building new layout in basement, interested in opinions

[Anonymous]

The room is about 11 1/2' by 15' with two doors on adjacent walls near a corner and wall cabinates down one wall that has a door in it. It has little basement windows up high and is already finished with menards type paneling with a drop ceiling with flourecents. Its smaller than what I had in the other house, and I can't say that the style is all me either, but it is a train room for me to fill with trains. Dilema: I'd like to go around the walls with some lift bridges to get to the center, but I also have shelving for the trains that I like to hang on the walls. If I go around the room and the shelves are low, I won't have any background scenery possibilities. I'm not really sure if this bothers me or not, but does anybody here have any thoughts on this, ie does losing the backdrop screw up the railroad. I am not a scale freak in fact, I will use a lot of the older tin accesories and attempot to build in "The old Model Builder style"

Thanks

[FJ and G]

You could perhaps compromise and have one or 2 walls of trains with the remainder being scenicked. If the layout is on the high side, say 52 to 56 inches, you could also build some display cases immediately below the layout or even in place of fascia.

Keep us tuned in to your progress.

[Jumijo]

Our layout, also in a basement finished room about the same size as yours, is L-shaped. The table is @ 40" high and the backdrops are going to be 16" high. There is plenty of storage space under our table, but I'm also building shelving along the table's ends and on the walls. The L-shape doesn't take up the entire room, so several viewers can watch the trains run comfortably and without having to crawl under the table too get to the center.

A backdrop isn't a must-have by any means, but it does greatly enhance the reality of the layout.

Jim

[FJ and G]

Oh, if the layout is on the low side, then a backdrop of just 16" like Jim's would work and you still could have displays above that.

[Anonymous]

In building in limited space. modular construction seems to work.Three feet out from the wall,36'' high 4ftlong.You still have storage under the layout.put your shelves up high so' you'll have room for your backdrop.The secret in model railroading is to give a little of what your doing ,and peoples imagination will take over from there.Its like Imagioneering.Run the tracks around thr room twice.The tracks will cross over each other.That's when you can build your tressles,and bridges.like to activate the B&B gang.Build the strucktures in a 2% grade, the steepest grade on the CPR maineline is 2%.So you can still be in scale.Any room left over you can put in a small Peninsula for terminal and freight yard work.Everyone would lihe to have unlimited space.So use your priorities of what's important first.You'll do just fine.When you finish your bench work use the spline method,it'll be easier to lay roadbed ,and track to get the gradiant.Lots of HAPPY railroading.Regards HeadHogger.

[Anonymous]

David, thats kind of what I was thinking, the table will be on the low side 34", I know lower than most, but the last few I have built were at that level and it worked good for me plus I didn't have to buy any wood for legs! With the three kids and unpacking the new house, I will be lucky enough to get a 4X8 table up( for the short term, this would make me happy, at least I could run trains.

[Anonymous]

Maybe I should put this in another topic, but I am used to 072 and 054 tubular. With the space being smaller, I was thinking of using042 or smaller rad track to allow more operation. I suppose i could have one wide radius loop and the rest smaller radius. What works for you guys?

[FJ and G]

Ogage,

Nothing wrong with that height; makes for a good sit-down layout.

BTW, 042 is a good compromise.

[Anonymous]

I think my biggest problem will be cutting down on the accesories I want to include! Looks like a lot of you think the same way I do, shelves part way down the wall alittle backdrop and a low table. The L shaped layout is always good, but I like the around the room idea the one side will just be away from the wall closet doors. Building a hinged lift out section is a piece of cake. I'll try to gety at least a little table up by this weekend so I can run something! MUST RUN TRAINS.

[laz 57]

OGAGE,
I too have a layout in the basement.
L shaped bottom part of L five feet wide by 12ft. long. Long part of L 24 ft. by 4 wide.
I use 0-54and 0-42 track on it.
Another thing that I did and maybe you want to incorperate is going upward to a partial second layer. I have my lumber operation built up there along with tressels running out over the main line.
Whatever you do have fun!
laz57

[Jumijo]

Even with the L-shaped layout we have, (41/2 x 8 > 41/2 x 10^) there is only about 4 - 5 feet of unused space. As I said, several people can watch the trains comfortably, but it's close quarters non the less. An around the room layout isn't going to afford much space for people to be in the room. I kept some space behind my layout open for access. It's not right up against the wall. The room looked big until I built a layout table in it.

Jim

[FJ and G]

Your around the room idea with liftout sections is A#1. I'd stick with that and you won't regret it.

If, btw, you are mechanically inclined and have some $$$ to throw around, you could rig up a garage lift device that lifts your shelves up to expose the backdrop when you run trains and then lowers the shelving when you don't.

Added benefits of this are:

1. Your shelving will have a nice backdrop and the backdrop could theoretically extend to the ceiling.

2. It is often recommended that there be a space between the layout and the backdrop to effect a more 3-D look; esp w/hills that slope downward towards the back. It also reduces likelihood of shadows on the backdrop.

[lionelsoni]

Or you could lift or lower the backdrop, in front of the shelves. It would surely be lighter than shelves loaded with trains.

[FJ and G]

Bob,

BINGO!

[MikeSanta]

Do keep one 072 loop if you ever get a big engine, but if most of your stuff is basic O gauge 042 will work fine.

[otftch]

I put a track 7" above the rest of the layout around two walls and across on an angle at the front.I sceniced this with long tunnels so that the bottom track was totally covered
and the top track was covered in places.The upper track then had a series of tunnels (sheds).I squared the top of these sheds and started my first storage on top.that way it blended into the scenery below.The track that angles across the front I did as along trestle. I haven't figured out yet how to put a photo on the web but if you e-mail me i can send some.
Ed

[Anonymous]

Ed, I have thought about doing just what you did only with AF S gage or ho maybe since i have some of that stuff too.

Si far I have hung up some of my remaining shelves and been unpacking trains to stock the shelves. Main reason for this is I don't remember all the stuff i have or where its at. Its all been packed for 6 months. I'll put the stuff I'm interested in out now and maybe sell some other stuff since I don't have the train room I did before. Look like it will be a few months before i can really build a new layout, but until then i have a 4X8 table up down there.

Its funny that my wife thinks we need to unpack stuff before I build a train layout.....[:D] She also thinks she should be able to park in the garage, That may take a while too, Oh well, at least I'm done with the old house, storage shed, and the apartment andcan focus on the new house, geesh relocation is a pita!

I'll try to take some pics of my junk and post em soon.

Dennis