mushroom style layouts?

[trainguy4466]

as trackplanning for my future layout continues, I am becoming more and more aware of the fact that I may not be able to fit all that I want on a single deck in the space that I am allotted. most people solve this problem by building a multi-deck layout, however, I have honestly never been a fan of these, and in my situation, this arrangement would greatly diminish the realism. I am becoming very interested in John Allen's "mushroom" design, as it allows isolation between layout decks as well as enjoyable veiwing heights. I am looking for track plans online that use this system, mainly to gain inspiration for my own layout. has anyone here built a mushroom layout, or knows of a website where a trackplan for one exists?

[steamfreightboy]

There is one that appeared in Model Railroader a little bit ago. I think it was called the Montana Northern or something along those lines. If you are a subscriber you can find it in the trackplan database.

sfb

[ratled]

The Jan and Feb '97 issues of MR had a 2 part article on mushrooms. Also the newer MR book on multi decks talks about them. http://www.kalmbachstore.com/12434.html 

MR advertiser Model Train Videos also covers mushrooms in vol 2 of their 5 part series http://model-trains-video.com/volume2.php

Done right they are very cool

ratled

[markpierce]

trainguy4466

... I am becoming very interested in John Allen's "mushroom" design, as it allows isolation between layout decks as well as enjoyable veiwing heights. ...

John Allen had nothing to do with the mushroom design.  John Armstrong and Joe Fugate promulgated it.

[gondola1988]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YFmTzAW7DMA  This is on u tube and he explains how any why  it may help so with your design and if you leave a comment to get back to you with his plan and construction. Just an idea , Jim.

[trainguy4466]

My mistake about John Allen. I meant John Armstrong. Apologies as I often confuse the two

[gondola1988]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PhiGqObFT_k&feature=related this is the first video  the 2nd is my first post and this is the third  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8yf-ymFAOtA&feature=related hope this helps  it fits in a 2 car garage

[markpierce]

gondola1988

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PhiGqObFT_k&feature=related this is the first video  the 2nd is my first post and this is the third  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8yf-ymFAOtA&feature=related hope this helps  it fits in a 2 car garage

While that layout has multiple decks, it is not a mushroom design.

[Graham Line]

Be very careful of your sequence of construction on a mushroom design. Constructing an upper level over a partially finished lower level could leave you with serious access problems for, say, building switches in place, or other fine work.

[jwhitten]

trainguy4466

I have honestly never been a fan of these, and in my situation, this arrangement would greatly diminish the realism.

 

So does being able to turn around and see the other half of the layout behind you as it wraps around the room. (Just sayin... :-) )

 

John

[Mike Kieran]

I love Joe Fugate's layout because it's a linear layout as well as a mushroom. Some of the mushroom designs that I've seen involve a lot of back and forth between aisles and levels that it becomes tedious.

[BNSFFann]

I have a track plan and construction pictures on my web page that might be helpful.  Check www.bnsfrr.net.

John Parker

 

 

 

[trainguy4466]

jwhitten

trainguy4466:

I have honestly never been a fan of these, and in my situation, this arrangement would greatly diminish the realism.

 

So does being able to turn around and see the other half of the layout behind you as it wraps around the room. (Just sayin... :-) )

 

John

well, in all honsety, I'm not a fan of around the walls designs either. The main problems that I have with multiple-level layouts is that usually only one level is at adequate operating height. This is just my personal preference, and nothing more. I have seen some amazing work done using the multiple level design. the reason I am favoring the mushroom design is because it isolates the two levels from one another, creating the illusion of a one-level arrangement. the design I am working on currently is arranged so that only certain focal points can be viewed at once.

[tatans]

OK, OK,   What is a mushroom layout?  Always remember, when you are using all the mysterious jargon that sailors use when referring to a ship,  just make sure you are talking to a sailor.  thanks.

[trainguy4466]

A 'mushroom' layout is a layout with multiple levels (usually 2) that are built with their backdrops on opposite sides from one another, so that only one level is visible at a time. The floor is usually either raised or lowered to provide comfortable veiwing levels for each deck

[cv_acr]

trainguy4466

A 'mushroom' layout is a layout with multiple levels (usually 2) that are built with their backdrops on opposite sides from one another, so that only one level is visible at a time. The floor is usually either raised or lowered to provide comfortable veiwing levels for each deck

Here's a visual image I found online:

[cv_acr]

My club's layout is kind of a "super-mushroom". It's multilevel AND mushroom design to get a full 6 separate track levels.

http://www.wrmrc.ca/divmap.html

It takes a while to figure out from the track plan where everything goes, since a train progresses through scenes on different levels, but it's actually designed to be easy to follow for an operator. Essentially, from the yard at the centre of the layout, there are 3 directions that trains can go, and an operator progressively follows his train down one of three aisles away from the yard. When a train disappears, it may show up again on a different level, but always in the same aisle it disappeared from. (Hidden trackage and construction gets a bit complicated to achieve this, but actually makes it quite simple for the operator to follow his train.)