canazar
It is good to hear that you are on the way back now for some time.
Personally, and before reading the update, I would say go with the long thin option because it will intrude less in the living room which is long and not very wide.
But, if the old layout drops right in, why not go for both with modules in between for when you have your modelrailroad buddies over? You get the best of both worlds, playing with a finished layout while you can keep building too.
It seems possible to have some kind of turnback loop with the long thin version. A turnback loop could be on a drop leaf and even drop below grade to a staging yard.
greetings,
Naomi Immeker
Congrats on getting things back in order, I know all too well what it is like and my congrats is very sincere.
Now, I'd go with the 2 x 11 and here's why: I had a shelf layout after going through your life experiences and a 2' width was overall more enjoyable than a 1' would have been---but that is just me. A 2' allows one to have some structures plus the track work and I happen to enjoy scratch building wooden structures. However, if your preferences are in operations than perhaps a 1' width would be more appropriate.
In either event, enjoy whatever you build and enjoy your life,
Wayne
Modeling HO Freelance Logging Railroad.
So I was going back and forth with what to do, along the wall with long narrow or the shorter deeper. I was stupmed. Well, the other loaction I have room for a 24" by 11.5' layout..... which is the exact size of my current layout. I couldnt belive it. The room is the exact same size as the one I have now.. which means, I can litterally walk in, take 10 minutes to screw in the shelf brackets and slide in my current layout and plug it in. What are the odds!
That's really great!!! However, try and go back and take the measurements from flat on the wall from one end to the other, or from the corners. The reason being, sometimes when the corners of the room are finished off by the dry-wall folks, they are not the same as the outside length, if you know what I mean. The corners can be built up with mud and tape and not make the space as long. It could be shorter by 1/2 inch, and that might make a difference of getting your layout to fit in there. I hope it does fit OK.
Elmer.
The above is my opinion, from an active and experienced Model Railroader in N scale and HO since 1961.
(Modeling Freelance, Eastern US, HO scale, in 1962, with NCE DCC for locomotive control and a stand alone LocoNet for block detection and signals.) http://waynes-trains.com/ at home, and N scale at the Club.
WEll, first sorry to hear of your d-i-v-o-r-c-e. WHat a shame she dumped you like that,.probably means you are better off without her.
Good to see you back! ALmost forgot about you!
Congrats on getting yourself back together. There are other fish in the sea, though the fish population is dwindling due to over fishing and the killing of the waterways.
Now at first I was gonna suggest you build BOTH..one above the other without a connecting run...then I saw your apartment diagram and I was gonna then say why not build BOTH one on each wall! Twice as much fun and enjoyment! MAybe even different eras so you are nto bored!
Then I see you seem to have solved the problem....
But don't forget my ideas, too, maybe you can still work them in! Think of the fun!
Good luck in your new "bachelor life", and in finding the new "right one" for everlasting love.
-G .
Just my thoughts, ideas, opinions and experiences. Others may vary.
HO and N Scale.
After long and careful thought, they have convinced me. I have come to the conclusion that they are right. The aliens did it.
Here we go! I finally a new phone with all kinds of bells and whistles. Also, has a video function.
This link should take you to my Photobucket account and see the video of the layout. 45 secondish long
Best Regards, Big John
Kiva Valley Railway- Freelanced road in central Arizona. Visit the link to see my MR forum thread on The Building of the Whitton Branch on the Kiva Valley Railway
Well, I guess I have made up my mind, I was given a sign!
So yesterday I went to visit new apartment complex., I move in on June 8th, but I was hoping they would have open that I could tour and really get a feel for it. They one were the people were moving end of this week so they gladly gave me the keys and with an open mind and tape measure in hand, I went to check it out. While its not my apartment, the floorplan is the exact.
Plus, the long location, just wont work that well. I was hoping for a longer run, but its only 3 feet more, not enough I guess to justify taking up valuable space.
So, I have it all figured out. I also have a new phone with a great camera. I will take some photos and video tonite and post it up.
Congrates!
Personally, I like deeper scenes over narrow ones. So, I would probably take the shorter, deeper one.
Nick
Take a Ride on the Reading with the: Reading Company Technical & Historical Society http://www.readingrailroad.org/
gandydancer19 Glad you are on your feet again.OK, since this is your apartment and you are the only one living there, I would build around ALL the walls with a width from 6 inches to 24 inches, depending on what wall it was on, but that's just me.
Glad you are on your feet again.OK, since this is your apartment and you are the only one living there, I would build around ALL the walls with a width from 6 inches to 24 inches, depending on what wall it was on, but that's just me.
