A lesson from 'Walkley and Wright'

I spent yesterday assisting my Dad operate his new micro layout 'Walkley and Wright' at the Worksop Transport Exhibition. Built to a 300 square inch challenge the main board is 35 x 8" with a fiddle stick to the right within the area requirement. It's standard gauge but the presence of a Hornby Ruston lends it some narrow gauge flavour.

It is set-up in the same way as 'Shifting Sands', on it's storage box with lighting/pelmet supports bolted on (in fact they are the same ones), sat on a table provided by the venue.

Herein lies an interesting layout design lesson. When 'Shifting Sands', at 2ft deep, is operated like this it is rather comfortable, as the back of the layout is right in front of you and the main area of the layout is all visible. Put a narrow shunting plank there and it is further away and you have to bend over to see where the stock is to uncouple! My 'Plan B' board is a similar depth and this has got me thinking about a few things, with a rash assumption it gets built, is a shunting layout and got invited somewhere...

Maybe a strategically mounted camera would help?

Colin