I’m asking for opinions and advice on details for a layout room project on the second floor of my garage. Some quick background: been in present house for 20 years; 3 car semi-detached 2 story garage/workshop with a foot print of 24x40 for the garage portion, and a storage/workshop area of 10x20. Although it is one structure, the way way to visualize it is to think 2 rectangles with the small one (10x20) centered on the back of the 40’ side of the big (24x40) one. On the garage level, the 2 spaces are separated by a load bering wall; on the 2nd floor, no separation. The garage level is brick exterior with 3 garage doors; the 2nd story is siding. The roofline (gable style) slopes down to 3’ walls, making the useful interior space only 15’ wide above the garage and only about 10’ above the workshop space. There is a 4’ wide stairwell on one end and three 4’ wide, totally useless dormers centered above the garage doors. Only a 15x15 section, opposite the sairwell and currently housing my my RR equipment, workbench, test track, and paint booth was insulated and dry-walled. Over the past 20 years, while I was busy with work and raising a family the rest of the space quietly became a storage attic.
Originally I was gong to have the 3 dormers torn out and replaced with a 30’ long shed dormer, have new shingles and windows installed, insulate and drywall the full interior and install a min-split HVAC. However, the garage was built in a gable-roof “cottage” style and does not match the house (1950 built hip-roof ranch). I’ve never liked the way it looked, not to mention the “wasted” space between the knee walls and outer walls and the totally useless dormers. Additionally, the windows and siding are of poor quality and have failed or reached the end of their useful life.
After several years of frustration, I began talking to a few friends in the construction business, local codes and inspectors, fellow hobbyists, and family members about what I should (and could) do. I came to the conclusion that it was not worth the money to do a partial repair/rebuild and that the entire 2nd floor had to go and be re-designed and rebuilt.
So the decision has been made; the current 2nd story will be demolished and a new, up-to-code one built. I hired a young architect and he came up with several design solutions. I chose one that allows for the following:
BTW, I took my architect, a non-modeler, to see a friend’s large double-decked Lehigh Valley prototype basement layout. This proved to be worth its weight in “design gold” as it gave him a first hand look at what I was after. He really enjoyed it, too!
I have already designated electrical requirements for the layout room and workshop (separate breaker box, 3x normal outlets along the walls, master kill switches for the layout room and workshop; dimmable can lighting for the room, (layout will have a valence with LED lighting); a built in roof-exhaust port for the paint booth; the layout room and office/workshop can be closed off from the lounge/bathroom/stairwell with a large “barn door”, to allow non RR guests to enjoy the lounge area without being distracted by the layout construction.
The layout, which I’m working on designing for the new 18x28 space, is HO scale, 1939-1950s-ish era, and based on a proto-freelance “what -if” notion that the Colorado Midland had survived and prospered” with a 49% Rock Island ownership (sort of an SP/Cotton Belt vibe). Also planned is a modest section of D&RGW mainline to allow CTC operation of D&RGW locomotives and thru passenger and freight. (I'm not really into CTC, but have friends who are).
The modeled portion of the CM will run from a junction with original CM mainline at Carbondale, CO (just south of Glenwood Springs, CO) along the Crystal River, thru a tunnel under McClure Pass, to the D&RGW South Fork Branch at Somerset, Co, then by trackage rights to Delta, CO where it crosses the D&RGW line from grand Junction to Montrose and Ouray. (Basically, the CM line follows Co HWY 133 from Carbondale to Delta).
A branch from Somerset to the Elk Mountain Anthracite coal fields, along with a possible D&RGW NG connection is planned. A molybdenum and “fictional yet plausible” iron and poly-metallic mining area… sort of a "Leadville" South" is also planned for this branch. From Delta, the CM goes southwesterly via trackage rights with the freelance Great South Western RR to Cortez, CO whereThe GSW continues via staging to "points west". Also at Cortez the CM continues south to Gallup, NM connecting with the Santa Fe and then on to Arizona mining areas and an SP connection. Everything south and west of Cortez is staging. Nominal minimum radius for planning purpose is 30” for the CM and 36” for the D&RGW mainlines and 24” for the branch.
So if any forum members have any advice or comments or criticisms on the new layout space, have at it! Demolition and construction begins in 3 weeks.
Thanks for taking the time to read this admittedly very long post.
