Paul : yes, I thought that was your layout on page 75 !! Now I get it !!
Oh, no, didn't bring a train home yesterday, just repaired a couple freight cars is all !! There's a pretty nice coboose at work I wouldn't mind having, though !!
Thanks, John
csxt30 wrote: pbjwilson wrote: jefelectric wrote: I have a two room layout, old layout is 6'-8" X 10'. Added a shelf layout 12" X 12' went through the wall to the unfinished basement and added a 5' tappering to 4' X 13' layout. Now have about an 85' run on the main line. Paul, I see your picture is on page 75 of the December CTT. BTW, that is a neat idea for a layout. John, Yes I noticed that. I find it offensive that a fallen comrade would be found to be humerous. I am now consulting my lawyer to see if we have a case against CTT and Arttista. Thanks for the compliment on the layout. Paul : I didn't know that was your layout !! Congratulations & hope that guy that fell off the ladder is ok !! Boy, nice layout you have !! Thanks, John
pbjwilson wrote: jefelectric wrote: I have a two room layout, old layout is 6'-8" X 10'. Added a shelf layout 12" X 12' went through the wall to the unfinished basement and added a 5' tappering to 4' X 13' layout. Now have about an 85' run on the main line. Paul, I see your picture is on page 75 of the December CTT. BTW, that is a neat idea for a layout. John, Yes I noticed that. I find it offensive that a fallen comrade would be found to be humerous. I am now consulting my lawyer to see if we have a case against CTT and Arttista. Thanks for the compliment on the layout.
jefelectric wrote: I have a two room layout, old layout is 6'-8" X 10'. Added a shelf layout 12" X 12' went through the wall to the unfinished basement and added a 5' tappering to 4' X 13' layout. Now have about an 85' run on the main line. Paul, I see your picture is on page 75 of the December CTT. BTW, that is a neat idea for a layout.
I have a two room layout, old layout is 6'-8" X 10'. Added a shelf layout 12" X 12' went through the wall to the unfinished basement and added a 5' tappering to 4' X 13' layout. Now have about an 85' run on the main line.
Paul, I see your picture is on page 75 of the December CTT. BTW, that is a neat idea for a layout.
John,
Yes I noticed that. I find it offensive that a fallen comrade would be found to be humerous. I am now consulting my lawyer to see if we have a case against CTT and Arttista.
Thanks for the compliment on the layout.
Paul : I didn't know that was your layout !! Congratulations & hope that guy that fell off the ladder is ok !! Boy, nice layout you have !!
Hey John,
My layout is a few posts up. I hope you dont think the one in CTT is mine. By the way did you bring a train home from work yesterday?
Doug Murphy 'We few, we happy few, we band of brothers...' Henry V.
Yes I noticed that. I find it offensive that a fallen comrade would be found to be humorous. I am now consulting my lawyer to see if we have a case against CTT and Arttista.
Willy1094, I have always had small layouts and have learned to make the most of small spaces by being very creative: cutting, kitbashing and chopping down accessories, cutting down the footprint size of the 027 turnout, etc. My current layout (last one having water damage during heavy rains back in June) is built entirely on blue styrofoam insultation board with a light pine frame, designed to have add-on sections easily removed and the whole thing is light enough for me to move alone.
Don't be fooled by the train mags or the train companies or what you read on the forums. As Phillyreading said, the vast majority of participants in this hobby are tradtional operators with small to mid-size layouts. Even the train company execs know this. The command control and scale segements of this hobby are a drop in the bucket as compared to all us others. Command control users are still estimated to only 25% of the hobby... not great after more than a decade.
Just work with the space you have and have fun. And even looking at the articles on larger layouts in the train mags can give you ideas for your layout. Check out this website for more ideas:
http://www.thortrains.net
brianel, Agent 027
"Praise the Lord. I may not have everything I desire, but the Lord has come through for what I need."
My layout is about 4 x 12. It's built on either side of a wall in my basement. After years of trying to figure out where I could squeeze in a layout, I finally secured this space. The following photo shows the horeshoe curve, my office to the left and main room in basement to the right.
The train returns to my office through the wall hidden by the tunnel at the end of this run. The track is on the countertop of a wall of cabinets.
.
With accessories and a backdrop and lots of lights it becomes a layout.
If space is a concern, (and when isnt it?), shelf type layouts use less space and ussually give you longer runs. Shelf layouts also are somewhat easier to construct as the benchwork necessary is more smple, often just shelf brackets. Take some time to really think through what you want, and can afford, before you plunge in to construction. Good-luck. Lots of good advice and help on this forum when you need it.
Most of the guys in this hobby have some what limited space for a layout. Some of the layouts shown in CTT magazine are of people who have lots of money, I would rather see some of the smaller layouts.
Lee F.
Thanks for all the posts!!! I have two rooms I can choose from. One is a little larger than the other but both seem pretty small. I never really thought about making layer I guess. It will be a while before I get the $ to get a good layout going and I can't wait. I tell you what though. So far this site is a wonderland of know how and insight!!! I thought I knew a little about lionel. Turns out I'm totally lost :) At least now I don't feel so tied up having limited space!
Robert
Personally, I have two spare bedrooms, one is very large about 18 x 25. In that room, I am building a layout 12 x 18. But if you read some of the books and look through some of the magazines, you can really be creative and build quite a layout in a limited space. They had one guy in Brooklyn, NY who had a floor to ceiling layout that had better than 5 levels of track, mostly along one wall with some reversing loops. I would suggest looking through these layout books and developing your own ideas. You will find talent you didn't know you had.
Best of luck,
Dennis
TCA#09-63805
Welcome willy1094,
I have been using an extra bedroom for my layout. Have lived in two or three bedroom houses and have managed to get an extra bedroom anything from 12ft by 16ft to 9ft by 18ft(backporch one time). 027 will work great for older stuff but if you have some longer cars 027 switches may interfere with them. One thing that I have done with 027 is to use track clips underneath to make better connection, Lionel brand or Ives(old company now out of business).
Currently I have an 8ft by 11ft half inch plywood with an upper level 6ft by 4ft with one track overhanging supported by 1 inch by 1 inch wood.
Hello all,
Not sure if this has been covered before, but I'm wondering what the average layout size it. What kind of room are you all taking up to do your layout. I'm looking into putting my layout together and it seems like it is going to take a lot of space! I'm trying to work out something with three lines. One line is going to be O27 for my older engins (becuase I have a lot of O27 track that I do not want to waste) and the other lines will be O54. Thanks for you input!
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