It's a start

     Work as started on the tables. In my phase I, ten tables need to be build. The main reason for building so many tables is that if ever I need to move my layout, I just need to cut the tracks at the table joint, undo the legs and separate the tables. 

     Unfortunately, the nearest hobby shop is one hour drive, so I started searching for a good online store. I did find two that are very well known, plenty of stock at good prices. All I have to watch for is the shipping fees and duty since I'm in Canada.

     I finally did my first purchase, three freight cars, A freight locomotive and a yard locomotive. The yard loco is an Atlas Alco S2 and the freight loco is a Bowser Alco C630M with Tsunami sound, fantastic sound.

     I also bought Atlas Flex track that come in lengths of 36" and a few Peco turnouts, but unfortunately, the track connectors are back order.

     It's happening, it's getting very interesting, can't wait to get a loco running.

A plan would be very helpful

     I downloaded a free train design software called SCARM (Simple Computer Aided  Railway Modeller) and started designing something that I would like on the space I had decided on. Instead of starting with something small such as a 4' x 8', I decided on a long term plan of 12' x 35' which I separated into 3 phases.

     After playing around with this software for over 3 weeks, I finally achieved something that I liked. The picture on the right shows phase I. The green tracks are for the passenger train which will be on the two highest level and the blue track will be my freight on the two lower levels. There's about 12" in height difference.

     What I liked about this software was being able to see my design in 3D. The orange building will be the box car yard and the blue boxes will be my container yard. Up on top will be the passenger train station.

I know that my plan will see changes, but the main idea is pretty much settled.

First step is to analyse the area

     I surveyed the available area which I will be using for my layout. I then designed the layout of the tables. I wanted small size tables so that if ever I needed to move my layout, it would be easy. I also made sure that I had no more than 30 inches of reach anywhere around the layout. The one thing that was important for me was to have the maximum possible area for my layout.

     The area on the top right is presently used for office, which later can be added to my layout. The top left area is a room which I'll be using as a working area and then added to my layout ........ always think big.

     I then needed to inform myself on this hobby since I had many questions. I joined a few forums on train modeling, watched many videos, did lots of searches on materials, trains, and everything associated with this hobby. In one of the forums, four questions needed to be answered. 

1. Did I want to just run trains or be able to work train yards, I wanted both.
2. Did I want passenger trains or freight, I wanted both.
3. What era did I want to portrait, I decided on the 1960's
4. What company did I want to run, I opted for Canadian Pacific

      My final decision is as follow, it will be Canadian Pacific in the 1960's and I'll be running both passenger and freight. The passenger train will be a continuous run while the freight will have 7-8 yards which I'll need to operate.