Alright, so I've finally gotten around to planning out my layout after such a long time of doing nothing. One idea that crossed my mind was having two folding layouts that would go against the wall when not in use. One half would have it's own benchwork to support it as well as hold up the end of the other part. The benchwork would remain seperate from the layout and could be pushed off into a corner when not in use. The room I have to work with is about 9X8 feet, with a bed sitting in one corner. I wanted to have one part over the bed when in use, which means it will possibely need extra support. I also wanted scenery, so I was thinking of using a sort of track system for keeping them against the wall.
The big question is: am I crazy?
Whatever floats your boat is ok. We are all a little crazy. We'd rather be in a room by ourselves rather then be with people so that alone makes us crazy to some extent.
davidmbedard Yes. David B
Yes.
David B
Gee, thanks...
However, could this plan actually work, or should I go back to the drawing board?
Crazy may be a bit strong.
What you're suggesting is doable but will require some thought and planning to pull it off.
First off for the part that folds up you have to make sure everything is secured down to the base. That means no loose building, details, structures......ANYTHING. The first time you fold it and something isn't nailed down it's gonna hit the floor. You also should figure that your ground cover is going to 'flake' off from moving it around. Be prepared for your bed and floor to get peppered with it on a regular basis.
Second figure out how much space the "folded up" parts are going to take up in your 9x8 room. You would be surprised how much space you're going to have to devote to storing the benchwork and layout. Can you make sure the "folded up" portion is protected in its stored state? I'm going to assume a twin bed will be in the room, that alone is going to eat up almost half your space for potential storage. Then you need to account for the door allowing entry/exit to the room and possible a window (you didn't mention that) or if there's a closet door. That doesn't leave you much to work with. Some people have stored N-scale layouts under the bed.....
Third, consider how you will get the "folded" portion of the layout onto its supporting benchwork. Will you be able to lift it or handle it by yourself? How heavy will it be? An irregular or unwieldy shape? Moving the layout around may result in damage and the need for constant repair.
hope this helps..
-G-
Just a thought. Make the layout on those plastic folding tables. Lightweight enough to move around, strong enough to handle the weight, they're mobile, tall enough to go over your bed, and wouldn't take up much room in a spare closet. Or for that matter under the bed itself. Buildings you ask? No problem! You can copy me on this one. Not sure what it's called but I got it at Fleet Farm, but it's a magnetic strip half inche wide, I think about 1/8 inch thick and it comes rolled up in plastic packaging. One side of the magnet strip as double sided tape on it. I did this to some test track so I could mess around with my train/cars/power pack and it worked really dang good. Anywho, cut some strips of the magnet, stick them to the bottom of your structures, then cut more pieces of magnet tape to match, line up the magnets, take the cover off the sticky tape and stick it on your layout. Once it's all on you could take off major buildings for storage and put em back one when in use with the magnets. I'll get some pics tonite of it. I'm trying to think of how to use the same concept with the track. Using this method with flex track would keep the the track down good, I rolled over it with N scale GP9 and 11 cars, track didn't move and didn't even sage in the unsupported areas. If I want something a little different just pick up part of the track and add a curve in it, or realign it and add a lake that the track curves around. I'm still working the kinds out on this one, it would be kind of difficult unless I put a layer of magnetic sheet on the plywood top...................hmmmmmmmmmm.
You might try a suspended layout. I used to have a 6' by 6' layout suspended from the ceiling of my son's bedroom. I used a small electric winch to raise or lower it. I designed it with a central control pit so that it would clear the ceiling fan/light fixture in the center of the room. I also included removable legs so that the table was more secure when lowered, since it's pretty hard to work on a layout when its swinging around. A recent remodel and the deletion of this bedroom caused me to remove the layout. As I'm planning a much larger layout in my garage, I gave the layout to the son of a friend of mine so it still lives.
Hornblower
CPRail modelerThe room I have to work with is about 9X8 feet, with a bed sitting in one corner.
Even though I'm an HO modeler, this sounds like you need to consider an N scale layout on a hollow door. This will allow some fun w/ trains until such time as to you end up with a larger more permanant space to work with.
Sound like your ideas may be somewhat impractical at this time for the use of the room.
Modeling B&O- Chessie Bob K. www.ssmrc.org
Building fold-away layouts requires a good deal of craftsmanship and experience. If you do not have that type of knowledge, just do not do it - you will end up frustrated. Why not go for something smaller, say, a 9´ x 2´ shelf-type layout, that could stay in place? If have seen many a good layout of this type, which is very common in Europe.
The pic below shows my current 7´ x 2´ layout:
I vvote for a shelf layout about eye level. That way you can use the room. Portable layouts have a way of disintegrating if not carefully handled. Trees and power lines get knocked of, Buildings are crushed and the vehicles and figures get lost forever, not to mention the trains.
Alright, so perhaps a dual folding layout would be a bad idea. What if I had just one section fold down while the other remained stationary? All I have in my room is a bed and sidetable, which gives me sufficient room for a stationary section of layout.
Is this idea any better?
I'd suggest if you do that, you don't bother with scenery on the foldaway section, and use it just for staging and operations.
Cheers.
I'm trying to model 1956, not live in it.
Hi,
I myself think you are perfectly sane. I was faced with the same issues when it came to space. The solution-there is a lot of unused space above the door frame. So I made a shelf layout that went above the furniture so that it was possible for someone 6'3" to walk underneath without having to duck. The shelf was 12 inches deep and it worked quite well.
Give it some thought, it might work for you.
Frank
"If you need a helping hand, you'll find one at the end of your arm."
OK, I was looking at a 1955 MR today and saw this idea.A layout was built on a table that swiveled in the middle to stand vertically when not in use,and then could be slid to one side of the room. When horizontal ,it was supported by a leg on each end. You'll still have to remove anything not nailed down . This Idea would only be practical for about a 6' long layout if you were 3 feet from the floor. However it could be 8' long with no prob if you swing it on its narrow dimension. Capish??
rekleinOK, I was looking at a 1955 MR today and saw this idea.A layout was built on a table that swiveled in the middle to stand vertically when not in use,and then could be slid to one side of the room. When horizontal ,it was supported by a leg on each end. You'll still have to remove anything not nailed down . This Idea would only be practical for about a 6' long layout if you were 3 feet from the floor. However it could be 8' long with no prob if you swing it on its narrow dimension. Capish??
That's exactly how I'm building my layout, allthough my inspiration came from one of our fellow forum members (Luvadj). I designed and built it to fit through my doorways, so I can move it from one room to another. My layout is only 185x105cm, but I can put a hinged section on one end that folds down behind the upper half of the layout (when vertical), which will make the layout 290cm (about 9' 6") long.
Here's a link to my thread with pics. The layout has been in storage for several months now due to other commitments, but I'm hoping that I'll find some time to work on it this weekend.
Svein