The proposed layout represents the route west from Winchester, across the state line into West Virginia and the Paston Valley, which in real life is the valley of the South Branch of the Potomac River.  The route closely matches that of two shortlines in the area, the Winchester and Western, and the South Branch Valley.

As I am in the midst of seeking out a new home to purchase, the final configuration of the layout may differ significantly from what is shown.  The layout is built sectionally, so the few sections which already exist can be reconfigured to fit an available space, by redesigning certain key sections.  The plan presented fills a 15' x 15' space.

The fictional WP&P intersects the real N&W just north of the town of Boyce, to the southeast of Winchester.  While not included on the layout as a modeled town, I was able to create this vignette as a standard 2 ft. by 4 ft. N-Trak module.  The design of the module was an attempt to maximize the aesthetic potential of the N-Trak standards, but I discovered that the real geography at Boyce maps neatly onto the fictional scene I created (click the links to view aerial photos with annotations).

Layout Design and Rendering by Michael Rountree
copyright © 2005