Just a Question

[Anonymous]

Well i'm new here, But like everybody else, I have a question.
I have a very basic layout. Just an oval on a piece of plywood.
(With an enigine and cars of corse.)
Anyway, My layout is on the bottom bunk of my bunk bed.
(Strange place for a layout, huh?)
There's about 17 inches of space between bottom of the top bunk
and the top of my layout. Its about 49 inches from back to front on this layout.
I wanted to know if I need to lower my layout a few inches. Its hard to get to the
back of the layout as it is because the bunk bed is up against the corner of the room. So do you think i need to lower my layout any?
JP18.

[Anonymous]

Well i'm new here, But like everybody else, I have a question.
I have a very basic layout. Just an oval on a piece of plywood.
(With an enigine and cars of corse.)
Anyway, My layout is on the bottom bunk of my bunk bed.
(Strange place for a layout, huh?)
There's about 17 inches of space between bottom of the top bunk
and the top of my layout. Its about 49 inches from back to front on this layout.
I wanted to know if I need to lower my layout a few inches. Its hard to get to the
back of the layout as it is because the bunk bed is up against the corner of the room. So do you think i need to lower my layout any?
JP18.

[Jacktal]

Well 49 in. is quite far to work on scenery and 17 in. is little clearance to lean over your layout.I suppose the lower bunk is never used as a bed so why don't you remove it completely and build your layout on rollers.You could then pull it out to work on it then push it back when finished.You will have to make sure that your benchwork is sturdy enough for this however and probably reinforce your bed frame so that you don't end up railroading in your dreams.........

[Jacktal]

Well 49 in. is quite far to work on scenery and 17 in. is little clearance to lean over your layout.I suppose the lower bunk is never used as a bed so why don't you remove it completely and build your layout on rollers.You could then pull it out to work on it then push it back when finished.You will have to make sure that your benchwork is sturdy enough for this however and probably reinforce your bed frame so that you don't end up railroading in your dreams.........

[der5997]

I think Jacktal has hit the major challenge head on. It's not so much the height, as the distance to the back of the layout. The height will be improved if you can store the lower bunk matress somewhere else, and devise a way to make the layout slide out from the bunk bed frame so you can work on the whole thing.
BTW, you didn't mention the scale. If you are in N, you could probably keep the tracks mainly in the front half and still have a pretty neat layout., with scenery in the back half. Less need to be reaching in back that way.
If you are in HO, then you probably need all the 49 inches.
I'm assuming that the simple oval won't stay that way for ever [:)]
I'm thinking that if you put legs on the front corners of the plywood, with casters on them, you could get the rolling that Jactal suggests. The edges otf the plywood would have to slide on something. 1x3 boards bolted to the bed frame ends might do. (and a little bar soap rubbed on the wood will help lubricate it, just as it does for wooden drawers in a chest.) Countersink the bolt heads so they don't snag up on the plywood as it slides in and out. (And don't forget the eye protection if you are drilling throught he bed frame to make holes for the bolts .)
Have fun with this, Blessings, John.

[der5997]

I think Jacktal has hit the major challenge head on. It's not so much the height, as the distance to the back of the layout. The height will be improved if you can store the lower bunk matress somewhere else, and devise a way to make the layout slide out from the bunk bed frame so you can work on the whole thing.
BTW, you didn't mention the scale. If you are in N, you could probably keep the tracks mainly in the front half and still have a pretty neat layout., with scenery in the back half. Less need to be reaching in back that way.
If you are in HO, then you probably need all the 49 inches.
I'm assuming that the simple oval won't stay that way for ever [:)]
I'm thinking that if you put legs on the front corners of the plywood, with casters on them, you could get the rolling that Jactal suggests. The edges otf the plywood would have to slide on something. 1x3 boards bolted to the bed frame ends might do. (and a little bar soap rubbed on the wood will help lubricate it, just as it does for wooden drawers in a chest.) Countersink the bolt heads so they don't snag up on the plywood as it slides in and out. (And don't forget the eye protection if you are drilling throught he bed frame to make holes for the bolts .)
Have fun with this, Blessings, John.

