Those interlocking rubber mats build up a lot of static electricity (esp in dry climates)-take this from personal experience. This can be a problem with delicate electronic devices, such as DCC.
Whatever you do for your backdrop, take the time to get it done, and done RIGHT, before you proceed with the rest of the project. Reaching over a layout in any stage of progress to work on backdrops is a major pain, one that I am currently going through as I type, cuz it turns out I didn't like my original work.
Dan
carl425 E-L man tom I'll use throw rugs on the floor when layout construction is done. Throw rugs are a trip hazard for someone that is distracted by something like a cool model train passing through nice scenery. Never mind the potential for injury, you don't want some clumsy old dude crashing down on your layout.
E-L man tom I'll use throw rugs on the floor when layout construction is done.
Throw rugs are a trip hazard for someone that is distracted by something like a cool model train passing through nice scenery.
Never mind the potential for injury, you don't want some clumsy old dude crashing down on your layout.
I want to use rugs that are large enough to be contiguous enough to cover a traffic area without having a seam. Also will use throw rugs that won't fold and bunch.
Also, a correction to my previous post: the flooring IS wood, but again, quite durable and a "finish" on it that resists stain. A good feature for a klutz like me, who has a tendency to be spill-prone.
Lighting will be behind a valance, in a "shadow box" attached to the stanchions (or wall pilasters) that hold the backdrop up.
My basement floor is poured concrete. Once the existing ratty carpet is removed, along with all the other stuff, I intend to use one of the epoxy products to cover it. Where the layout goes will otherwise be the bare (now epoxy coated) floor. Where people stand and walk, I plan on using carpet tiles. They are cheap (especially if you doon;t care if they are all the exact same color - a mixed effect can be quite nice), and if any get messed up because scenery materials dripped on them, you can just lift out the dirty one and put a new one in place. Anything but standing on bare cement.
Layout lighting will be LED strips. Room lighting will be LED panels in the drop ceiling. The planned layout is double decked, so the upper deck will form the lighting valence for the lower deck, and then I will have a valence over the top deck. The layout lighting alone should be enough to run trains, the room lighting will be for construction adn moving about in the basement, I need to get the layout plan fairly finalized before installing the room lighting so I only place lighting panels over aisle and other open areads - with a double deck plus top valence, even though my ceilings are fairly high, a light right over the middle of a benchwork section won't be of much use.
--Randy
Modeling the Reading Railroad in the 1950's
Visit my web site at www.readingeastpenn.com for construction updates, DCC Info, and more.
Are there any drop ceiling LED lighting panels that are fairly economical that can be suggested?
Rio Grande. The Action Road - Focus 1977-1983
Southgate Whatever you do for your backdrop, take the time to get it done, and done RIGHT, before you proceed with the rest of the project. Reaching over a layout in any stage of progress to work on backdrops is a major pain, one that I am currently going through as I type, cuz it turns out I didn't like my original work. Dan
Very good advise. I did this and I am sure glad I did.
Where appropriate, "stall mats" are great for standing on. I recently hit some old muddy ones we had with the pressure washer and they are like brand new. I put them in my workshop to stand on and my feet and back have not stopped thanking me.
Brent
"All of the world's problems are the result of the difference between how we think and how the world works."
riogrande5761Are there any drop ceiling LED lighting panels that are fairly economical that can be suggested?
Go back and check out Brunton's thread on Room Lighting, in the layout forum, and also his current thread, he shows some lighting panels he ordered.
I remember the LED ceiling lights were discussed in the Room Lighting thread.
Mike.
My You Tube
riogrande5761 Are there any drop ceiling LED lighting panels that are fairly economical that can be suggested?
Dave Jones at EEVBlog put soome in his lab, although he's in Australia and who knows if you cna get the same ones he did in the US. First one I looked up, a 2x3 panel is $49, and a 2x4 panel is $95, both are dimmable as well. Found another site with 2x4 units priced from a low of $65 to a high of $100.