Annotated drawing:
GarageProject_Basic_Interior by Mark Mercy, on Flickr
Mark
I don't hope that you'll take this as a snap, but would you please consider posting even a rudimentary diagramme? Ideally, both the space, any impediments to benchwork or train flow, and your hoped-for track system, even just the mains and a yard, maybe the main industries as well.
From there, we can refine your plan, with your agreement, and it will happen like a midnight snowfall...fast and heavy.
Yes, of course. However this post was really meant for advice/comments on the construction of the infrastructure of the actual garage and the room housing the railroad and shop. I only have rudimentry notebook of sketches of possible trackplans, but I'll try getting something worth posting together. Sorry for the confusion. Mark
The Wet Bar! i didn't plan for one. As famous model railroader Bart Simpson would say: "Carumba"
Henry
COB Potomac & Northern
Shenandoah Valley
BigDaddy The Wet Bar! i didn't plan for one. As famous model railroader Bart Simpson would say: "Carumba"
I have a bar and a lazy boy in the trainroom, the older I get the more I appreciate both being close.
I have a fireplace as well though I rarely have it on as it gets hot in a real hurry. Must be all those steamers plying the layout.
If you live in a cold climate a fireplace in the lounge area would be nice.
Brent
"All of the world's problems are the result of the difference between how we think and how the world works."
I read your entire post, and it sounds like it is very well thought out.
It would have been a fantasy of mine to add a second storey to this house as the location for my next layout. I had it all planned out to go over what is currently the garage, master bedroom, and kitchen. That would have provided me with about a 700 square foot "L" shaped train room.
I could have done it with what I am spending on my current remodel, but then my wife would have gotten nothing she wanted, and that would not have worked out.
-Kevin
Living the dream.
tnd.rail Yes, of course. However this post was really meant for advice/comments on the construction of the infrastructure of the actual garage and the room housing the railroad and shop. I only have rudimentry notebook of sketches of possible trackplans, but I'll try getting something worth posting together. Sorry for the confusion. Mark
Yes, of course. However this post was really meant for advice/comments on the construction of the infrastructure of the actual garage and the room housing the railroad and shop. I only have rudimentry notebook of sketches of possible trackplans, but I'll try getting something worth posting together. Sorry for the confusion.
Your description of the physical structure of your garage and the rebuild of the 2nd story makes architecural sense, and I can visualize what the architect has proposed, allowing you to have an 18' x 28' layout space. Since demolition and construction will begin in three weeks, I assume that you are not looking for any advice in this regard.
You do seem to be looking for some advice and comment on your track plan, and in that regard, I agree with Selector that you need to provide at least a footprint of the space to be devoted to the layout itself. It would be further helpful to at least provide a basic track plan, so we get some idea of how the proposed layout space is to be tracked, scenicked, and landscaped. It is pretty difficult for the reader to work from a blank slate.
It is the third point that confuses me. You say that this post was really meant for advice and comment on the construction of the infrastructure of the actual garage and the room housing the railroad and shop. By infrastructure, are you referring to the 18' x28' space itself? Or, are you looking for advice and comment on the entire rebuilt 2nd story? We need some more definition here.
Rich
Alton Junction
I think Homer would like the wet bar more than Bart! . Codes are very strict here. In my case, the 2nd story of the garage cannot have any cooking (stove, oven) nor sleeping facilities. No converting garages to apartments. VRBO/Air B&B rentals are not allowed either. (which is fine with me).A sink is obviusly required in the bathroom and the only way to get a second sink is for it to be designated a "coffee bar" or "wet bar" or similar. But its really there for me to clean up water based paints without having to walk to the bathroom. My paint booth will be sitting on the countertop next to the sink and the space under the paint booth is being left open to house a cart with all my paints, air brush tools and the like.
Hi Rich. "By infrastructure, are you referring to the 18' x28' space itself? Or, are you looking for advice and comment on the entire rebuilt 2nd story? We need some more definition here."
So I was asking for adivce or comments on the structure itself. I thought it would be best to describe what is there now and what has already done as far as planning. Basically... I am asking what have others done in similar situations, what have I or the architect have missed, what could be added. What do you wish you had in your shop or layout room. Perhaps a structural or electrical item that is nice to have in a layout room or shop that is not normally in a build like this. Construction has not started so some changes or adds are still possible. The paragraphs concerning the actual railroad were put in for context.. just a "heads up" of what is planned for the layout room space. I should have left those paragraphs out and saved the trackplanning for another post. My bad.
tnd.rail Basically... I am asking what have others done in similar situations
My N scale "Dream House" empire occupied the entire second storey of our house we had built. It was designed strictly with this purpose in mind.
