Track plan help?

[iis612]

Matt,

In your staging area, you've got a lot of crossovers... I'm assuming that's to sneak the power out so you can run it around the train? They're eating a lot of space, and progressively shortening your staging tracks... I think if you can set up that area as through-staging you may find it more useful.

You are right, but I have not come up with an idea to make it through staging, and I would like to have a provision for continuous running. Somewhere I have a notebook full of old track plan sketches that I will have to look through to get some more ideas. I could just invert the ladder and run it down behind the TT to facilitate the continuous run, and add some stub tracks to the ladder. Aside from that, the storage continues past the crossovers, and I still have to add a very small staging ladder for the GTW interchange.
I am considering adding that as an extra staging area along the 8' wall at the south side of the layout, thus freeing space for a through staging yard.

As an aside, if you have made any modifications to the plan as it exists, I would love to see them. Any ideas I can get are good. I think I mentioned that I am horrible at track planning. Thanks for your input, and please keep it coming. I need all the advice I can get.

Matt