brandon412 wrote:new to O scale need help on engine's and layout shelf around 4 walls Brandon, Welcome to the Forum!!A ceiling level layout is always interesting. There are some things to keep in mind however, - Obviously, you want it secure, and don't really want to have to "tend" to it often, can that can be a pain!- Of course the perspective is different, you are looking at everything from below, or at a distance. So need to plan accordingly.- AND, sound can become a real issue REAL QUICK! Because, we are the bottom side of the drum. I am not an expert but I have put ceiling layout up on 3 different occassions. They have all been for G Scale, (LGB trains). But the same scenerios prevail.Many other people may have opinions as well, but here are mine. i am building around all 4 wals of my sons bedroom a shelf for his O scale trains i have been slowly buying i have bought sofar a berkshire 4-84 engine and a lighted passenger set ..my plans is to build this train shelf above the door and around all four ways i have 18 inches from top of door to ceiling and wolld like to build a double decker so i can have two trains that he can control and watch go around his room..because he loved HO scale and now i am upgrading to O scale and what i would like to do on his 12 foot wall is build an X cross over to where one train is going down while on the other is going up and i believe my grade of hill will be 5 inchesThe idea of the X cross over sounds appealing, but there is a LOT of issues. With two trains it is inevitable you WILL have a collision! I considered doing the same for awhile (briefly) and just didn't want to face picking everything up from the floor. There are a number of safeguards you can try, such as independent block control going into the X, or a relay control switching the power to alternate blocks. But those methods can be expensive, and tricky. I considered using self setting switches, but even that is not collision proof. Additionally, you are NOT saving any space, just alter the track that the train is on. (Front or Back). The hill or grade you were mentioning, 5" over a 12 foot length with one train ascending and the other descending. Would mean that the rise or fall would occur within 52" approximately. That would come out to a 9.6% grade! Way to steep. You would need to be around 2.5% to 3% for best operation, which would require a 183" slope. Which would end up about 15' for ascending, and 15' descending. As an alternative, consider running 2 ovals, at different elevations all the way around the room. The advantages are you can run the trains in oppossing directions or the same direction. With one being elevated you can still get some great results. The pictures of my G Scale stuff above, is really interesting when I run them at night with the headlights on. I plan on putting some scenery on the white foam that I have used to raise the back track with. (hillsides, log barriers, farm animals, etc.) Also big advantage is you can have independent control over each train.Will this engine i have sofar pull 4 passenger trains and make it up the hill?I think you might want to reconsider the hill. what type diesel will i need to pull say 8 cars....What does the numbers in trains mean like 4-8-4 does each number stand for certian things? Wheel configuration leading wheels-drivers-trailing wheelsDoes anybody have any ideals they can throw my way of building the shelf i was thinking 6 to 8 inches wide ...Almost any method, securing brackets into studs, or putting a ledge board onto the wall then brackets onto that board. The ledger board provides a little more security insofar as the weight of the shelf is also being supported by the top of the ledger board.How will i have to do my corners?You could be creative and form the curners with the track radius, but it is much easier to just make them right angles and use the space behind for scenery. Oh i have bought over 200 feet of track allready it is all Fastrack? what engines and cars are compatible to this track?Pretty much ALL O-scale, the only ones that would not be is 2 rail engines and cars. On the shelving i was going to get a piece of plexi glass 3 inches to tack down on front of outer board just incase trains tip over ..or can you give me better advise on this?Many people use the plexiglass. I got some 6" carriage bolts, secured them to the shelf using a piece of flat angle bracket. Got some plastic straws, colored them black with a Marks-A-Lot, then put a nut at the top of the bolt, 2.5" piece of black straw, 2 nuts back to back, another straw, then a bottom nut, inserted that onto the bracket and put a final nut on the bottom side of the bracket to hold it all in place. I then got some 60 lb fish line and tied it from post to post. I spaced the posts about ev Don Reply jefelectric Member sinceDecember 2003 From: Central PA 2,536 posts Posted by jefelectric on Thursday, May 31, 2007 10:17 PM Brandon,You might want to check out this thread by Don Baker. He describes and posts pictures of how he built a G scale shelf layout. Should give you a few ideas.http://www.trains.com/trccs/forums/1122634/ShowPost.aspx John Fullerton Home of the BUBB&A http://www.jeanandjohn.net/trains.html Reply CSXect Member sinceAugust 2005 From: Columbus 1,146 posts Posted by CSXect on Thursday, May 31, 2007 6:29 PM Steamers are most often identified by the wheel arangement like a 4-6-2 pacific has 4 leading wheels 6 driving wheels and 2 trailing wheels. 0-4-0 is a loco that has no leading or trailing wheels but has 4 driving wheels ect.......If you hear someone say they used the 0-5-0 switcher they are refering to moving the moldel trains by hand to o gauge. Reply Anonymous Member sinceApril 2003 305,205 posts new to O scale need help on engine's and layout shelf around 4 walls Posted by Anonymous on Thursday, May 31, 2007 6:12 PM new to O scale need help on engine's and layout shelf around 4 walls i am building around all 4 wals of my sons bedroom a shelf for his O scale trains i have been slowly buying i have bought sofar a berkshire 4-84 engine and a lighted passenger set ..my plans is to build this train shelf above the door and around all four ways i have 18 inches from top of door to ceiling and wolld like to build a double decker so i can have two trains that he can control and watch go around his room..because he loved HO scale and now i am upgrading to O scale and what i would like to do on his 12 foot wall is build an X cross over to where one train is going down while on the other is going up and i believe my grade of hill will be 5 inches Will this engine i have sofar pull 4 passenger trains and make it up the hill? what type diesel will i need to pull say 8 cars....What does the numbers in trains mean like 4-8-4 does each number stand for certian things?Does anybody have any ideals they can throw my way of building the shelf i was thinking 6 to 8 inches wide ...How will i have to do my corners?Oh i have bought over 200 feet of track allready it is all Fastrack? what engines and cars are compatible to this track?On the shelving i was going to get a piece of plexi glass 3 inches to tack down on front of outer board just incase trains tip over ..or can you give me better advise on this?I was thinking of using underlayment for shelf with a nice fancy decortive L bracket for support or is there better ways of doing this?Does anybody have any picture's that i can get ideals from similar to what i want to do in sons bedroom? I am sorry i ask tomany questions but really need alot of advice...because i do not want to do anything wrong because it is not cheap doing a project like this for him .... Thankyou Brandon Reply Edit Join our Community! Our community is FREE to join. To participate you must either login or register for an account. Login » Register » Search the Community FREE EMAIL NEWSLETTER Get the Classic Toy Trains newsletter delivered to your inbox twice a month SIGN UP More great sites from Kalmbach Media Terms Of Use | Privacy Policy | Copyright Policy
Brandon, Welcome to the Forum!!