In the architectural plans, it was designated an "attic" and was completely wide open with no support posts at all. It was not built with water, but I knew I would tap a sink drain into the vent pipe for one of the bathrooms, and cut into the walls in one spot downstairs to access the hot and cold water. This would put a sink in the workshop, but it was never done. There was no way to get a toilet flange upstairs without designating it a living area, so no toilet in the train area. That was a problem.
The room marked "Library" became a lounge for visitors, but it was too small. The workshop was too large.
I would swap the CTC Room & Paint Booth, and the Workshop & Lounge if I were to do it again. I would add a 1/2 bathroom to the lounge/library area.
This house lasted less than three years, but in that time I had the layout functional and partially covered with basic scenery.
Thanks, Kevin. I see you have a seperate "CTC room". I am not certain the D&RGW CTC layout section I mentioned with will even fit with everything else I want, but I had not thought of a dedicated space for the CTC dispatcher!!! I'd like to have the paint booth in a seperate room, but I just don't have the space. I agree with your lounge comment... The "lounge" and the space dedicated to it are important in my case because it helps justify the expense of the project.
tnd.rail . . . I am asking what have others done in similar situations, what have I or the architect have missed, what could be added. What do you wish you had in your shop or layout room. Perhaps a structural or electrical item that is nice to have in a layout room or shop that is not normally in a build like this. Construction has not started so some changes or adds are still possible.
. . . I am asking what have others done in similar situations, what have I or the architect have missed, what could be added. What do you wish you had in your shop or layout room. Perhaps a structural or electrical item that is nice to have in a layout room or shop that is not normally in a build like this. Construction has not started so some changes or adds are still possible.
I recommend you also include installing some Category 6 network drops in lounge area, in the wall behind the TV, in the layout room, and in the Shop / Office area. Run two drops to each location and home run them back to a patch panel which could be located in the shop /office area or the Storage closet. If you put it in the storage closet, add a dedicated electrical outlet so you can add a small wall mount rack to hold the patch panel, a network switch, and a shelf to hold a cable modem to provide internet access.
Navepoint makes very nice inexpensive wall mount equipment racks that won't break the budget. They can also supply the patch panel and shelf.
https://navepoint.com/racks-and-cabinets/wall-cabinets/consumer-series/
Here a couple of photos of the one I put in my house. It is an 18U model but you probably won't need anything larger than a 9U.
Feel free to ask me any questions you may have about networking.
Chuck
Edit: Finally figured out how to get the photos to show up..
tnd.rail I am not certain the D&RGW CTC layout section I mentioned with will even fit with everything else I want
The CTC panel was never built, nor was the signal system. In fact, I don't think I had more than a handful of train cars wired for train detection.
Once the layout was running, we naturally found ways to do it without signals, so the CTC control was moved way to the back burner.
tnd.railI'd like to have the paint booth in a seperate room, but I just don't have the space.
Having the paint booth in the workshop room is not necessary. My new paint booth is in the garage, and that works just fine.
It is very easy to move models to and from the paint booth.
tnd.rail The "lounge" and the space dedicated to it are important in my case because it helps justify the expense of the project.
If you require multiple operators, you need a lounge, or they will hang out in the layout room.
Since the Dream House layout, 30 years ago, all of my model railroading ambitions have changed. Now I just want to play alone, so none of these features will be on the new layout.
Looks like a very nice arrangement for a layout with all the amenities. Judging by how full those amenities are, I am guessing you are not a lone-wolf kind of guy, because those come at the cost of layout space. Personally I'd be tempted to use more of that workshop area for more layout space.
I did notice your have option to move one wall over for more layout space. Perhaps you should refine your layout plan more to be sure you won't need it. Due to my basements longer, semi narrow room, I often wish I had an extra foot or so of width and what how that could improve my layout with wider radius curves and more generous aisle, and wider yard, even by a few inches. But I'm locked in. My minimum radius is 32" but I wish I could have 36" or larger, for example. I could have had that of course, but at the cost of a much shorter mainline run and in HO, that was one of my major wishes.
