on.

However, it is also limiting in that scenery can only rise above track level and embankments and underbridges are more difficult to incorporate.

On the real railway there is roughly the same amount of cuttings and embankments and, for drainage purposes, the average railway line is slightly above the surrounding land.

So, once you have decided upon a workable plan, think about what it would look like in three dimensions;

• Would sections look better on embankments or viaducts?
• Will there be under or over bridges?
• Is all the track going to be on the same level?
• If there is a station, will access be from an overbridge, from the station yard or via an underpass?

The answers to these questions will determine the type of baseboard that you adopt. This is discussed in more detail in the page on baseboards.

• Fiddleyards; Traversers; Sector plates; Cassettes.
  

These devices allow complete trains or coupled stock to be stored so that they can be run on to the layout with minimal handling of the stock. They have been listed in descending order of their demand for space.

• Passing Loops Necessary if two or more trains are to be run on the same track.
• Sidings Essential to the shunting, storage and marshalling of trains, both goods and passenger.
• Headshunts Allows trains to be shunted without fouling the main line.
• Turntable. Necessary for a steam era layout once the basic branchline has started to grow. It is part of a loco yard, associated with shed, coaling stage, watertanks and pits. A loco depot needs considerable space.
• Spirals Raises trains from one part of the layout to another; may be entirely hidden or with visible sections as attractive features.

This is the ‘sketch’ phase of layout design, the transition from the wish list of the ‘grand design’, to a detailed design for a track layout proved to be feasible. It is an iterative process in which practical problems may force you to reconsider how much of the grand design is achievable. Each feature needs to be examined to see whether it contributes adequately to the whole and can be modelled effectively. At worst a scaling down of the whole project may be needed. Points which need consideration are covered in the following sections.

Will the electrical system be cab control, zone control, walk-about, radio, DCC, or some combination of these? The choice of a particular type of operation may force a specific electrical approach that may affect the track layout.

Before you go too far through the design process and, certainly before stating any construction, take some time to carefully measure things like how far you can reach comfortably (your reach envelope) and how narrow a gap or low a duck-under you can go through.

Your reach envelope can easily be measured by standing against a piece of furniture roughly the same height as your planned baseboards and measure how far you can reach comfortably.

Note, that if you are likely to have long running sessions, as for an exhibition layout, and also have fiddly things like three link couplings to deal with, your reach envelope will be much less than your straining every muscle once-in-a-while reach.

You might need to reach a consensus if you are planning a layout to be operated by a large operating crew.

Tables of ergonomic data are widely available but these generally only deal with averages and are of limited use when designing for a particular individual.

Imagine leaning across the layout to couple locos or stock. Is this likely to demolish some building or scenery? You may need to create access which itself could affect your ideas on the layout.

When turning dreams into reality care in design is needed if trouble is to be avoided. Measure the space to be occupied as accurately as possible. Note the positions of any obstructions that occur, e.g. roof braces, boiler flues, pipes, cables, access ladders in a loft or positions of doors, windows, powerpoints, in the layout room. Be particularly careful to allow for the inward slope of the roof in lofts and attics; this feature will determine the general height of the track and the usable space.

For the actual design work you have several options.

Firstly, the traditional pencil and paper approach, drawing on graph paper with a pencil and ruler or on plain paper using traditional drafting instruments. In either case use a simple and rational scale such as 1:10 or 1”=1’-0”, this will simplify calculations.

Secondly, if you have a flat surface available that is equal in size to your proposed layout you can design by cutting out full size paper templates of each element of your design (turnouts, platforms, buildings and so on) and manipulating them until you achieve a layout that meets your needs. Some people find it easier to visualise design by using this method and providers of O Gauge track such as Peco provide downloadable printable templates for this purpose.

Thirdly, Computer Aided Design. There are many software packages available designed specifically for different aspects of model railway design in addition to more general 2 and 3D drawing packages. These are listed and described in the Useful Software for Railway Modellers page of the Knowledge Base.

In the case of a layout assembled from a series of modules and which may be seen in its entirety only at an exhibition, the design in its complete form must still be drawn out before the track plan can be superimposed on it.

The space required to represent a prototype layout exactly to scale will almost certainly be greater than that available for the model. On the prototype, a ten chain (200m) curve is tight and requires checkrails. On an O gauge model this would have a radius of 4.6m (15ft). A suburban platform can be 137m (450ft) long and accommodate a locomotive and five 18m (60ft) coaches. In O gauge terms this becomes 3.15m (10ft 4in). Similarly, the platform of a light railway halt can be 61m (200ft) or 1.4m (4ft 5in) in 7mm scale. Once sidings and other pointwork are added to the scene the length increases considerably.

This is an example the typical terminus,if measured from the inner home signal to the end of the platform, would probably be some 305m (1000ft). In O gauge this would occupy 7m (23ft). Even a typical “small” wayside station could be over 6m long.

