Trains have run!

The L.C. & RR had its first run yesterday and it was great fun!
OK so that is a rather rather grandiose name for what was in effect a 14' x 10' loop of track laid in the garden. But I had to lay the track and see a train running to get a feel for what I can do in this scale. You see, I've spent so long working in smaller scales that I had no idea what trains would look like running in the garden.

Just to see a Bachmann 4-6-0 and boxcar and caboose (just over 4' long) navigate this track helped me to get a feel for what I will able to do in the space I have. Obviously I'd like to use as much space as possible. (But I've got to be able to afford to fulfil those particular dreams and I need some ordinary garden left over)

So I think I'll start with a that nice, manageable 14' x 10' and add a few bits to it here and there. Like a reversing loop in the oval and a spur heading out to a terminal station with a small goods yard. It was a real eye-opener to see BIG trains running and what I thought was a big space, suddenly wasn't very big at all.
So now if you'll excuse me, I'm fired up after that running session I'll go and develop some ideas for a proper plan...