Scale Drawing: https://atlasrescueforum.proboards.com/thread/3737/jims-layout-topic-blog?page=4
Also planned is a modest section of D&RGW mainline to allow CTC operation of D&RGW locomotives and thru passenger and freight.
I am assuming if your standard guage D&RGW follows the same time frame, you'll be needing brass steam engines since they are not available in plastic. After a few drives through the Rockies back in the early 1980's, I got interested in the D&RGW and being a 20 something and moving around a lot, didn't have any opportunties to build any layouts, so I read up on the D&RGW from steam to then present day 80's Rio Grande.
Are you planning a double deck layout as it sounds like you have a lot planned for a farily limted 18x38 space.
I have only built 3 layouts prior to the one I'm working on now, mostly due to having lived such a nomadic lifestyle. I've got a 15x33 basement space for a portion of the D&RGW from Grand Junction CO west into Utah. My goal is to give the feel of the area rather than try to model it closely.
Rio Grande. The Action Road - Focus 1977-1983
Thanks Chuck. Excellent idea! I forwarded the text and pics to my contractor. Thats quite a system you have!
riogrande5761 Judging by how full those amenities are, I am guessing you are not a lone-wolf kind of guy, because those come at the cost of layout space. Personally I'd be tempted to use more of that workshop area for more layout space.
So the amenities are part of the deal made with the wife. The bathroom was a non-negotiable, as was the lounge area. My wife is into bird and wildlife photography and almost the entire exterior wall of the lounge is windows, which suits her hobby and will bring a lot of natural light. I'm newly-retired and I like doing most types layout construction; scenery is a favorite... so most of the actual build will likely be lone-wolf style, wiring excepted. I've had the good fortune to operate on some very nice layouts and all have had a crew lounge area. I don't anticipate operating with more than 3 or 4; but who knows. There is no wall planned between the shop/office for the reason you stated. Originally, the architect had a wall there, but I asked him to leave it out of the final plans. A non-structural wall to provide along-the-wall layout space can be built if/when necessary.
riogrande5761I did notice your have option to move one wall over for more layout space. Perhaps you should refine your layout plan more to be sure you won't need it.
Well, we just worked out the final configuration of the floor-plan in the past couple of months, and just today decided to leave the west wall (b/t layout room and lounge) as it is drawn. Track-planning wise, I've had to start over from square one as far as the actual track configuration, going from 15x30 to 19.5x28. The old space was only 15' wide and I never could get what I wanted to fit. The 5' knee walls and sloping ceiling precluded double decking anything along the walls, and the 3 dormers at 3'10" wide, were just a total waste. I’m 6’1” so my head would hit the ceiling if I got too close to the knee wall.
riogrande5761My minimum radius is 32" but I wish I could have 36" or larger, for example. I could have had that of course, but at the cost of a much shorter mainline run and in HO, that was one of my major wishes.
I’d love to have 42” curves but it ain’t gonna happen. 36” R is a possibility but for now, like you I’m using 30”-32”R as nominal planning tools. My architect was kind enough to provide me a drawing of the layout room with a 36” grid (so I can use John Armstrong’s “Squares” system for sketching out possible configurations. A 2” track centerline (doubled) and a 32” R will fit in a 36” Square.
riogrande5761I am assuming if your standard guage D&RGW follows the same time frame, you'll be needing brass steam engines since they are not available in plastic.
Correct. As far as I know there are only 2 non-brass DRGW prototype steam locos; the L-105 and the L-107. So unlke the SP or Santa Fe or PRR modelers, if you want to model the Steam era Grande, you gotta buy brass. I began buying D&RGW brass steam in the mid 1990's after reading the Colorado Rail Annual #17. Up till then I had never owned a brass locomotive, but was able fit one per year (most years) into my budget. Again, like you, I was originally planning to model the late 1980's so the steam was mainly a collection thing. But when DCC steam sound became a reality, it really piqued my interest in doing the steam or transition era.
riogrande5761After a few drives through the Rockies back in the early 1980's, I got interested in the D&RGW and being a 20 something and moving around a lot, didn't have any opportunties to build any layouts, so I read up on the D&RGW from steam to then present day 80's Rio Grande.
