Show Posts - salshoes

Hi all - glad to find this forum.Other than running a loop around the Christmas tree over the past few years, I am pretty new to model railroading.  Growing up, my dad had a pretty decent setup in our basement, but that lasted until I was about 8, and I’ve now inherited some of his small collection.I’m looking for some help in coming up with a layout.  I’ve built an 8'x10' table with a 2’x2’ hole in the center so I can either operate stuff in the setup or just to reach things.  I am thinking of trying to run three trains in this setup: 1) the NYC Empire State Express, 2) a 2056 engine and tender with 4 Pennsylvania passenger cars (and a caboose if I can find one), and finally 3) a cargo train with 3 boxcars and a Sunoco oil car, pulled by an engine I don’t yet have (I’d like a modern-looking diesel, like an A-B unit).In terms of yard activity and scenery, I don’t have a whole lot (BUT, my son is going to also put his lego train together and will build some scenery if needed).  I do have the Lionel no. 456 Coal Ramp Set with hopper car, two trestle sets, a trestle bridge, some lights, a mountain tunnel and a little watchman house (activiated by the train passing, with the man coming out).The trains are all on the older side, so I guess I have whatever track radius is more “original” to Lionel (maybe that is O27?)  I can easily buy more track, but am not looking to spend a bunch of money – perhaps some basic scenery materials, additional lumber to do some elevation, and a third engine.My big question is really just if an 8x10 layout can handle those three trains without being too crowded?It seems there are a lot of resources for layouts here and on other sites to peruse, but with that list of trains and materials, are there any obvious things I should or should not do?  Are there “standard” or basic layouts for three trains on a table this size?Thanks so much for your help!