Benchwork ideas for this room

[lionel2986]

Hi everyone,

I'm going to start bench work for a room that is 13 feet by 11.5 feet. My question is, how should I set up the layout? I have 2 restrictions. 1 is the doors on one wall, and the other is a pair of windows on the wall directly across from the door (see picture). That means I can only push the layout up against 1 wall, the wall on side C.

(Click this image to enlarge)

Let me know what you guys think. I usually have a narrow U-shaped layout but I'd like to try something wider. This way I have more actual surface space. I'd also like to build bench work in pieces no larger than 4'x8', and slide them together. This way I can easily take it apart if I should move in a couple years.

Thanks

 

[Wes Whitmore]

I would probably start off with a big T.  3' wide on the vertical right side bench, and maybe up to 6' wide for the horizontal bench that is around 12' long so you can still get around it on the left side and get to those windows.  You could also make it into an H pattern, and still get into the room, and get around to the windows.  The key to your design is that you can go very wide on the horizontal piece and still get around it.  Having a wide layout is pretty exciting to me, at least.  I'm confined to less space for now.

Wes

[lionel2986]

Thanks Wes, I like that idea.

So far I'm going to go with a T-shaped layout and have the top of the T rotated 90 degrees so it is against side C. I have 5 feet from the closet to wall C so I think I'm going to make the vertical bench 4 feet wide and 13 feet long. From the window to the wall C is only 3 feet, but if I have the layout extending 1 foot into the window, I could still open and close it. The horizontal bench will extend 4 feet from the vertical bench and be 8 feet wide. I will probably have to cut an access hole in vertical bench to reach where the horizontal bench blocks. I tried reaching across 4 feet and I think I'll just be able to pick up derailed cars. I don't think it will be too inaccessible. These dimensions will give me 3.5 foot walkway on side A, and 2.5 feet on side B and D. The doors are 2.5 feet wide so I think that should be enough walking space. I haven't yet decided where to put the control panel, but being that I have the most walking space on side A, I will probably put it there.

Or I could go with a simple square 8x8 layout. :) I'm going to order the 0-27 RR-track library and see what I can do with both shapes to decide.

[mitchelr]

Wow you have a great space.  I like the t-shape with the wide spaces. My layout is in a 5 by 9 broom closet. One side is about 34 inch width table and the other is about 20 inches with a drop bridge over the door way. I have a u-shape that wraps around the walls.  The center aisle is wide enough for me to stand in,  with about a foot or so of free space ( 6 inches on each side).

Mitch 

[Anonymous]

Wow you have a great space.  I like the t-shape with the wide spaces. My layout is in a 5 by 9 broom closet. One side is about 34 inch width table and the other is about 20 inches with a drop bridge over the door way. I have a u-shape that wraps around the walls.  The center aisle is wide enough for me to stand in,  with about a foot or so of free space ( 6 inches on each side).

Mitch 

  if facing the same thing i am not sure how i want my layout....

 

wow mitch you got any pics?

 

im facing the same dilima sorta...i have 16 x8 to work with though 

[ezmike]

My room is the same size and configuration but I'm not worried about the windows. Since I'm better at seeing the concept instead of mentally visualizing it could any of you post a drawing of the design you are suggesting?

I would greatly appreciate it.

Mike

[thor]

Here's a daft idea for you, well, sort of semi-serious - its what I'd like to do if I had the same situation.

Where the two doors are, the room and closet? Build a spiral before the room door to climb up enough to clear the top of the doors swing, run at ceiling height then spiral back down past the closet door. The benefits are you don't lose the closet or block the door and if you scenicked/background a mountain, you'd have a sort of realistic runtime as the trains entered the mountain tunnel and before they emerged out the other side. I always think that its the journey time rather than the tight bends that ruin the illusion, I always like to have a mountain section so trains can enter, then wait, giving the illusion they have travelled much further.

If you made a solid spiral and then a removable cover - in case of accidents - you'd be in good shape.

Of course you could simply remove the doors and have lifting bridge sections going across them, replace the doors with a curtain of some kind perhaps?

[fifedog]

Window-schmindow.  I'd go around the wall - bench work 4 feet deep, with 5 foot deep at each end to allow O-54 return loops.  That's a pretty modest run.

[lionel2986]

ezmike - Here is a quick picture I made. It isn't exactly to scale. I might have a little less aisle space:

(Gray would be control panel)

thor -  That is a good idea and i'll have to keep that in mind when I decide its time to build something permanent. I'm going to stay away from mountains this time. I think this layout will last 5 years and then I’ll move.

fifedog - I like your thinking. Although to me, larger radius turns sort of make small layouts look smaller as the straights aren't as long. I'll have to see how this all looks on RR-track. So far I'm going with O-42 on two planed mains but I'll definetly try 0-54 and see how it looks.