Same here. I went in the military right after college and was only able build a small switching layouts. After that I was busy getting my new career going and raising a family. I mainly built kits and detailed diesels when I had hobby time available. During several family summer vacations to Colorado in the early 1990's I was able to rail-fan the Moffat from Denver to Grand Junction, the joint line and the Tennessee Pass mainline. I started building a 1980's era Tennessee Pass-based layout in our old house in an 15x23 basement room with 26" min radius. I got the benchwork most trackage and some scenery completed before we decided to move to a larger house.
riogrande5761Are you planning a double deck layout as it sounds like you have a lot planned for a farily limted 18x38 space.
Its about 90 miles from Carbondale to Delta on Hwy 133, so that is a lot of milage to compress into my space. I know I’m not going to be able to fit in everything I want, but I’m willing to some double decking to get the mainline I want. I have a feeling the desired CTC section of D&RGW mainline will likely have to go bye-bye as well the trackage rights on the fictional Great South Western from Delta to Cortez. But the CTC section was always planned an adjunct to the CM anyway, so thats the way it is. One fiction I’m think of using is that the Grande and CM agreed to run DRGW and CM westbound coal empties from Glenwood Springs & Carbondale to Somerset (and the CM Elk Mtn. branch) over the CM trackage and run loads to Delta and on to Grand Junction on the D&RGW. That way, I can justify Grande trains on the CM and vice versa. I’ll try to get some maps and schematics uploaded to illustrate. The branch is planned for a 24” min radius on purpose to differentiate it from the mainline and to limit equipment size. I assume the branch is a former NG line that was standard gauged, like the D&RGW Monarch branch.
riogrande5761I've got a 15x33 basement space for a portion of the D&RGW from Grand Junction CO west into Utah. My goal is to give the feel of the area rather than try to model it closely.
15x33 is a good size room and you don't have a sloped cieling and kneewalls so you get to use the entire space. The main issue, IMHO, with trying to model the Rio Grande, is era. If you want steam era, you have buy brass, (not to mention accurate signature freight cars of the steam era like the Fowler box (Westerfield & Accurail) the GS gons (3d printed available from Cory Bonsall) Pressed Steel 40' Boxcar (available in Resin from Yarmouth). All of these are very nice kits, but cost prohibitive if you want more than a few. If you want post-steam... most all diesels are available in plastic as are freight cars and even Amtrak passenger. But there is so little online industry between Denver and Salt Lake, or on the Tennessee Pass line (or Denver and Pueblo for that matter) and the mines are spread so far apart that it makes it really difficult to model it accurately unless all you want to do is run mainline trains in CTC. I think your idea of getting the feel for an area is the way to go. Plus, you can add what-if industries to give yourself switching opportunities if desired. The Grande is awesome to rail-fan, but difficult to model, which is why I chose the easy way out.
One last thing I'm trying to do with this project is use inexpensive American made (when possible) freight and passenger cars for the CM. Accurail, Tichy and Kadee for boxcars, Tichy, Athearn BB and Varney for tanks and flats, Accurail for 2 bay hoppers; various Old Train Miniature kits and Athearn heavyweight passenger cars. I also picked up a bunch of Bachmann data-only 2 bay coal hoppers, a couple of dozen Life Like wood reefers, Tyco and AHM gondolas, Athearn, MDC and Varney cabooses and other cheap cars on eBay. Most need to have the details, trucks and couplers upgraded and then stripped and repainted. Making decent layout quality cars from inexpensive kits is kind of a bucket list challenge to see if I can build up a good sized freelanced fleet inexpensively. Plus if I mess up a $3.00 Tyco flat, well thats better than messing up a Westerfield kit.
tnd.railMaking decent layout quality cars from inexpensive kits is kind of a bucket list challenge to see if I can build up a good sized freelanced fleet inexpensively. Plus if I mess up a $3.00 Tyco flat, well thats better than messing up a Westerfield kit.
You can do it! I look forward to updates on the fleet.
I built my fleet of freelanced freight cars over the last three years.
tnd.rail Thanks Chuck. Excellent idea! I forwarded the text and pics to my contractor. Thats quite a system you have!
You are Welcome!
It was the first 'home improvement' project I did when I retired from being an Information Technology Director after a 40 yr career last February.
Because I don't what to derail your thread, I'll only say the black enclosure with the green LED's contains three Raspberry PI 4 single board computers, one of which will I be using to run JMRI when I get to the point of needing it.
