Model railroad layout

In model railroading, a layout is a diorama containing scale track for operating trains. The size of a layout varies, from small shelf-top designs to ones that fill entire rooms, basements, or whole buildings.

Attention to modeling details such as structures and scenery is common. Simple layouts are generally situated on a table, although other methods are used, including doors. More permanent construction methods involve attaching benchwork framing to the walls of the room or building in which the layout is situated.

An important aspect of any model railway is the layout of the track itself. Apart from the stations, there are four basic ways of arranging the track, and innumerable variations:

Common variations:

There are three basic types of station, and sometimes combinations of these types:

Other factors which affect the track layout of a station include:

The simplest possible station for passengers consists of just a platform beside the track, with no points (US: switches) or sidings. Both terminal and through stations can be as simple as this; a junction requires at least one point.

For some information about actual station layouts, see railway station layout.

...
Wikipedia