A ceiling level layout is always interesting. There are some things to keep in mind however,
- Obviously, you want it secure, and don't really want to have to "tend" to it often, can that can be a pain!
- Of course the perspective is different, you are looking at everything from below, or at a distance. So need to plan accordingly.
- AND, sound can become a real issue REAL QUICK! Because, we are the bottom side of the drum.
I am not an expert but I have put ceiling layout up on 3 different occassions. They have all been for G Scale, (LGB trains). But the same scenerios prevail.
Many other people may have opinions as well, but here are mine.
i am building around all 4 wals of my sons bedroom a shelf for his O scale trains i have been slowly buying i have bought sofar a berkshire 4-84 engine and a lighted passenger set ..my plans is to build this train shelf above the door and around all four ways i have 18 inches from top of door to ceiling and wolld like to build a double decker so i can have two trains that he can control and watch go around his room..because he loved HO scale and now i am upgrading to O scale and what i would like to do on his 12 foot wall is build an X cross over to where one train is going down while on the other is going up and i believe my grade of hill will be 5 inches
The idea of the X cross over sounds appealing, but there is a LOT of issues. With two trains it is inevitable you WILL have a collision! I considered doing the same for awhile (briefly) and just didn't want to face picking everything up from the floor. There are a number of safeguards you can try, such as independent block control going into the X, or a relay control switching the power to alternate blocks. But those methods can be expensive, and tricky. I considered using self setting switches, but even that is not collision proof. Additionally, you are NOT saving any space, just alter the track that the train is on. (Front or Back). The hill or grade you were mentioning, 5" over a 12 foot length with one train ascending and the other descending. Would mean that the rise or fall would occur within 52" approximately. That would come out to a 9.6% grade! Way to steep. You would need to be around 2.5% to 3% for best operation, which would require a 183" slope. Which would end up about 15' for ascending, and 15' descending.
As an alternative, consider running 2 ovals, at different elevations all the way around the room. The advantages are you can run the trains in oppossing directions or the same direction. With one being elevated you can still get some great results. The pictures of my G Scale stuff above, is really interesting when I run them at night with the headlights on. I plan on putting some scenery on the white foam that I have used to raise the back track with. (hillsides, log barriers, farm animals, etc.) Also big advantage is you can have independent control over each train.
Will this engine i have sofar pull 4 passenger trains and make it up the hill?
I think you might want to reconsider the hill.
what type diesel will i need to pull say 8 cars....
What does the numbers in trains mean like 4-8-4 does each number stand for certian things? Wheel configuration leading wheels-drivers-trailing wheels
Does anybody have any ideals they can throw my way of building the shelf i was thinking 6 to 8 inches wide ...
Almost any method, securing brackets into studs, or putting a ledge board onto the wall then brackets onto that board. The ledger board provides a little more security insofar as the weight of the shelf is also being supported by the top of the ledger board.
How will i have to do my corners?
You could be creative and form the curners with the track radius, but it is much easier to just make them right angles and use the space behind for scenery.
Oh i have bought over 200 feet of track allready it is all Fastrack? what engines and cars are compatible to this track?
Pretty much ALL O-scale, the only ones that would not be is 2 rail engines and cars.
On the shelving i was going to get a piece of plexi glass 3 inches to tack down on front of outer board just incase trains tip over ..or can you give me better advise on this?
Many people use the plexiglass. I got some 6" carriage bolts, secured them to the shelf using a piece of flat angle bracket. Got some plastic straws, colored them black with a Marks-A-Lot, then put a nut at the top of the bolt, 2.5" piece of black straw, 2 nuts back to back, another straw, then a bottom nut, inserted that onto the bracket and put a final nut on the bottom side of the bracket to hold it all in place. I then got some 60 lb fish line and tied it from post to post. I spaced the posts about ev Don Reply
Don
Brandon,
You might want to check out this thread by Don Baker. He describes and posts pictures of how he built a G scale shelf layout. Should give you a few ideas.
http://www.trains.com/trccs/forums/1122634/ShowPost.aspx
What does the numbers in trains mean like 4-8-4 does each number stand for certian things?
I was thinking of using underlayment for shelf with a nice fancy decortive L bracket for support or is there better ways of doing this?
Does anybody have any picture's that i can get ideals from similar to what i want to do in sons bedroom?
I am sorry i ask tomany questions but really need alot of advice...because i do not want to do anything wrong because it is not cheap doing a project like this for him ....
Thankyou Brandon
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