Many layout builders would find this amount of space unobtainable. The radii of model turnouts are, however, usually tighter when compared to the prototype and this helps to shorten the overall length of the trackwork.

Figure 1-2 below shows the saving in length that could be used by using Peco Set-Track turnouts (1028mm radius) compared with their medium (1830mm radius) turnouts.

If the number of coaches is reduced and hauled by a smaller locomotive so as to require a shorter platform face to accommodate them, the overall length of the station layout could be decreased by between one third to one half. In the example just quoted, a length reduced to 183m (600ft) would become 4.2m (13ft 9in) in O gauge, which would fit along the wall of the average garage. By reducing the size of the station buildings to match the reduction in platform length the overall effect could be acceptable.

If a fiddle yard were added to the terminus, the overall layout length would be approximately half as much again, i.e. about 6.5m (21ft). Where space is at a premium, consider leading the main line ‘off stage’ part way along the layout, allowing the yard to be concealed behind the scenery.

Stations with long platforms may be suggested by showing only the outer ends of these, a bridge can cover what then can also be the fiddle yard.

Harold Jones in his Gazette article Double Track in a Small Space describes how to achieve this by only modelling the platform ends, the rest of the station being “hidden” in a tunnel.

The table below gives recommended minimum radii for various groups of rolling stock, tighter curves are possible but require some compromises with couplings, buffing gear, sideplay in coupled wheels, and probably gauge widening. This is not a field to be recommended for the beginner.

However, Harold Jones in the article quoted above shows that, given very careful attention to detail, mainline stock can be successfully run with much tighter radii than those recommended here.

Geoffrey Goddin in his Gazette articleScenery, trackwork and operation with tighter spaces and tighter curves makes a similar point.

If the area available for the layout permits, easier curves will not only make train movements that much easier but also add to the appearance of the track. This table also specifies, within limits, the type and general dimensions of the rolling stock appropriate to the various groupings.

Using this information, determine at the outset the minimum radius both for mainline curves and for yards and spurs. The running lines should be able to take the largest projected locomotive, carriage sidings the longest coaches without buffers locking, goods spurs shunting locos and an adequate number of wagons. Though generally this should mean mainline curves of 1830mm (6ft) radius, a careful builder in O Fine standard can usually contrive to get even the longest loco round 1370mm (4ft 6in) and some even contrive to get big locos round 910mm (3ft).

However, big locomotives on sharp curves are not pretty; the minimum curve on prototype lines is about 160m (8 chains) which, in O gauge, becomes 3660mm (12ft). Do try to use the largest radii that can be accommodated and enter the sharp ones with a transition (see Part 2, Section 1.2). Good use of transition curves will enhance both the running and appearance of the layout. Curves on industrial spurs on the prototype were much sharper, down to 20m (1 chain), giving an O gauge equivalent of 460mm (1ft 6in).

When designing a station or yard, some dimensions need to be decided at the outset. What will be the length of the longest train that can be handled effectively on the layout?

Some typical model train lengths suited to the various groups are shown in the table below. (Group 1, trams, has been omitted).

How long is the largest locomotive and the longest train that will operate on the layout? This length must be provided at a passenger platform and between clearances in run round loops where tracks run parallel (see Figure 1-2). In a goods yard it may be possible to split a train and handle it a section at a time.

Note the saving in overall length that can be achieved by the use of small radius turnouts (at the expense of much wider spaced parallel tracks).

What is the minimum radius that will be used? When designing pointwork, use a radius greater than the chosen minimum curvature otherwise, wherever shunting may take place, there is a risk of bufferlocking. Using a larger than minimum radius gives a tolerance for inaccuracies in construction of track and vehicles. Never, in such locations, install a reverse curve without a short transition straight.

The overall length is equal to 2 x Loco length + 2 x Fouling distance + total length of the rolling stock. See Figure 1-2

When a layout has to provide for continuous running then space must be available, at the very least, to accommodate a simple circle. One or more passing loops will be most desirable, especially if the layout belongs to a group. A double oval with connecting crossovers and several loops on each circuit should be provided where the group meets regularly and has several members.

The space needed for any layout of this type can readily be assessed by dividing the layout plan into squares. This approach was introduced by the American layout designer John Armstrong. The method can also be used to see how much can be got into a given space.

Briefly, a square is the space occupied by a 90º double-track curve where the centerline of the inner track is the minimum radius employed on the layout. The length of each side of the square is equal to the minimum radius plus twice the distance between track centres (see Figure 1-3).

Some typical square sizes, based on the recommended minimum radii, are shown in Table 3. Note that the distances between track centres of the sharper radii have been increased to allow for vehicle overhang on curves. (See Part 2, Section 1.3).

