Layouts and layout building

The way I deal with wiring is to use hinged boards that swing out to be worked on.

On my triple decker, I use a barber's chair on wheels... permitting me to operate comfortably at any height....lol.....just kidding.

With regard to chairs for seating, you might want to consider buying a drafting chair/stool with casters on the legs that will allow you to roll around from place to place.  The advantage of the drafting chair/stool over regular desk chairs with casters is that the drafting chair/stool seat height can be adjusted from 24" to 34" from the floor.  With this height adjustment, you should be able to use it to sit at benchwork at greater heights, e.g., 50-56".  This is just an idea to share with those of you who can't stand for long periods, but still want a relatively high benchwork.

Bob

Mudbug1001 wrote:

One of my other options, and the one I first considered, was to finish off another "Bonus Room" that the house has and use it (it's odd shaped, but has a total of about 250 sq. feet).  It doesn't have the kneewall issue, but it would need electrical, heating/cooling, insulation, walls, flooring, etc.   So, the expense and time to get started in there would be considerable, but in the long run, would be a much better area.

Two larger-picture thoughts for you...

1st:  You have noted that the other unfinished room is actually preferred, looking at N Scale model railroading, with a long-term lens, over using the bonus room.

2nd:  You could begin modeling, "a module" if you will, in the bonus room.  This layout could then be easily taken from the bonus room, and inserted into the eventual larger benchwork in the unfinished room after it becomes the finished room.

For example, in my case, an HO Scale plan from Model Railroader, The Chippewa Central, is being adapted to N Scale, for the Conemaugh Road & Traction, and; will go up against one of the three walls dedicated to the CR&T on the Lower Level.  The carbarns will go where the original trackplan had stockyards.  Pennsy tracks will also be run around this module, but connected to nothing initially.  Both the CR&T and PRR will be expanded out from this core module with a real estate area of apx. 12-15 square feet, in a usable space of apx. 85 square feet.

By doing something like this, you could begin to sink your teeth into N Scale modeling, and; gain the time to have a luxury most model railroaders could only dream of...

Custom-building an unfinished room's benchwork & lighting with a specific fit to the expanded-layout, and nothing else.  You may even have the ability to build an area for a separate worktable, and perhaps a nook with a cushy chair or two, a small tv, built-in model railroading library shelves, and fridge, to relax with friends while sharing your layout operating sessions.

On my new layout I'm using John Sterling shelving - it's OK out to about 24" wide shelfs. (There are other brands that are similar.) You'd be surprised how much railroading you can fit into 12" or 16" shelfs!! At this point I've put enough supports to be able to do 9' of shelf, and I'm testing different heights and widths to see how they'll work. I find standing for too long affects my back, so I'm leaning towards a two-deck layout where the upper level is more "hard" operating - point to point, lots of switching - and the lower level a continuous run loop for when I want to sit and just watch trains run.

At this point I find a lower level of about 40-42" is about right for me sitting down, gives me about the same angle of sight as the upper level at 58-60" when standing. BTW with a DCC system that allows for radio-control and with DCC-equipped turnouts, I figure I should be able to sit in one place and run the lower layout, since it will mainly be just running trains.

Well I am in the building phase of my layout as well. I took a different perspective on sitting at my layout. I built the benchwork for my layout at 54" above the floor to the bottom of the benchwork so that I could sit in my hobby chair and move around UNDER the layout. I measured, well actually I had my wife measure, my sitting height in my chair then added two inches for clearance and came up with the 54". I really hate to twist and bend and lay upside down under a layout to work on anything, so that is why I made it so tall. As a beneficial side effect, I now have LOTS of easily accessible storage under the layout. By the way the benchwork is steel girders with Luan plywood and 2" foam board on the very top. the overall dimensions are 10' by 12' in an E shape with each leg 10' and the spine 12'. I plan to operate it from several bar stools placed around the area. Each turnout is manual as i also do not like electrical stuff either.