HOW BIG is TO BIG

[claycts]

I have been trying to design the best layout since June 2003. I have a very weird space 14x22 above the garage. The roof is at a 45 deg angle so at the 14' point at each side the height from the floor to the new ceiling will be 34 3/4". so using math every foot I come in the roof rises a foot. Hence for a 48"floor to ceiling I will have a 12' 6" space +\-.
With the designs I am coming up with I will have 600ft of track and over 40 turnouts. I am going 100% DCC (Digitrax). I am coming up with te ability to run 7 trains PLUS the yard and Branch areas. I am ONE PERSON NO kids. Am I buiding a maintainence nightmare? I have not even strated the bench or anything untill the drawings are done. I am OVER 50 and hope to be alive to see it run.
I have everybook on layout design in print which is confusing the mattr even more. Time I have plenty of time to work on it, about 25 to 35 hours per week.

The qustion is AM I OUT OF MY MIND? Wife is 100% behind the effort but ahs no clue on the hobby.

[claycts]

I have been trying to design the best layout since June 2003. I have a very weird space 14x22 above the garage. The roof is at a 45 deg angle so at the 14' point at each side the height from the floor to the new ceiling will be 34 3/4". so using math every foot I come in the roof rises a foot. Hence for a 48"floor to ceiling I will have a 12' 6" space +\-.
With the designs I am coming up with I will have 600ft of track and over 40 turnouts. I am going 100% DCC (Digitrax). I am coming up with te ability to run 7 trains PLUS the yard and Branch areas. I am ONE PERSON NO kids. Am I buiding a maintainence nightmare? I have not even strated the bench or anything untill the drawings are done. I am OVER 50 and hope to be alive to see it run.
I have everybook on layout design in print which is confusing the mattr even more. Time I have plenty of time to work on it, about 25 to 35 hours per week.

The qustion is AM I OUT OF MY MIND? Wife is 100% behind the effort but ahs no clue on the hobby.

[Anonymous]

You must think you are or you wouldn't have asked? I personally think you are trying to do too much at once and will loose interest before it's done due to the size and complexity which will lead to boredom due to you never seeing the trains run or an area done. You currently can't even start because you feel you can't start until the plans are final and perfect. Pick a wall and a part of your plan, go buy some lumber and track and do 8'. Run your trains, scenic it, and start adding to the ends. Remember, the trancontinental would never have happened if it had to be planned first. They just started laying track at either ends and passed in the middle. They then went back a ways and joined them. Do it prototypical!

[Anonymous]

You must think you are or you wouldn't have asked? I personally think you are trying to do too much at once and will loose interest before it's done due to the size and complexity which will lead to boredom due to you never seeing the trains run or an area done. You currently can't even start because you feel you can't start until the plans are final and perfect. Pick a wall and a part of your plan, go buy some lumber and track and do 8'. Run your trains, scenic it, and start adding to the ends. Remember, the trancontinental would never have happened if it had to be planned first. They just started laying track at either ends and passed in the middle. They then went back a ways and joined them. Do it prototypical!

[claycts]

NOW THAT MAKES SENSE. I lost the forest because the trees got in the way. I will use the old phase method as you suggested. Get one thing to work then MOVE ON. I knew I was an oldfart but now I understand HOW OLD!

[claycts]

NOW THAT MAKES SENSE. I lost the forest because the trees got in the way. I will use the old phase method as you suggested. Get one thing to work then MOVE ON. I knew I was an oldfart but now I understand HOW OLD!

[Anonymous]

It's experence. It took me 20 years to do my first 8 foot. 18 years was thinking and planning. Then I bought a piece of plywood and started. It took 2 years to do it and learn scenicing. I learned modular for HO. Now it takes me 4 months of spare time to do 8' and I just get quicker and better everyday. Get tired of something, do something else. I haven't touched the main layout now in weeks. I got tired of woodworking so I have been building little buildings out of stripwood. I once went on a tangent and learned to make molds and do plaster building castings. I taught my 6 year old granddaughter to do grass flocking and tree making. She does it now for me. The moral here is delegate and ask for help. You'll be amased what others will and can do for you. Building a model should be a joy and pleasure. Get tired of something, do something else for a while. That's my motto.

[Anonymous]

It's experence. It took me 20 years to do my first 8 foot. 18 years was thinking and planning. Then I bought a piece of plywood and started. It took 2 years to do it and learn scenicing. I learned modular for HO. Now it takes me 4 months of spare time to do 8' and I just get quicker and better everyday. Get tired of something, do something else. I haven't touched the main layout now in weeks. I got tired of woodworking so I have been building little buildings out of stripwood. I once went on a tangent and learned to make molds and do plaster building castings. I taught my 6 year old granddaughter to do grass flocking and tree making. She does it now for me. The moral here is delegate and ask for help. You'll be amased what others will and can do for you. Building a model should be a joy and pleasure. Get tired of something, do something else for a while. That's my motto.