[Anonymous]

I forgot to mintion that there's about 33 inches between the floor and the layout, and there's no matress on the bottom bunk. (My bed is on the top bunk),
And to make things a little more intresting, the latter to the top bunk is on the front of the bunk bed, not on the side. the latter is removeable so i think i could probably
do what jacktal is talking about, but i don't think i have the space to pull the bunk out far enough to work on the back side , but that's a good idea!
God Bless you to! JP18.

[Anonymous]

I forgot to mintion that there's about 33 inches between the floor and the layout, and there's no matress on the bottom bunk. (My bed is on the top bunk),
And to make things a little more intresting, the latter to the top bunk is on the front of the bunk bed, not on the side. the latter is removeable so i think i could probably
do what jacktal is talking about, but i don't think i have the space to pull the bunk out far enough to work on the back side , but that's a good idea!
God Bless you to! JP18.

[Wdlgln005]

Looks like you will want to lower the layout & provide for some way to slide it out from under the bed when in operation. 33 in may let you reach into the far corner better than 17. One big concern is not to let any part of the bed fall on fragile cars, loco's or structures. Maybe an underbed plastic box with wheels could help. They sell them for college back-to-school sales.

[Wdlgln005]

Looks like you will want to lower the layout & provide for some way to slide it out from under the bed when in operation. 33 in may let you reach into the far corner better than 17. One big concern is not to let any part of the bed fall on fragile cars, loco's or structures. Maybe an underbed plastic box with wheels could help. They sell them for college back-to-school sales.

[der5997]

33 inches off the floor seems high for a bottom bunk. I'm having difficulty picturing your set up. I though of the plywood the layout is on as being on th ematress of the bottom bunk. Evidently not, but if it is resting on the springs of the bottom bunk, how is it 33 inches from the floor? Am I being really thick here? I just can't seem to get your arrangement into my head.

What I was suggesting was to have the plywood the layout is on slide out from it's place on the bottom bunk (at whatever height that is [:)] It would be on legs with casters. I didn't mean for the bunk bed itself to be moved.

Don't want to make a mountain out of a mole hill, as they say. Perhaps you could describe this set up again?

Blessings, John.

[der5997]

33 inches off the floor seems high for a bottom bunk. I'm having difficulty picturing your set up. I though of the plywood the layout is on as being on th ematress of the bottom bunk. Evidently not, but if it is resting on the springs of the bottom bunk, how is it 33 inches from the floor? Am I being really thick here? I just can't seem to get your arrangement into my head.

What I was suggesting was to have the plywood the layout is on slide out from it's place on the bottom bunk (at whatever height that is [:)] It would be on legs with casters. I didn't mean for the bunk bed itself to be moved.

Don't want to make a mountain out of a mole hill, as they say. Perhaps you could describe this set up again?

Blessings, John.

[Anonymous]

Well... for one thing this was not a bunk bed you buy at the store. My dad built it from scratch before i was even born, but back to present, the bottom bunk is so high because there is a dresser under it., and the dresser is just about that high(give or take a few inches). This bunk bed by the way is made out of 2x4's and sheets of plywood. Now can you picture it better? I hope so, and just to make it clearer , my layout is on a piece of plywood that's sits on top of a bunk made of 2x4's, and there is no mattress on that bunk. when i told you that it was 33 inches high, it's more like 30 ineches. See i was mesuring from the floor to the plywood because it sticks out a little.
like i said before, the plywood is on 2x4's, and 2x4's add a few inches. Anyway, i'm sorry for the confuesion. I hope you understand now. God bless, JP18.

