I have a small layout design that IMHO is the ideal small N-scale layout.
Its got a small yard, 5 industries, an interchange, and non-oval continuous loop in 30" x 54", and building it from scratch including everything from baseboard, a loco and rolling stock, DC powerpack, down to paintbrushes and glue is about $550 if you use Atlas track. Using Bachman EZ-trak will push the price up some, but still inexpensive.
The 2.5x4.5 version here uses Atlas code 80 9.75" curves (plus a few 19" curves). if you swap all the 9.75" with 11", it becomes a 3x5 with no change in cost. The 9.75" should be fine, though, since its basically designed to run under 55-foot cars and a single switcher or road-switcher engine
The entire layout is a repeatable game. It needs one engine and 13 freight cars. My suggested industries: A Chemical Works, a Paper Mill, A Food Processor, ACME products (mangling Coyotes since 1947!), and a Distribution Warehouse, plus interchange. All can take nearly any kind of car. Important when you might sent a Reefer one session to Industry #1 on one day, and Industry #3 the next. (Its Liquid Nitrogen to the chemical works, but to load ice cream at the food processor, and refrigerant at the paper mill)
Here's how it works: Each industry has a car spotted (random for the first time you set up, but after that, it will be the previous session's spots), with the interchange empty, plus the yard has the longer 5-car track full and one of the spurs (total 8 cars). Using dice or chips, 5 cars of the 8 are randomly chosen - the standard Inglenook sidings. At the same time that the cars are picked, a second dice roll determines with of the 5 industries it must go to. You build your 5-car train and deliver to the industries. You also pick up the 5 cars at the industries and put them on the interchange before you place the new train. After spotting the incoming cars, you pick this up off the interchange and return it to the 5-car yard track, park the loco and its reset for the next run.
Its got a small yard, 5 industries, an interchange, and non-oval continuous loop in 30" x 54", and building it from scratch including everything from baseboard, a loco and rolling stock, DC powerpack, down to paintbrushes and glue is about $550 if you use Atlas track. Using Bachman EZ-trak will push the price up some, but still inexpensive.
The 2.5x4.5 version here uses Atlas code 80 9.75" curves (plus a few 19" curves). if you swap all the 9.75" with 11", it becomes a 3x5 with no change in cost. The 9.75" should be fine, though, since its basically designed to run under 55-foot cars and a single switcher or road-switcher engine
The entire layout is a repeatable game. It needs one engine and 13 freight cars. My suggested industries: A Chemical Works, a Paper Mill, A Food Processor, ACME products (mangling Coyotes since 1947!), and a Distribution Warehouse, plus interchange. All can take nearly any kind of car. Important when you might sent a Reefer one session to Industry #1 on one day, and Industry #3 the next. (Its Liquid Nitrogen to the chemical works, but to load ice cream at the food processor, and refrigerant at the paper mill)
Here's how it works: Each industry has a car spotted (random for the first time you set up, but after that, it will be the previous session's spots), with the interchange empty, plus the yard has the longer 5-car track full and one of the spurs (total 8 cars). Using dice or chips, 5 cars of the 8 are randomly chosen - the standard Inglenook sidings. At the same time that the cars are picked, a second dice roll determines with of the 5 industries it must go to. You build your 5-car train and deliver to the industries. You also pick up the 5 cars at the industries and put them on the interchange before you place the new train. After spotting the incoming cars, you pick this up off the interchange and return it to the 5-car yard track, park the loco and its reset for the next run.