Laramie Engine Terminal could not, by any standards, be described as a ‘large’ layout. At 12ft long (3.7 metres) and 3ft 4ins wide (1.0 metres) , it packs alot into it’s 40 sq.ft. (3.7sq.m.).

There were several key thoughts that determined the design (see further discussion on accompanying pages):

• Big Boys were BIG engines and in O-scale they are also BIG models. The bigger the layout the smaller they will look and it is the engines that are the central characters. So, applying the universal design maxim ‘less is more’ the aim is to capture the essence of the place that was Laramie Engine Terminal and present it in the smallest, simplest way possible.
• Many years of hiring vans to transport layouts made me very keen to build a layout that could be transported in my estate car (station wagon).
• The inside of the roundhouse is at least as interesting as the outside so why not make both visible?