Well, after a long summer sleep the trains are back into business. After the roof insulation on the attic I couldn't stand up straight anymore and the layout had suffered a lot of all the foam I had to place above it. In the mean time also a moisture problem because I'd taken a few shotcuts in the insulation and the roof showed a leak. Both problems solved, but as a result I had to bend my head when standing..
When I visited a friend to see his layout, I was a bit jealous because of his trainroom. He had it in a gardenshed, which was isolated and had a sort of heating to keep moisture away. At home I started to measure things out. I also have a gardenshed, concrete, solid and dry, but there was no space untill I started a thorough cleanup.
Then I made a diversion wall to shield off the part of the shed needed for motorbike, bicycles and moped, laid an insulated floor, insulated the walls and the roof, installed new lights and made a new train table in it.
This is the new room, not finished a few days ago. It's not enourmous, about 9x8 on the widest part, bust sufficient enough to make a small layout. This time I wanted more possibilities to switch around with boxcars, but at the same time another train must be able to drive around.
So this is the track plan (made from a few photo's combined). The track is still the very old Märklin stuff, but I love the toytrain look of it and it still works well if there are enough power hookups. It's a very easy trackplan, no loops because I wanted also a lot of space for the operator and everything should be in easy reach. The loop will be powered from a separate transformer, so the train can run while I switch car's with another train on the switchyards. (a very big word for the few spurs I have).
The result so far is a place which is dry, high enough to stand straight and a lot more light then the old place. The layout should guarantee a better operation and is more prepaired for the use of protosound locomotives which are a living hell when you have to shut down and start up every time I want another train to move; now I can simply put one into neutral or drive two protosound engines at the same time. The downside is a smaller shed on the motorbike side and a fairly simple track plan from which I hope that the switch possibilities keep me from getting bored with it.
Daan...You have a good plan and it looks great so far. Keep us posted.
Chuck
Blueberryhill RR wrote: Daan...You have a good plan and it looks great so far. Keep us posted. Chuck
Good to see you back on here, Daan !! You had a nice attic layout before I think ! You mean that's all gone now ?
Thanks, John
Don
Daan, glad to see you posting - we've missed you on the forum! Looks like a very good trackplan making good use of the available space. Keep us posted on your progress.
dbaker48 wrote:One more vote for convience! No matter how big or great the layout is, if it is a bother or pain for usage, and uncomfortable then it just doesn't get used. I like your idea and layout plans. Just don't get the bikes on the wrong side of the room. Congratulations ! I envy the space, a garden shed?
Yep, a garden shed. We don't have much garages in Holland, the car has to be parked on marked spaces along the roadside. The garden shed is in my case a, for sutch standards, fairly big shed. About 5 x 3 metres. About half of it is in use for the trainroom now. Simple but sturdy concrete construction and dry.
And I can't drive the bike into the shed, I have to push it backwards into the "shed" and apart from a goldwing or dnjepr (russian copy of an army BMW sidecarbike) motorbike they don't have the possibility to back up using the engine. So it stays on the bike side of the shed..
Lionel collector, stuck in an N scaler's modelling space.
RIP Chewy - best dog I ever had.
Modeling the Baltimore waterfront in HO scale
jaabat wrote:Nice to see you posting again, Daan.I've thought about relocating our trains to an outdoor garden shed many, many times. What keeps me from doing it is our rough New England weather. Huge temperature and humidity swings would be hard on the trains and harder for me to get to them. Especially in the winter. If I lived in a more hospitable climate, I'd do it in a heartbeat. Good luck with your new layout.Jim
Humidity and temperature swings are also a problem in Holland, though not as huge as where you live. (between -10 and +35 degrees celcius). Humidity can also swing back and forth, but I have it isolated like a house. It has a heater in it to keep it on +5 degrees celcius in winter, so the moisture doesn't condensate in the trainroom. But insulation and heating is a must. On the attic where I first had my layout, humidity was a bigger problem since it was on the highest point of the house. It's hard to believe wat moisture comes from a gasheater and simple breathing! The only problem I have now is temperature swings, which I hope will be kept in acceptable limits due to the insulation and heating.
Thanks for the warm welcome back everyone..!
Doug Murphy 'We few, we happy few, we band of brothers...' Henry V.
Hello Daan!
Great to hear from you and congratulations on the new train room! I like the composite layout photo.
Did you incorporate your custom voltage controller into the new design?
Regards, Roy
wrmcclellan wrote: Hello Daan! Great to hear from you and congratulations on the new train room! I like the composite layout photo. Did you incorporate your custom voltage controller into the new design?
Yes, I did. It's more like I have to use it, because every single transformer I can get here is not strong enough to power the now complete santa fe F3 set with 3 lit cars behind it. (won an observation lately on ebay; finally I got the set complete.) It is reduced to 1 train control however, because if I use the double controller on 1 set of resistors the trains influence eachother heavily. (that is a logic result of resistor control).
I'm thinking about 2 z750's however, because the MTH protosound engines can not be started with the resistor package. It needs to be done at low voltage, and the resistors only have resistance with a load behind it. An engine in start-mode has about none resistance, so the voltage will be sky-high which is not good for the protosound board. Now I'm using the Märklin transformer for start-up and take it over after it completed the startsequence with the resistor control. It is all a bit complicated, but for now it works.
God bless TCA 05-58541 Benefactor Member of the NRA, Member of the American Legion, Retired Boss Hog of Roseyville , KC&D Qualified
Daan, great to see you back. I had elaborate plans for a three car garage with the second story being for a layout, but after careful consideration and consultation (she said NO), I have gone with the second and perhaps better plan. We are building the layout inside the main house in a large bedroom. It does make for a smaller track plan, but it keeps me in the house and allows for the children to join me more often so I can share my hobby. As several have stated, a large layout means nothing if you can't use it. Good thing about tubular track, it is inexpensive and easy to adapt if your ideas and plans expand. Good luck and please do keep us updated.
Dennis
TCA#09-63805
Our community is FREE to join. To participate you must either login or register for an account.
Get the Classic Toy Trains newsletter delivered to your inbox twice a month