Connection to the outside world
Work in progress: This section is still a work in progress — content is being added and revised continuously.
What is checked? Whether your plan has any connection “to the outside”: a staging yard (confirmed or proposed) or a track running to the baseboard edge (interchange/expansion point).
Why does it matter? Model railways depict a slice of the network. Freight cars that come from nowhere and go nowhere make operation monotonous over time — the connection to the outside world (staging yard, interchange track, link to the next module) is the cheapest way to represent “everything else”. An edge track doubles as the natural expansion point for later.
How to fix it: Plan/confirm a staging yard, or deliberately run one track to the edge.
Numbers & defaults: notice level; edge track = ends ≤ 50 mm before the baseboard edge.