[Anonymous]

Well... for one thing this was not a bunk bed you buy at the store. My dad built it from scratch before i was even born, but back to present, the bottom bunk is so high because there is a dresser under it., and the dresser is just about that high(give or take a few inches). This bunk bed by the way is made out of 2x4's and sheets of plywood. Now can you picture it better? I hope so, and just to make it clearer , my layout is on a piece of plywood that's sits on top of a bunk made of 2x4's, and there is no mattress on that bunk. when i told you that it was 33 inches high, it's more like 30 ineches. See i was mesuring from the floor to the plywood because it sticks out a little.
like i said before, the plywood is on 2x4's, and 2x4's add a few inches. Anyway, i'm sorry for the confuesion. I hope you understand now. God bless, JP18.

[Jacktal]

Hard to picture indeed...but I'll give it another try.It seems to me that the room isn't too large either so there's another one of my ideas...may be clumsy though.
It seems to me that your bedframe is of the solid type(2X4s)and could easily allow some modification without much risk to it's integrity.What I'm thinking of is to separate the upper bunk from the posts then reinstall it with hinges to the rear (far) posts and some sort of locks to the front (near) posts.This way you could lift the whole upper bunk to some amount of degrees and have it held there while you work on your layout.
This would substantially increase your clearance for leaning over your work .I don't know how good a carpenter you are nor if the room ceiling would allow it,but since you can't do too much to the lower bunk/dresser combo,it seems a decent option to me.
My two cents........

[Jacktal]

Hard to picture indeed...but I'll give it another try.It seems to me that the room isn't too large either so there's another one of my ideas...may be clumsy though.
It seems to me that your bedframe is of the solid type(2X4s)and could easily allow some modification without much risk to it's integrity.What I'm thinking of is to separate the upper bunk from the posts then reinstall it with hinges to the rear (far) posts and some sort of locks to the front (near) posts.This way you could lift the whole upper bunk to some amount of degrees and have it held there while you work on your layout.
This would substantially increase your clearance for leaning over your work .I don't know how good a carpenter you are nor if the room ceiling would allow it,but since you can't do too much to the lower bunk/dresser combo,it seems a decent option to me.
My two cents........

[Anonymous]

no no no, The dresser is not part of the bunk bed but just under it., but
That's an interesting idea! Kind of hard, but interesting!! I just remembered
something i should have put in from the start. I can lower the layout as much as 3 inches. that's not much, but those inches could make the differance. I'm going to get a little creative here and see if i can put a make-shfit drawing of my bunk-bed on here.

|
|___________________|
|/-------------------------------\ | < top bunk
|___________________|
|---------------------------------| <bottom bunk/train layout
|---------------------------------| <dresser
|___________________| <bottom of dresser&bunk bed

Now do you understand the way my bunk bed is set up? I hope so!
God Bless JP18!

[Anonymous]

no no no, The dresser is not part of the bunk bed but just under it., but
That's an interesting idea! Kind of hard, but interesting!! I just remembered
something i should have put in from the start. I can lower the layout as much as 3 inches. that's not much, but those inches could make the differance. I'm going to get a little creative here and see if i can put a make-shfit drawing of my bunk-bed on here.

|
|___________________|
|/-------------------------------\ | < top bunk
|___________________|
|---------------------------------| <bottom bunk/train layout
|---------------------------------| <dresser
|___________________| <bottom of dresser&bunk bed

Now do you understand the way my bunk bed is set up? I hope so!
God Bless JP18!

[der5997]

OK, that's much more hopeful. Since the bed is all wood, it's going to be far easier to adapt. (No drilling into metal, and that sort of thing.)
Lower away! Get as much head room as you can. If you are able to make the layout plywood slide out, I would go for that. As I've said, legs and casters are worth a thought. You'll need to be sure you can open the dresser drawers , so the legs may have to be 1x3s set on edge, to give as much room for the dresser drawers as possible. If you can fix them to the outside edge of the layout plywood, with a supporting block where the two come together, you should clear the dresser completely.
I'm going on about this sliding thing because I really thnk you will enjoy the layout more if you can get at the far side for construction, etc.