(I'm in the process of finishing getting my train room space ready to start benchwork.)
If you or your contractor has any questions please feel free to send me a PM and I'll be happy to answer them. I'm looking forward hearing what his thoughts are, as well as seeing what you decide to deploy.
tnd.rail So the amenities are part of the deal made with the wife. The bathroom was a non-negotiable, as was the lounge area. ... There is no wall planned between the shop/office for the reason you stated. Originally, the architect had a wall there, but I asked him to leave it out of the final plans. A non-structural wall to provide along-the-wall layout space can be built if/when necessary.
So the amenities are part of the deal made with the wife. The bathroom was a non-negotiable, as was the lounge area. ...
There is no wall planned between the shop/office for the reason you stated. Originally, the architect had a wall there, but I asked him to leave it out of the final plans. A non-structural wall to provide along-the-wall layout space can be built if/when necessary.
A wise decision and probably more than just a good idea. When I moved to my current home, the basement was unfinished. My wife told me I would have the whole thing. But as I was mulling over the space and how it could be used, there was a 10x11' area at the back where the walkout doors are that didn't really lend itself to the layout, and it seemed better to offer it back to her. So it has now been designated hers for a lounge. The compound miter saw is in there now but I hope to have the lions share of the wood cutting done in the next few months and then she can start fixing it up.
Basement at move-in.
Basic scale drawing to fit the main part of the basement
DIY drywalling in progress:
Walls painted and suspeneded ceiling going in. View is from my wifes lounge area.
I'm using it to cut lumber while the benchwork and subroadbed it going in.
Except for the plumber to run the pipes, we did all the bathroom finishing work; it was pre-framed in.
We also had the electrician wire in 16 4000 temp 2x2 flat panel LED room lights on a dimmer. We installed vinyl plank faux wood flooring ourselves. It's easy to clean up spills.
Began erecting the benchwork Dec 2019; I'm no expert carpenter so only basic skills. The design is nolix with a helix at one end to bring the mainline out of staging and back up to the main yard at GJ. Mostly a single level layout.
A more recent shot. Looks messy but progressing. Staging yard to the right. Main yard will be above on a 2 foot wide shelf.
As for a bathroom, for sure! My previous home was a townhouse and there was no bathroom in the already finished basment. That was far less than ideal as I had to go upstairs back and forth. Plus not having a utility sink for paint cleanup and craft things was a disadvantage.
We couldn't afford to just pay a contractor to do all that stuff you are doing as we just don't have that much money. So we ended up DIY finishing the basement ourselves, only paying a contractor to do wiring and plumbing. We did the whole thing including a full bathroom for under $5k. The main part of the basement and a full bathroom was already framed which helped and the cost was less to finish. The basement bath shower is the best shower in the house! It passed the county inspection Nov 2019 and probably looks better than the upstairs slapped together fast by the builder back in 2005. There is also a 14x14 utility room where I have shelves for the trains and a work area and that all important utility sink! It could be finished too, but that is a low priority right now.
That's a pretty major change plan wise, so naturally the track plan would have to be revised to best fit it.
Givens and Druthers. I've read and re-read my copy of John Armstrongs book, but the chapter on squares was something I couldn't wrap my mind around so I just had to ignore it and go with a standard grid scale and visualize what would fit starting with the major elements like boundaries, doors, etc. and with a minimum radius in mind (32" for me) and certain aisle goals, design what best fits the space. Thats how I came up with the scale drawing I have using 11x17 graph paper, compass, scale rule and erasor shield - old school. It works best for me although I know some prefer software. Different ways to an end.
And those correct plastic steam engines IIRC were minor players during the last 15 years of D&RGW steam, such as the FRA assigned UP Challengers which were quickly off the roster at the end of WW II and there were some second hand ex-N&W or was it Clinchfield articulateds that were done by Life Like in their Powerhouse series some 25+ years ago. AFAIK, all the regular std gauge D&RGW steam is brass only. And due to the cost of brass most of my life, transition era D&RGW has been financialy out of reach for me. Since I finally finished putting my daughter through college I have more disposable income last few years and have been spending a lot more annually on the hobby, but have settled pretty firmly into the 1977-1983 time frame now.
That said, I've seen the D&RGW in the 80's a bit first and my memories of trains are fondest from the 70's and 80's too so it's harder for me to "relate" to something that happened long before I was born, as cook as it is in some ways.