I was wondering when we'd see an update from John and here it is. I am glad to hear things are really picking up, my friend. As to which of the two layout ideas you should go with, I am really not able to say other than that I know you like detailed scenes that photograph well so on that basis the wider but shorter layout seems more consistent with what you've shown us in the past.
But ....
My hunch is that the good news is going to continue for you, John, and that this apartment might be just an interim step. So I'd think along the lines of, what would be easier to "complete" and operate in the current apartment, be easier to save and move to the next place, and what would be easier to integrate into what presumably would be an even larger layout in the next place. Now maybe the vote starts to tilt towards the longer and narrower switching layout.
And based on your past work I am sure you can make either choice look very nice.
At the risk of delving into more personal stuff, I guess I'd point out that maybe this is not the time to be scaring off any new lady in your life by giving the impression that you want your layout to dominate your living quarters, regardless of where they are or how large or small they may be. I am not sure exactly where that topic should factor into the decision but I am sure you have thought of it too.
Dave Nelson
I am glad to hear that your are back to normal again and that your situation even allows for some MRRing.
Layouts don´t have to be big to have lots of fun building and operating them. After too many yars without being able to run a train, I have just started to build a new layout.
Contrary to other opinions stated so far, I´d go for the shorter version. A width of 12" is not enough room to put up some kind of scenery, which, IMHO, is so essential for the atmosphere of a layout.
Whichever way you are heading, keep us posted on the development.
Glad to hear you are doing well. Divorces are VERY TOUGH, been there got the T-Shirt and burned the dern thing. I agree with the other poster. Do both !
I would suggest the left side, narrow at the bottom, wider at the top, possibly having a removable section between the door and the layout when running trains.
Smile, Stein
OK, here is a picture of the apartment. I downloaded a floor plan off their website then put in the green areas where the layout would go.
The floor plan isnt exactly to scale but more than enough to give the idea. In all likely hood, the couch in the middle will go there. Along the short wall, (told it was 11.5 half feet) will be a short shelf and TV/stero, etc. if I go there, the layout will just go over the tv center.
Along the wall, I will have shelves that will hold the boxes of train stuff, cars, etc. I will also have a small table I think. Keep in mind, this is a little apartment.
Stein brought up a good point and I hadnt thought about it in detail, but at the end, along the wall if I were to go with the long type, I could flare it out to make room for the yard, opening up more for scenery or industry. I admit, I am liking that option. Either way, Im darn excited!
canazar Either way I pick, they will both have a small yard and lots of industrial type switching at the end of the branch line Option 1) 11 feet by 2 feet. Shorter runs, but deeper scenery and track work. Option 2) 15 feet by 1 foot. Shallow scenery but longer runs.
Either way I pick, they will both have a small yard and lots of industrial type switching at the end of the branch line
Option 1) 11 feet by 2 feet. Shorter runs, but deeper scenery and track work.
Option 2) 15 feet by 1 foot. Shallow scenery but longer runs.
Good to hear your business is going well and that you have gotten a bigger place again.
Mmmm - different walls in the same room, or different rooms?Got a picture or a drawing of the room or rooms it need to fit into?
Any chance of making the shelf longer by varying depth along it? Say 18" at widest, down to 6-8" at narrowest?
Any chance of wrapping any of these around a corner?
Glad to hear things are picking up. Is there an option for a flowing edge? Perhaps narrower in some spots and wider in others? I've done shelf layouts that were in the range you're talking about and have used the narrow shelf where there was minimal sidings, pretty much as a breathing room scene between intense ops sections. But if I were limited to one wall, I'd probably do the 11x2 in order to fit in more switching areas and structures (but then I really like structures).
Ha ha, you guys crack me up and never let me down!
Well, to address a few, yes it was nice in many ways to go home. My Mom, was the one who actually got me hooked on trains as a kid. She had an uncle who she adored as a little girl who was a railfan/modeler... She passed on the gene. She has loved the layout.
Well, this is a pretty small one bedroom apartment. 456 total square feet, tiny indeed but its a great complex, within a mile of Union Pacific main line into Phoenix, pool, etc. As much as I would love a full wrap around... yeah, that's not gonna happen.
I did think about the sqaure footage to try and figure it out, and while one would be bigger than the other, the thought of having a mainline run of 15 feet, sound much better than 11. Corny as it may sound, that extra 4 feet makes a bit more of a run. Plus, with the extra 4 of feet will provide more scenery and buildings.
I was part of a club a few years ago but had to stop due to lack of time. I still visit some freinds and have been doing more lately to help scratch the itch. But between work and my volunteer time as a reserve in the Sheriff's Office, "train time" can come when ever I can get.