Taking Jacktal's lifting of the upper bunk a bit further, here's a whacky thought. What if you cut the top bunk free, and hung it from a hook in the cieling with a pulley block? (got to find a secure joist in the ceiling for this)
(Don't turn this concept down until you've read the whole idea [ Prov. 18:13] [:)] ) Then, you could lift the bunk up out of the way while you use, or work on, the railroad. To use the bed, lower the bunk back onto it's legs. I would suggest a pocket on each of the lower legs to hold the upper legs firmly in place when the top bunk is down. These pockets would be simply 1x3s again, or similar lumber formed into a box on the top of each of t he cut off legs.
The ropes would hook and unhook from the top bunk, and the cieling, for convenience, as well as a neat look to the room. You'll need a cleat (like they have on flag poles to secure the ropes) to tie the rope to when the bunk is suspended in the air. That would be on a convenient wall.
Are we having fun yet? Blessings, John.

[der5997]

OK, that's much more hopeful. Since the bed is all wood, it's going to be far easier to adapt. (No drilling into metal, and that sort of thing.)
Lower away! Get as much head room as you can. If you are able to make the layout plywood slide out, I would go for that. As I've said, legs and casters are worth a thought. You'll need to be sure you can open the dresser drawers , so the legs may have to be 1x3s set on edge, to give as much room for the dresser drawers as possible. If you can fix them to the outside edge of the layout plywood, with a supporting block where the two come together, you should clear the dresser completely.
I'm going on about this sliding thing because I really thnk you will enjoy the layout more if you can get at the far side for construction, etc.

Taking Jacktal's lifting of the upper bunk a bit further, here's a whacky thought. What if you cut the top bunk free, and hung it from a hook in the cieling with a pulley block? (got to find a secure joist in the ceiling for this)
(Don't turn this concept down until you've read the whole idea [ Prov. 18:13] [:)] ) Then, you could lift the bunk up out of the way while you use, or work on, the railroad. To use the bed, lower the bunk back onto it's legs. I would suggest a pocket on each of the lower legs to hold the upper legs firmly in place when the top bunk is down. These pockets would be simply 1x3s again, or similar lumber formed into a box on the top of each of t he cut off legs.
The ropes would hook and unhook from the top bunk, and the cieling, for convenience, as well as a neat look to the room. You'll need a cleat (like they have on flag poles to secure the ropes) to tie the rope to when the bunk is suspended in the air. That would be on a convenient wall.
Are we having fun yet? Blessings, John.

[Jacktal]

Kind of short of ideas now but I will certainly think about it more,because you're right John,it is fun.I would like to come up with a relatively easy solution so that JP can spend more time on his layout but I can't think of one right now,sorry.
Sometimes difficulties seem like a mountain and we elaborate some fancy solutions that eventually become bigger problems than the original one so I'll set my mind for "simple"and see what comes out.I'll keep posted. Jacques

[Jacktal]

Kind of short of ideas now but I will certainly think about it more,because you're right John,it is fun.I would like to come up with a relatively easy solution so that JP can spend more time on his layout but I can't think of one right now,sorry.
Sometimes difficulties seem like a mountain and we elaborate some fancy solutions that eventually become bigger problems than the original one so I'll set my mind for "simple"and see what comes out.I'll keep posted. Jacques

[leighant]

It's not my business to tell you how to run your life, or your bed, but..... I once thought about building something like a bunk bed layout OVER a full size bed. The layout would be over the bed and I would operate it standing and it would be eye level, and there would be room under the layout to sleep with space comparable to an actual bunk bed. Have you thought of that as an alternative. Move your mattress down, sleep downstairs and put the trains upstairs. Some of this may depend on how tall you are, and there is the question of whether the bed has to be up against the wall. And then you wouldn't have the ladder to worry with. A loop layout could be built over the top bunk and it might be possible to extend a track someday a little off the loop one direction or the other as a shelf with a yard on it or some special industry. Anway, consider that possibility. Consider ALL the possibilities. Draw the layout on paper eveyway you can think of, before drilling any holes in the heirloom bed. By the way, Mr. Jesuspraiser, here in Corpus Christi, Texas where I live, there is a resort owner on Ocean Drive with a minature train he runs around the property and gives free rides to resort guests. It is the Great Ocean Drive Scenic Railroad, abbreviated G.O.D.S.RR.

