Train Room Questions

[nrobert]

I've been working (on the railroad...) Wait, that's not entirely true. I have, however, been working on the room that my railroad will go in. We had an unfinished space in the basement that I've been finishing over the past few months. 

Now that there are actually walls in the room - and primer on the walls - I've come to something of a conundrum: What color should I paint the walls?

And with that, I pose the following questions:

   1) Did you paint your train room or did you just go with a backdrop?
   2) If you painted it, what color(s) did you go with? 
   3) If you went with the backdrop option, did you go with one theme or mix and match? 



Thanks for your input!

[rtraincollector]

I'm not really going to have any of those options but if I had walls I could paint/do a backdrop I think I would paint the walls a very light shade of blue to start with as you can add clouds and always make it darker or what ever where you need it. I do plan to get ssometype of back drop for my shelf layout which is about 12" from the ceiling all the way around the room. I have green indoor/outdoor carpet on the shelf to simulate grass.

Welcome to the forum don't remember seeing you befor.

[stebbycentral]

I tend to favor backdrops for one reason, I plan to move someday.  In that respect you could get away with a room with blue painted walls, but not a room with blue painted walls with white puffy clouds and purple mountains (above the fruited plains). 

I happened to find some wallpaper at the local home center that has a cloud motif on it.  I applied it directly to the panneling.  One selling point is that it's supposed to be "easy to remove".  I guess we will find out in a couple of years...

[Firelock76]

My train room is a modified shed.  I painted the interior white because I wanted as much light relection as possible.  The back wall over the train table, however, I painted sky blue to match a backdrop I purchased from SceniKing.  Also, the shelves that display the collection on the blue wall are painted blue as well.

All in all, it works out pretty well.

[overlandflyer]

depends what you're modeling...

for CNJ i'd choose a gloomy, overcast gray with just a touch of brown.

 

cheers...gary

(Long Branch transplant)

[dbaker48]

Nrobert,

Here is what I have done.  Wanted to "protect" the integrity of the room, and yet have the versitility for multiple train ideas, and maintain a theme.

nrobert

Now that there are actually walls in the room - and primer on the walls - I've come to something of a conundrum: What color should I paint the walls?

And with that, I pose the following questions:

   1) Did you paint your train room or did you just go with a backdrop?
   2) If you painted it, what color(s) did you go with?

For the most part painted the room, it is an "off white"

   3) If you went with the backdrop option, did you go with one theme or mix and match?

I built a shelf near the ceiling for my G-Scale to operate around the room.  There is approximately 18" between the shelf and the ceiling,  I have some backdrop scenery that I will be putting in that space.  Then below the G-Scale, I have printed heralds from 80 some train lines, and have them staggered in two rows.  (Like a checkerboard.)  Then the remaining wall space down to the top of the train layout is just painted wall.  I have facades in some places for a forced perspective, shelves with trains, and will have some scenery backdrops.

Have fun!  Welcome to the forum!

[jonadel]

We've done a combination of things -- 3 dimensional mountains, flat front buildings and painted walls.  Whatever you decide, DO YOUR WALLS FIRST!!!!!!  When we built our permanent layout we did it backwards, everything but the walls was done first, fortunately we can laugh at ourselves but it was a lesson learned.

If you want to save some big money paint the walls a light blue and add clouds with a simple sponge, it's so easy and it looks great.  We even found pics of hot air balloons and cut them out and put them up on the walls, with different sizes of balloons you can a different perspective easily and it looks good.  I'm about to leave for the weekend and won't be back until Sunday so if you want some pics I could snap a few when I get back.  I might return Sat. night if I can't shake this stupid cold I've caught, ugh.

[KRM]

I painted our basement walls with light blue water sealer paint because they are still the concrete. I hope to get some backdrop at some time but it is costy when you have better than 28' of wall.. So for now it is just blue paint and it is okay with me for now. In hind site I would of spent the $1.500.00 to do the ceiling but I did not have the cash flow at that time. So I would agree with the others spend the time and money now to be sure the room is ready before you build your table.

Then Enjoy!

 

[traindaddy1]

Hi!   Good questions.

My two layouts (O27 and HO) are free standing with aisles around each that allow access to all sides.  There are no backgrounds.  The focus of the room is on the layouts themselves.  For this reason, the walls are painted a light neutral tan.

In the past, I have had layouts that touched a wall or two.  On these, the walls were painted as an extension of the scenery. Immediately above the hills (or mountains), the images painted on the walls gave the illusion of depth. Sometimes they were distant hills or mountains with a very light blue for the sky.

Once I purchased a mural at a tag sale and used it as a backdrop.

There are a lot of options.   I may suggest that, before you paint, you consider what effect you really want to achieve. AND, since many of us often change our perspectives and goals, consider the ease, time and cost of "redoing" a painted wall.

All the best.  ........   Down the road, post some pictures.     Welcome aboard.