Mushrooms anyone?

[Anonymous]

im trying to see if the mushroom concept listed In Jan and Feb 1997 MR and is found on this site I looked at is a valid way to go. http://my-memoirs.com/model-trains.asp

[Anonymous]

weres the not big enough area?

[Anonymous]

Im thinking I would like to divide my wide room into an upper and lower area by dividing it with a mushroom. The articles I have read seem to say that I could get 30% more space.

[Anonymous]

Oh cool well i hope it goes good

[johncolley]

The mushroom concept is great for mainline railroading...IF you have a big enough space to do it right. I did a two level around the room with a helix in a 9x12 room, that I'm now tearing out. I was limited to 24" radius and though it was OK for freight (I only have 40' cars in the late '40's) my passenger train looked like crap. I am now going to larger radius curves 48 to 72" in HO on Free-mo modules. If I had a really large space for such as a club layout I would definitely go for a mushroom. Johncolley Port Townsend, WA

[Noah Hofrichter]

Can somebuddy explain what a "mushroom" is?

Wonderingly, Noah[:p]

[Anonymous]

What the heck is a mushroom?

[Anonymous]

Not since college.

[Anonymous]

For those who are baffled by the mysterious mushroom, I will now attempt my completely amateurish attempt at describing it. (Or save yourself the pain and check out this Fugate guy's site my-memoirs.com/model-trains.asp)

The mushroom appears to be bascially a dividing wall with benchwork on either side at different levels. The bench of the upper scene is the cieling of the lower scene on the other side.

Ok, I give up you definately should go look for yourself.

Catfish

[jfugate]

Maybe I can help ... since I'm the Fugate guy. ;-)

A mushroom is a double decked benchwork configuration where the two decks face in opposite directions. This is unlike a more traditional double decked layout in which both decks face the *same* direction.

MyMemoirs is producing a series of videos about my Siskiyou Line layout which uses a mushroom design. Here's a clip from the video that shows how it works, including some footage of my Siskiyou Line layout that shows the two opposing decks:

see: http://model-trains-video.com

The big deal is that a mushroom gives you multideck benchwork (and hence more layout in the room) but it doesn't *look* double decked.

--Joe Fugate
http://siskiyou.railfan.net

[ndbprr]

I'll take a stab at describing it also. On a traditional multilevel layout you stack one level over another level and view both from the same side and elevation. In a mushroom instead of the backdrop being on the same side for both sections the backdrop is on the side closest to the viewer on one level and away from the viewer on the other. So when you stand on either side of the railroad all you can see is one level. So in order to make a mushroom you have to move the layout away from the wall (or be extremely thin!) and thenyou can raise the floor in the center to a more comfortable level to view trains. The term mushroom comes from looking at a cross section of the railroad and if the backdrops are on the outside of the upper level you get a cross section that well looks like a mushroom ( a little). Drawing one of these things is a nightmare for me and I am an engineer. I have great difficulty thinking in the planes required.

[AggroJones]

If I had enough space to build a mushroom style layout, I would.

[Anonymous]

I just really enjoy mushrooms with a little onion and butter on them.

[brothaslide]

I thought this was a discussion question from The Greatful Dead message boards.

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by brothaslide

I thought this was a discussion question from The Greatful Dead message boards.

Didn't they do a song along those lines, something called "BRING ON THE SHROOMS, YEAH, YEAH, YEAH"???[:)]

[CBQ_Guy]

I would definitely have considered using the concept as it gives you 1 1/2 times more space for a layout. Now a double deck layout gives you twice the space, but the two levels are in your face all the time, and I'm just not real crazy about that look. I know you only tend to concentrate on the level you're running on, but again, when you walk into the train room and look around, I just don't like the appearance generally of a double deck.

The mushroom layout, as I said, gives you 1 1/2 times more layout space, but no matter where you are at in the entire layout, you only SEE one deck. Realize that you have to raise the floor at some points (not 100 percent positive on this. It may depend on layout height.). That's no big deal but the raised floor areas MUST be built very strong. This will make more work and cost you more time and $$ for materials. This may not be a concern for you, but I'm just mentioning it.

So why didn't I go with a mushroom layout? Well my understanding is you need a high ceiling, I'm thinking at least 8 or 9 feet, IIRC, but I only have seven feet in my basement.

[jfugate]

The high ceiling is not an absolute requirement for a mushroom layout ... my Siskiyou Line is in a basement with a 7'-7" ceiling. My lower deck zero height is 54" and the upper deck zero height is 58" with a 15" raised floor.

Paul, since you have 7 fewer inches to work with than me, you could lower everything by 7 inches and still have a very workable design: lower deck 47", upper deck 51", and a 7" raised floor. The separation between decks would remain the same at 13".

Depending on your height (I'm 6'-3") lowering things 7 inches may or may not work well for you. My criteria was that the bottom edge of the upper deck be at the end of my nose (67" from the floor) so I could see all of the lower deck from fascia to the bottom edge of the backdrop. I don't have to be able to see the backdrop itself.

And also, a raised floor is not an absolute requirement either. You could lower things down quite a bit and have the lower deck operators use a chair with casters like Bruce Chubb does on his new layout.

--Joe Fugate
http://siskiyou.railfan.net

[Anonymous]

Wow this great listening to you pros talk about the mushroom concept. Thanks for joining in jfugate. Your layout is quite impressive as is the video footage and graphics on your site. What else do you intend to show in your video? Some experienced layout educating would do me good.

Thanks to the rest of you too. I have had some reservations about the ceiling height issue. I am learning a great deal from this discussion.

Aside from layouts, I like my shrooms stuffed with cheese and stuff.

catfish