Obviously the use of these squares is not confined to 90º bends but can also be used for partial bends and for planning reverse curves.

Space for transition curves can be introduced by separating and offsetting the squares. The subject of transition curves is covered in detail in Part 2 Section 1.2.

The actual size of oval suitable for continuous running depends on a number of factors; the length of trains; the length occupied by the station area if it is accommodated on one of the straight sides; etc. A reasonable estimate can be made, using the information given above, to calculate the minimum area required to accommodate typical trains, as described for each group. From that estimate it will be apparent whether the layout can be fitted into the space available. Simply, the space would need to be two squares wide by two squares plus the run-round distance long.

Shortening the run-round length by having the loco run on to the curve, etc., can help squeeze the overall length but could produce problems with coupling and uncoupling, particularly with the smaller radii.

Another approach would be to place the run-round loops on the end curves instead of along the straights. This arrangement reserves the straights for point work and coupling and uncoupling. Care would need to be taken with the track spacing, particularly with small radii. The overall effect would be a layout shorter but wider than those shown in Table 4.

Table 4 gives some guide sizes. (Group 1, Trams, have not been included.)

These are the primary building blocks in any layout. The space which that layout occupies depends to a great extent on the type of turnout used, likewise its character. There are four options to consider.

1. Ready-made Turnouts.
2. Ready-made Components, e.g. switches and crossings.
3. Components made from plain rail on existing Standard Drawings.
4. Components specifically tailored to the design of the layout.

A layout using Ready-made Turnouts is most easily designed full size on the baseboards as the manufacturers can usually supply full size plansheets or drawings. The preliminary design, done on paper to reduced scale, will probably need modification when redrawn full size on the actual baseboards.

While it may be supposed that the manufacturers have ensured accuracy by assembling their turnouts in jigs, there can still be problems with them if there are bumps in the baseboard and kinks in the plain track linking them together.

There are also computer based layout design programs that include libraries of ready made turnouts. See Software - Track and Layout Design

A layout using Ready-made Components is also best designed full size and hopefully the manufacturers can again supply full size drawings. If not the drawings will have to be produced with the aid of any information that can be gleaned, say from specialist groups as c) or using the information set out in Part 2, Section 2.

Many of the remarks under a) and b) above apply equally to the use of pre-built ‘set-track’ elements which can be bought or created and a layout designed around the use of such components.

Though more compromises will have to be made in design and appearance, the layout can readily be altered, likewise if it has to be relocated, the components can be re-used, allowing a revised version to be up and running quickly. Most modellers started this way, a way which can still provide a running layout in the shortest time.

The prime purpose of this drawing is to prove the feasibility of the first rough sketches. It must be prepared with care and be accurate. It should be good enough to reveal where problems may arise and enable the basic plan to altered to deal with them. Take plenty of time over this stage, it is repaid many times over by the absence of mistakes at the construction stage.

The preliminary drawing should be as large as can conveniently be handled. Obtain a board of adequate size on which to prepare it. Though not essential, if this board has a pair of true edges at right angles, a Tee-square can then be used. If the surface is poor, cover it with a sheet of drawer lining paper. For the actual drawing, on which inevitable there will much rubbing out, better quality paper is most desirable. Pence spent now will save pounds later, likewise for time. A scale rule; 2H, HB, 2B pencils; erasers; compasses with extensions to 620mm (2ft); if possible, draughtsman’s trammels (extendable to 1250mm, 4ft), otherwise use string pin and pencil. Drawings for the minimum radius of curves are essential, also for various larger radii. Though these can be bought, their sizes will then determine the scale used for the plan, alternatively make them from cardboard or 3mm MDF board, drawing their outline with compasses, trammels, or string pin and pencil. Cut them out carefully with scissors, a knife, or fine saw, and mark them with the radius of the centre line; their width should be the scale equivalent of 32mm. Make templates at least for the minimum radius of the layout and for 1.3 and 1.5 times that radius, the latter being needed for critical pointwork.

Larger radius curves can be drawn using draughtsman’s curves, otherwise known as French Curves. As the computer has largely replaced traditional draughting equipment, you may have to search for these curves. With them, however, you can make sketches more quickly and with less thought than with refined computer software. Preliminary sketches for whole layouts can be made using these curves if suitable ones have been chosen. The type known as a Ramshorn is the most suitable.

Choose a scale which will just allow the whole layout to be drawn on the board; though it could be drawn on more than one sheet, inaccuracies will creep in at the joins and the work is slowed down. A scale of between 1/12 and 1/4 full-size gives good results. Having chosen it and the options for turnouts, draw the outline of the intended baseboard area, allowing adequate room for access. Preliminary ideas may now be sketched in lightly freehand, showing only the centre line of each track. Begin also to plan the individual baseboards. If the line is to be portable or built in sections, positions of joints in the baseboards must be considered with particular care, being placed so as to avoid crossings or the toes of switches. Wherever possible a track should cross a joint at right angles.