 

[lionelsoni]

Fifedog is right:  Put the trains around the walls, put the people in the middle.  You'll get much longer runs that way.  The only concession I would make to the windows is to keep the layout in front of them skinny enough so that you can reach them.

You could do a dogbone bent into a "C" shape, to avoid the doors, or a complete loop.  If a complete loop, pull enough of it back from the doors so that they can open and put in a duck-under, lift-out, or operating bridge.  Consider removing the closet door if that is an option and reversing the hinges on the main door, to get the layout closer to the door openings.

As for portability, my solution is to concentrate the layout complexity in the corners, but to connect those corner modules with straight tangent tracks.  When I move, all I have to do is readjust the lengths of those simple straight sections.  The corner modules don't change.

In the corners, use spiral curves, like O54-O34-O54.  They're prototypical.  It's very hard to see that shorter radius in the middle of the curve.  They let you put the curve close to the wall, since there is little swing-out at the ends of the curve.  And they take up little more room than if you used the shorter radius only.

[O3siggah]

I agree with Lionelsoni.  If you can work with a low layout you can avoid most of the window problems.  My previous layout was in a room approximately 10 1/2 ft. by 11 1/2 ft. and I actually had an 072 mainline with a passing siding and looped itself up over part of the passing siding.  The only downside was that it required about 4%  grades and  two sections of lift-outs to allow me into the middle.  My room entrance was where your closet door is and a closet space without a door  was  at the location of your entry.   The area of the layout from the  entry corner was  pushed back from the your entry door area wall about 2 ft. and then skewed towards the adjacent corner.  The "conflicted" areas were narrow (about 18 inches) and the other were no more than 32 inches wide.  Hope this gives you some added ideas.

O3siggah 

[lionelsoni]

I have three windows, with sills just 12 inches above the floor.  My layout is 45 inches high and just goes right across the windows.  I also have a single-track loop around the room above the door.  My wife thought it would spoil the view from the windows until she saw that the supporting board is less than 3 inches high and of course well above eye level.

[ezmike]

Lionel 2986,

That's what I thought you meant. Since I have one other object in the room for the time being I might have to put the top of the "T" along wall "C", but the concept is the same. Still can add a leg to either side when the room is "all" mine.

Just a thought, if you have trains running in the center, near wher your letter "C" is and you have a derailment, can you reach it?

Mike

[lionel2986]

Hey guys. Thanks for the advice. However, I think I will go with the wide T design. I have had a C type layout with dog-bone ends and got bored with that. I think it was a bit narrow.

I share Wes's opinion about wide layouts. I'd like to try to make this layout as wide as possible to see all the action at the same time. I think I like this more than something prototypical such as having it run around the room with 72" curves.

I've never had a wide layout before, so I'll see how this goes and how I like it.  I do have new in box k-line 72" curves I picked up on clearance when they went out of business. I could always try a prototypical layout sometime in the distant future. I think I'm going to go with 42" but the spiral 52-34-52 is a great idea and will give that a try too. I have to try to see if I could find some 42" and 54" 0-27 curves first. I only have 27", a few 34" and very wide 72"... quite a gap lol.

About accessibility, I think I will cut an access hole right were that C is. Then I think this design should be perfect (to me). Anyone know any threads or websites with advice on building an access hole? I have plenty of 2"x3" that I purchased today for bench work.

[fifedog]

2 cabinet hinges and a bolt latch should be minimally what you need for your access hatch.  I spaced my 2 x 3 cross members 18" apart where I knew I need to get up thru benchwork, and my porky butt doesn't have any trouble working within that space.

[lionel2986]

fifedog - Sounds like a good idea and not too hard.

I'll post pictures of my frame when I assemble it sometime this week. I've been busy with a summer course I'm taking. I have 4 foot long 2"x3" cross members 4 feet appart. I might add additional and make that 2 feet appart for extra strength. I've never made a frame before, just had plywood up on stands/milk crates. They would sag so this should be my first nice layout.

A bit upset tonight I missed an auction I have been watching for a couple days. My modem wouldn't connect.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ih=018&sspagename=STRK%3AMEWA%3AIT&viewitem=&item=280126321088&rd=1&rd=1

Its no big deal. I still have plenty of time and need to plan the track before I purchase track. But at that price its like 90 cents a curve lol. If anyone knows or catchs deals like that please feel free to PM me :) 

Last time I checked my local shop they were sold out and a bit pricy too.

[Frank53]

missed this earlier - your room is almost exactly what I am working with. I am going around the walls with three levels - only teh top level is close to being done at this point. You can follow the links in my sig line to gett a feel for what I am doing.