[Anonymous]

What you may want to do is develop an overall plan of what your layout is to do. Write it down, shouldn't be any more than one or two paragraphs. Then when you build your first phase as suggested above you will have a plan in which the first part fits into the whole.

You will find your brain attacking the second phase fairly quickly after you start phase one as you will have to know what the track is doing as it continues beyound the 1st stage.

[Anonymous]

What you may want to do is develop an overall plan of what your layout is to do. Write it down, shouldn't be any more than one or two paragraphs. Then when you build your first phase as suggested above you will have a plan in which the first part fits into the whole.

You will find your brain attacking the second phase fairly quickly after you start phase one as you will have to know what the track is doing as it continues beyound the 1st stage.

[IRONROOSTER]

I agree with getting something running. If you build your benchwork in modules you'll find it easier to rearrange and expand. About half the benchwork in my current layout is from my previous one, because of this. (I also changed scales, but tha't another story). There's nothing like running some trains to keep up interest and finding out what you really like doing.
Enjoy
Paul

[IRONROOSTER]

I agree with getting something running. If you build your benchwork in modules you'll find it easier to rearrange and expand. About half the benchwork in my current layout is from my previous one, because of this. (I also changed scales, but tha't another story). There's nothing like running some trains to keep up interest and finding out what you really like doing.
Enjoy
Paul

[Anonymous]

I think the last one was too big. We lived in Miami, and I had 2 car garage space and built an N scale folded dogbone, my 4th layout. I had allot of prep for the space; wall unit AC, wiring for extra outlets, insulating the garage door, sealing the floors, painting the walls, track lighting, attic blanket, work lights.....phew! Then I started on the 38" benchwork...3" laminated extruded foam. Scale 200' mountain range, mainline, highline, branch line, helper yard, interchange....got it running for the NMRA tour, then began to notice the amount of track cleaning it took despite AC and covering when not in use. It was a club size layout for a club of one. Too big! and now to be honest, I am thinking about getting out of the hobby. You see we moved to Cape Canaveral, and now with even a larger space, I just can't seem to excited about a layout. For the last two months of the old layout, the best I could do was clean the mainline for some loop running. Finally, when we moved there was not room on the truck for the layout modules, so after stripping them, they were demolished, that hurt. Moral, decide if you can maintain it alone, if not......it's too big!

[Anonymous]

I think the last one was too big. We lived in Miami, and I had 2 car garage space and built an N scale folded dogbone, my 4th layout. I had allot of prep for the space; wall unit AC, wiring for extra outlets, insulating the garage door, sealing the floors, painting the walls, track lighting, attic blanket, work lights.....phew! Then I started on the 38" benchwork...3" laminated extruded foam. Scale 200' mountain range, mainline, highline, branch line, helper yard, interchange....got it running for the NMRA tour, then began to notice the amount of track cleaning it took despite AC and covering when not in use. It was a club size layout for a club of one. Too big! and now to be honest, I am thinking about getting out of the hobby. You see we moved to Cape Canaveral, and now with even a larger space, I just can't seem to excited about a layout. For the last two months of the old layout, the best I could do was clean the mainline for some loop running. Finally, when we moved there was not room on the truck for the layout modules, so after stripping them, they were demolished, that hurt. Moral, decide if you can maintain it alone, if not......it's too big!

[claycts]

Thanks people. This why I asked the question. We bought our LAST house and have changed everything except the address. Then I decided to get back into the hobby. I have a few other toys that are suffering because of the trains. 78 Rolls, 80 Vete, 86 Porsche, 85 Jag V12 pus another house in Florida. SO I guess I START with a LITTLE bite and NOT CHOKE on the Hobby.

[claycts]

Thanks people. This why I asked the question. We bought our LAST house and have changed everything except the address. Then I decided to get back into the hobby. I have a few other toys that are suffering because of the trains. 78 Rolls, 80 Vete, 86 Porsche, 85 Jag V12 pus another house in Florida. SO I guess I START with a LITTLE bite and NOT CHOKE on the Hobby.