[leighant]

It's not my business to tell you how to run your life, or your bed, but..... I once thought about building something like a bunk bed layout OVER a full size bed. The layout would be over the bed and I would operate it standing and it would be eye level, and there would be room under the layout to sleep with space comparable to an actual bunk bed. Have you thought of that as an alternative. Move your mattress down, sleep downstairs and put the trains upstairs. Some of this may depend on how tall you are, and there is the question of whether the bed has to be up against the wall. And then you wouldn't have the ladder to worry with. A loop layout could be built over the top bunk and it might be possible to extend a track someday a little off the loop one direction or the other as a shelf with a yard on it or some special industry. Anway, consider that possibility. Consider ALL the possibilities. Draw the layout on paper eveyway you can think of, before drilling any holes in the heirloom bed. By the way, Mr. Jesuspraiser, here in Corpus Christi, Texas where I live, there is a resort owner on Ocean Drive with a minature train he runs around the property and gives free rides to resort guests. It is the Great Ocean Drive Scenic Railroad, abbreviated G.O.D.S.RR.

[Anonymous]

Thanks for all the info guys. Those are a lot of great ideas!
I think I might try one of those ideas when finances permit,
But because of that and other reasons, I can't really do very much
on my layout right now. In fact it might be a good while before I can
do any thing on my layout......I know, I know, why ask these questions then?
Because, I wanted some ideas from some experinced model railroaders,
and I got just that ! like I said, thanks for the ideas and keep them comeing!
I come up with something sooner or later. when i do, if it's possable, i'll put a
picture or two of my layout! God bless, Jesuspraiser18!

Oh by the way, my real name is Michael, and leighant, that name is really cool,
and I live in houston, so you're not to far off.

[Anonymous]

Thanks for all the info guys. Those are a lot of great ideas!
I think I might try one of those ideas when finances permit,
But because of that and other reasons, I can't really do very much
on my layout right now. In fact it might be a good while before I can
do any thing on my layout......I know, I know, why ask these questions then?
Because, I wanted some ideas from some experinced model railroaders,
and I got just that ! like I said, thanks for the ideas and keep them comeing!
I come up with something sooner or later. when i do, if it's possable, i'll put a
picture or two of my layout! God bless, Jesuspraiser18!

Oh by the way, my real name is Michael, and leighant, that name is really cool,
and I live in houston, so you're not to far off.

[der5997]

Michael: Just a parting shot (or two) here. If you do go for lifting the sleeping bunk up for working on and operating the railroad, you'll probably need two "sky hooks" in th ecieling. Be sure to find the joists, not just batten, to screw the hooks in very firmly. Also, about moving the ladder; if you detach it from the upper bunk, and attach it only to the lower one, it will act as a guide for the upper bunk to raise and lower against when moved around the corner and positioned at the end of the bunk. (I think I've got that about right. These refinements came in at 4.10 this morning! )
Blessings, John.

[der5997]

Michael: Just a parting shot (or two) here. If you do go for lifting the sleeping bunk up for working on and operating the railroad, you'll probably need two "sky hooks" in th ecieling. Be sure to find the joists, not just batten, to screw the hooks in very firmly. Also, about moving the ladder; if you detach it from the upper bunk, and attach it only to the lower one, it will act as a guide for the upper bunk to raise and lower against when moved around the corner and positioned at the end of the bunk. (I think I've got that about right. These refinements came in at 4.10 this morning! )
Blessings, John.

[Anonymous]

Thanks! I'll keep that in mind.
Jesuspraiser18.

[Anonymous]

Thanks! I'll keep that in mind.
Jesuspraiser18.