Our RR is built into the berm around our house as you can see in the photo.  This allowed our RR to be raised around the layout varying from 1 to 2 feet.  Our home has a 10 ft overhang on the North end and that is where we built our enclosed train room.  Trains enter and exit through the mountain which is the East end of the room where you can enter through the door on the North West side. The train room was built to store the RR equipment such as buildings, rolling stock, locomotives and the electrical equipment.  In addition it ended up being the staging area for our trains.  The sidings hold two additional trains ready to join the one on the main line or replace the operating train. The NCE DCC system controls the switches and powers the main line approximately 225 feet long.  In addition there is a RRConcepts DC powered track approximately 75 feet long and when it disappears in the mountain (train room) it changes locomotives and adds excitement to the layout.  The trolley system operates from the towns to the industrial area.  There is a pond and waterfall located on the NW corner of the layout giving the RR lakeside property.  We have been changing the layout every year for the last 10 years and it has survived.  We hope that we can go another 10 years.  We run steam and diesel trains and a mixture of odds and ends.