Floor layout idea

[FJ and G]

Most folk associate this w/Lionel. But, here's a different take. I'm in the process of building a 78 inch crossover on a piece of masonite board, which I'll install on my shelf layout (yes, it's O scale). I've got it ballasted and painted the sides of the rails, etc etc, and do you know what?

It actually looks pretty cool sitting on my berber carpet.

It's only about a foot wide but if you add another foot or 2 you can have scenery, structures, spurs etc etc, even a small yard and turntable.

Add to that a small backdrop and you can virtually lay this out all over your house on the floor. Since it's narrow, it presents no problem with walking. Wires can be hid under the massonite. Turnouts can be manual to avoid lots of wiring. Use DCC to minimize wiring as well.

For heavy access areas such as going across walkway (doors), you can either have pull-out sectional track or, design the track as if it is going thru asphalt so that you can step on the track without damaging it since it is embedded in the concrete or whatever.

A huge advantage of this is that your layout can pass windows, doors and even go under furniture; places that would normally be off limits for a shelf or table layout.

Why hasn't this ever been tried? I wonder.

Of course instead of a stool, you'd either sit on a bean bag or lie down prone.

Dave Vergun

[dknelson]

Years ago Model Railroader and Kalmbach's magazine for beginners, Model Trains, used to feature layouts that were meant to roll out from under a boy's bed (well a girl's bed too I suppose but nobody thought of girls as model railroaders back then). So yes it has been done, in both tinplate and HO. You also used to see some layouts built on the principle of a Murphy Bed -- hinged to fold down from a wall.

I have forgotten the man's name (for some reason the name Watty House comes to mind; he was a real model railroader but possibly not the person I am thinking of) but back in the early days of model railroading -- and by that I mean the 1930s -- there was a guy who had a rather large scale (possibly 1/2" = 1') traction layout that was either on the ground or only built up a foot or so. It had no scenery (few layouts did back then) but was quite complex and extensive, and had signals I also seem to recall that he used 110 volts for power on the overhead wire -- yikes! I can see the attraction to looking down as if you are on a high hill, but speaking personally, at my height and at my age I think I would be in agony after a fairly short operating session or construction evening. I can't stand even to operate on double deck layouts.
Dave Nelson

[Anonymous]

Cool... railroading from a bean bag...! [:D]

The LGB track is marketed as "kid proof" - you can walk on it, use it indoors or out, with no ill effects. The only problem is possibly tripping over it.

Instead of DCC, which requires frequent feeders , and may cause you to rethink the "simple" wiring (especially on the floor) you might want to go to battery power with radio control. There are a couple of large scale guys in our club who have done this. With O scale steam it may not be a problem, as the battery power might fit in the tender, but with diesels, you might need a semi-permanent coupling to a boxcar or something like that. That way there is no track wiring, just like the real thing [;)]

Andrew

[FJ and G]

Although there have been many floor layotus of the under-the bed type; this is completely different. It is a linear layout, designed to hug the walls and be out of the way of most foot traffic.

If you were really worried about tripping over stuff, you could design the layout as a desert or prarie type scenery with minimum of mountains and structures sticking up and when you do have those, put them in a corner out of the way.

Again, remember, we're talking linear