The critical areas of the layout should now become apparent. Here rigorous and accurate treatment is essential. Where are the sharpest curves likely to be? Check these sketches against the minimum radius template. Where are the problems? Is there too much track? Settle the position and radii of the curves in the main line first, it should then become apparent where the main features might best be placed and how much length is available for them. Settle the position of the biggest items next, probably the passenger platforms. If the station is a terminal, at the end of the platform road or wherever a run-round is required, mark off the space needed for the longest loco, this places the toes of the release turnouts. In a yard, a goods train can be split and handled a section at a time, but not a passenger train. Where shunting is to take place there will be a risk of buffer-locking, be particularly careful therefore to avoid abrupt reversals of curvature, provide transitions or, at the least, linking lengths of straight track.

Determine the minimum track spacing that you intend to use (see Part 2, Section 1.3) When drawing out an engine release crossover or similar arrangement of turnouts (Figure 7-2), draw in the second track at this spacing, parallel to the first.

Now, using a radius 30% above minimum, draw an ‘S’ curve between the two tracks, starting from the first pair of toes, reversing near the mid-line between the two and finishing on the other track. Check it for symmetry and a smooth junction of the two arcs. The toes of the switch blades of the release crossover are thus located. A transition straight can be inserted when the turnouts are finally detailed. If a return crossover is required, measure out the length of the longest train round which the loco has to run, staring from the toes of the turnout on the second line. From there draw in the return crossover back onto the first track as for the release. Does all this fit into the outline sketch or must a rethink take place?

If all now looks well, the basis of the plan should now be settled. If not, decide where compression can be achieved. Is an engine run-round loop essential, or could the train engine be released by the station shunter? Is a yard headshunt essential? All the main features of the layout should be examined and ranked at this stage, now is the time to ‘simplicate’. Is the layout to be portable and divided into sections? If so, check that the joints will NOT cut through the switch blades or be near where rails cross one another.

The first is impossible and the second is asking for trouble. When laying out turnouts, always try to draw in curves of more than the minimum radius. This means that you will then have a margin to ensure that errors and compromises do not go beyond what is acceptable.

With the basic plan proved feasible and pleasing, draw in all the other major features, in decreasing order of importance. Is there really room for an engine shed? Where are the carriage sidings? Is the goods yard big enough? Where one turnout follows another, is there enough space between the crossing of one and the toes of the switches of the next? Working in this reduced scale it is enough that the second pair of toes is at least a rail gauge away from the nose of the preceding crossing. A three- or four-road tandem turnout may be an alternative. Check if there is a commercial one to suit, alternatively can you make a good job of building it. Be careful when drawing a turnout with one track curving off another in the same direction. The turnout can become very long and difficult to build and maintain, the switch blades and crossing so slender as to be impracticable.

Good proportions for such turnouts require that the radius of the larger curve is at least 1.5 times that of the smaller curve. Examples would be 0.95m/1.37m (3ft/4ft 6in), 1.22m/1.83m (4ft/6ft) and 1.83m/2.74m (6ft/9ft). At this stage you should be considering the use of a mock-up. The choice of features and their blending to make a satisfactory whole is made much easier when viewed in three dimensions, while snags easily missed on a flat sheet of paper become all too evident.

Accurate manual drafting can be time consuming and tedious particularly if frequent modifications and revisions are involved. Computer based (CAD) programs, on the other hand, simplify the task of editing a design and enable multiple variations of the same basic concept to be produced without difficulty.

As has already been noted, there are now several specialist model railway design programs available. These and other useful software are listed and described here Software - Track and Layout Design

The basic design methodology is the same as for manual drafting as described in the sections above. You will still need to have a good idea of what you want to achieve and know the critical dimensions and limitations that apply.

The different programs have different strengths and weaknesses. For example, if you are planning to hand build turnouts and crossings it would probably be better to use Templot which is described as “a workshop tool for railway modellers who build their own track”. Templot designs can be printed out as templates over which turnouts and crossings can be built.

If you prefer to use Peco or similar ready made track, programs such as Anyrail, Xtrackcad or SCARM would be more suitable.

Once you have settled on a design that meets your requirements and is practical, you can export it to a graphics program such as Inkscape to add the finishing touches. It is straight forward to produce different versions of your final design marked up to show point motor positions, electrical connections, isolated sections and so on.

Which ever method you used, manual or computer based drafting and design you will still need to mark out the resultant design full size onto your baseboards. This is the last opportunity to review and modify your layout design before construction starts.

Note: Even if a computer is used, it is only a tool – a sketchpad with bells on. It will not design the layout for you, the principles of good layout design still apply.