Ken, my day job I own a offroaf fabrication shop, build bumpers, suspension and a lot of roll cages for jeeps and 4x4's. Been doing that for 13 years, as you can imagine its been up and down the past few years, but this past year, business has been great.
Congratulations on getting through the tunnel. Good to see you were able to do some theraputic modeling, I'm sure it helped.
Now to get my 38 year old son out of my dream layout room. He got asked to leave nearly a year ago. Maybe if he were into model rr he would understand my desire for him to move to another location. Things are still pretty rough for him, so I will bide my time, using my little layout as a place to pratice my skills. (They need the practice.)
I too would look at raising the layout high enouth to be able to go all the way around the room or at least more of it.
Good luck,
Richard
Glad things are looking up for you John. I am still in the tunnel but I see the portal just a head. Good job was turned into a bad job, went into foreclosure then I lost the bad job. Was out of work for most of 2010 and now I have a OK job and making over payments to keep the house. Started a savings account for the next layout and if the bank keeps taking the over payments for 3 more months I hope to start my dream layout.
While I have never got into switching, your current layout looks pretty darn good. My self, I would vote for a around the room layout. At the tender age of 36 you should be able to handle a duck under for quite some time.
What kind of company do you have?
Cuda Ken
I hate Rust
Congrats on your continuing recovery from a bad event.
Now, to your question.
2 x 11 = 22
1 x15 = 15
22 is bigger than 15.
That said, maybe you should try designing a layout for each size; and pick the size/layout that you prefer.
Ed
I have a 2 bedroom apartment. The larger of the two is my train room, I built around the walls, somewhere around 9x15 or so, plus there is an alcove where I have my workbench. I built it to be able to be removed in 8 foot sections, which I proved were easy to carry in and out.
My situation has been pretty similar. I literally had to start over from scratch with new locos and rolling stock. The past year and a half saw me move to this new larger place and actually have room for more than a short linear switching layout, and it's taken off from there.
--Randy
Modeling the Reading Railroad in the 1950's
Visit my web site at www.readingeastpenn.com for construction updates, DCC Info, and more.
You may want to consider joining a local club. Keep your apartment clear with the exception of a small layout and do your big work at the club
Springfield PA
I second Doc Wayne. Really glad to hear the good news.
For the layout, I'm gonna go with the longer one shorter one. Build them both, one in transition, one in modern day equipment.
Again, congrats on digging yourself out of the hole.
Tom
Life is simple - eat, drink, play with trains!
Go Big Red!
PA&ERR "If you think you are doing something stupid, you're probably right!"
Welcome back, John, and congratulations on your successful trip through that particular "tunnel".
canazar .....this 36 year old had to move back home. Tough pill to swallow, but I made the best of it.
.....this 36 year old had to move back home. Tough pill to swallow, but I made the best of it.
I'll bet your parents were thrilled. (I'm speaking as such a parent.)
I hope you'll have room for GERN Industries on your new layout.
(Updated on the 2nd page)
Howdy Everyone,
A little update and a good question.. As some of you guys who have been around this forum a long time may recall over a year ago, I went through a pretty bad, sudden, and unexpected divorce. Really knocked me on my behind and part of the damage was losing the house and my layout that I had built in the garage. Was 14x19, double track mainline dream... Well, as you may remember, due to the divorce and debt I had to deal with, this 36 year old had to move back home. Tough pill to swallow, but I made the best of it. Running on a lot of advice and support from here, I built my "Whitton branch" of my freelanced Kiva Valley railroad.
Well, I am very, very happy to tell you guys that life in the past year has gone very well. My one man, business is booming, I have climbed a good portion out of the hole I was left in, and in early June, I am moving into my apartment that I couldnt be more happy with. I am solidly, back on my feet! or to use a very good pun, I am made it through the tunnel. So for the first part of this thread, thank you for all the support and kind words, I got a lot from this place and helped more than you know.....
So, back in to the train thing, I get to build a new layout! I could possibly take the one I have now with me, but I have all ready decided, i want to build a new one. Everything but the glued sand will be saved and this one will be scrapped. In the new apartment I have 2 places I could build a shelf style layout again...
I am up in the air, but I admit I have found that I am leaning a certain way. But I wanted to throw it out for ideas and discussion and to thank everyone for the supprort.
I have plenty of "background" buildings and supplies from this layout and my old one. So, what would you do?
*I have shorter equipment but still run it all. In fact I still go from my modern day rolling stock to my transition era rolling stock.
*Be using DCC