[Anonymous]

As an addition to this topic, I agree with most of the other members - ONE THING AT A TIME!
I started with a large track plan, took one part of it and started building an "idiot loop", just to get a train going. I knew that one part was temporary and built it as such. As time permitted, I continued building the rest of the benchwork. Then I put down main line track with turnouts in the correct spots and finished up the mainline. I also added one little yard to park stuff. I'm in the process of checking the mainline for any irregularities in the trackwork and fixing those FIRST before I run any sidings or more yards.
One thing that I might mention is that my original trackplan went through a number of minor changes as I built it. This was due to the fact that as I built, I could see that "this" would work better then "that". Now with the mainline running, I've noticed that a major change over "here" would greatly enhance the operation.
Take your time - your track plan will evolve as you go along. But not if you don't start......
Tim

[Anonymous]

As an addition to this topic, I agree with most of the other members - ONE THING AT A TIME!
I started with a large track plan, took one part of it and started building an "idiot loop", just to get a train going. I knew that one part was temporary and built it as such. As time permitted, I continued building the rest of the benchwork. Then I put down main line track with turnouts in the correct spots and finished up the mainline. I also added one little yard to park stuff. I'm in the process of checking the mainline for any irregularities in the trackwork and fixing those FIRST before I run any sidings or more yards.
One thing that I might mention is that my original trackplan went through a number of minor changes as I built it. This was due to the fact that as I built, I could see that "this" would work better then "that". Now with the mainline running, I've noticed that a major change over "here" would greatly enhance the operation.
Take your time - your track plan will evolve as you go along. But not if you don't start......
Tim

[ndbprr]

Nobody has talked about the climate in the area. From your response I assume it is in the north so it will be cold in the winter and hot in the summer. You probably have no insulation either in the roof so you need to spend some effort to insure fairly uniform temperatures year round. Chances are the areas right against the roof are going to vary considerably from the center no matter what you do which could be a problem. Bill McClanahn who was a scenery genius in the old days and wrote one of the best books on scenery said he would never do another attic layout ever. His was in Dallas and he never could control the climate problems plus the slope got to him as he got older

[ndbprr]

Nobody has talked about the climate in the area. From your response I assume it is in the north so it will be cold in the winter and hot in the summer. You probably have no insulation either in the roof so you need to spend some effort to insure fairly uniform temperatures year round. Chances are the areas right against the roof are going to vary considerably from the center no matter what you do which could be a problem. Bill McClanahn who was a scenery genius in the old days and wrote one of the best books on scenery said he would never do another attic layout ever. His was in Dallas and he never could control the climate problems plus the slope got to him as he got older

[claycts]

QUOTE: Originally posted by ndbprr

Nobody has talked about the climate in the area. From your response I assume it is in the north so it will be cold in the winter and hot in the summer. You probably have no insulation either in the roof so you need to spend some effort to insure fairly uniform temperatures year round. Chances are the areas right against the roof are going to vary considerably from the center no matter what you do which could be a problem. Bill McClanahn who was a scenery genius in the old days and wrote one of the best books on scenery said he would never do another attic layout ever. His was in Dallas and he never could control the climate problems plus the slope got to him as he got older

WELL YOU GOT IT. I have put R30 in the ceiling and walls. New windows, Ceiling Floor HVAC, lights, power. Trying to keep the access aisle with 6'0" head min. I am using 3rd plant to do the design along with AutoCadd Arch Desktop. I was a cad trainer so all is being done on the screen 1st. If I can not come up with a logical begininng I have an 1600sq ft basement that I can take about 1100 ft of. It is already heated and a/c. I am in South Carolina. Other house is on Florida and WOULD NEVER even think of a railroad in the attic (if there was one) down there.

[claycts]

QUOTE: Originally posted by ndbprr

Nobody has talked about the climate in the area. From your response I assume it is in the north so it will be cold in the winter and hot in the summer. You probably have no insulation either in the roof so you need to spend some effort to insure fairly uniform temperatures year round. Chances are the areas right against the roof are going to vary considerably from the center no matter what you do which could be a problem. Bill McClanahn who was a scenery genius in the old days and wrote one of the best books on scenery said he would never do another attic layout ever. His was in Dallas and he never could control the climate problems plus the slope got to him as he got older

WELL YOU GOT IT. I have put R30 in the ceiling and walls. New windows, Ceiling Floor HVAC, lights, power. Trying to keep the access aisle with 6'0" head min. I am using 3rd plant to do the design along with AutoCadd Arch Desktop. I was a cad trainer so all is being done on the screen 1st. If I can not come up with a logical begininng I have an 1600sq ft basement that I can take about 1100 ft of. It is already heated and a/c. I am in South Carolina. Other house is on Florida and WOULD NEVER even think of a railroad in the attic (if there was one) down there.