I did have a round robin train club friend back when I was in college at Indiana University in Bloomington Indiana. His salary was quite high, as he put it in the top 3% in the US, and he could afford all the brass steam engines and was working on a 1953 era layout in his basement. I was a poor college student at that time so yeah ... but still interesting to see what he was up to. It got pretty far along and he even bragged about his visit from Toney Keoster. Last I heard someone on another forum said because he used a nail gun to attach the layout to the walls, the nails were coming loose and it was pulling away. He has some local club helping him with the layout but I think that eventually ended and I havent seen any updates in years now.
I started building a 1980's era Tennessee Pass-based layout in our old house in an 15x23 basement room with 26" min radius. I got the benchwork most trackage and some scenery completed before we decided to move to a larger house.
I grew up a military kid and we moved a lot. My dad retired USAF after 22 years in Davis CA - a nice town but I guess I couldn't get that nomadic lifestyle that had been my growing up years to stop, and moved around after that too. In some ways I envy people who can live in one place long term. I was in my last home 4 years and I got about as far as you did on my last 10x18' layout in the townhouse. When my daughter finally finished her biomedical engineering degree at UofR and started her job at Lockheed Martin, it was like getting a substantial raise so my wife and I moved; plus the area we were living at the time was going down hill.
There is so much modeling opportunity all over the D&RGW system. Most seem to do the Front Range or a few Tennesee pass. Both have great scenery. My sisters went to Aspen summer music camp back in the early 80's and my parents tasked me with driving one of them from Davis CA out to Aspen. That branchline is pretty neat. There are some nice photo's of it in some of my Rio Grande books. My most recent acquisition is Jewel of the Wasatch, which is a nice resource for modeling any area's from Grand Junction and westward. The layout I am working on is planned to loosely look like a Grand Junction and westward, but I'm not sure how faithfully I'l be able to do it. Rod Von Bernuth, a long time resident has shared some info on industry and traffic in GJ, so that will help a bit. Of course I won't be able to do a hump yard.
For sure. I've noted the 3D GS gons are for sale on Ebay. The Red Caboose/Intermountain are fairly close stand-in's for those that lasted into the early 80's so I've been working on a small fleet of them. The mine that served CF&I closed in 1982 IIRC. There does seem to have been some local industries in GJ, including White Water cement, some oil related (Conoco?) and there was Fruita so some produce. There was TOFC dropped off there as well.
Your right about plenty of models for the 70's and 80's. We've got the diesels pretty well covered now with Athearn Genesis, ScaleTrains, Walthers etc. I'd like to see some Genesis/ST level GP30's, GP35's and GP40's for the correct Mars lights and plows, a signature look for those geeps. We have lots of Ford auto parts box cars now from ExactRail, Tangent etc. Lots of pretty accurate TOFC trailers and flat cars. I have managed to afford around eight 01400 series brass caboose (Overland) and one (Div Pt) and so far a single of the 01500 EV brass cabooses. I'm hoping Athearn Genesis finally gets around to doing a IC D&RGW caboose. Also nice are all of the colorful per diem box cars a available from Atlas, Athearn and ExactRail. Moloco has been killing my budget past 5 year. Really nice box cars. Of course there is the RGZ, and Genesis finally did a modernized detailed version last year that I got. Only the eyebrow grabs were not quite right. The BLI CZ cars will stand in for RGZ carsr. I am also trying to finish off an early Amtrack CZ that I rode in 1981 and 1990. And although it only detoured over the Rockies, also a pretty correct Amtrak San Francisco Zephyr from Genesis SDP40F's and mostly Walthers heritage phase 1 pointless arrow passenger cars of ex ATSF, UP etc. heritage.
Sparky RailNice plan...As far as infrastructure suggestions, I'm guessing you have an air compressor in your lower level garage/shop? You may want to pop in an air line, so you have air upstairs without ever having to listen to a compressor. I installed one from my garage into my basement work shop, which is adjacent to the proposed train room. I've already used it for several things. Eventually it will provide air for a paint booth.
Yes, I use to do a lot of my own maintence and repairs on our cars (too old for that now) but I still have the large air compressor. The plan is to re-intall it and pipe air thru to a feww pomnts into the garage/woodshop and uptarrin to the RR workshop.