I see we must share the same general location.
In the office, what about continueing down the wall over the desk?
With a return loop on each end, for HO, your going to need a bare minimum of 48" wide, to at least get a 22" or a bit bigger radius, using flex track, and coming right out to the edge.
I guess N scale is an alternative, even though you'd rather avoid it.
You could have a revolution, and "seize" the office for your space.
Mike.
My You Tube
For some reason they didn't and I'm not sure why. Here they are
I would strongly suggest not using a space that is physically unpleasant because of ceiling height or temperature. You won't want to go down there.
Basements can be expanded. Howard Zane did it a couple times. I'm am sure there are both engineering and financial challenges in that approach.
Henry
COB Potomac & Northern
Shenandoah Valley
This is the space I am trying to negotiate in our office. (hopefully the pictures come through properly)The wall in the pictures is about 9' long but of course the closet doors on the adjacent wall screws things up. On the right side you can see the edge of our desk which is about 4' from the wall. To build a 4'x8' layout in this area wouldn't work very well as I would only have acces from 2 sides. I do want to have a continous run loop in the layout so that's something I need to keep in mind.
rrinker Is the basement floor cement? What about a lower height layout that you work on and operate by sitting in rollign office chairs? Is the ceiling height high enough that you can sit in a chair or even a slightly taller stool without bashing your head into the ceiling? If the floor is dirt - this is something I have seen in old issues of the magazine, what about digging it down just where the aisles would be, so that you can stand without hitting your head? Sort of like a shallow trench system. You would probbaly want to seal this all in though, a dirt floor and a dirt pit is probably not a good environment for a layout either. --Randy
Is the basement floor cement? What about a lower height layout that you work on and operate by sitting in rollign office chairs? Is the ceiling height high enough that you can sit in a chair or even a slightly taller stool without bashing your head into the ceiling?
If the floor is dirt - this is something I have seen in old issues of the magazine, what about digging it down just where the aisles would be, so that you can stand without hitting your head? Sort of like a shallow trench system. You would probbaly want to seal this all in though, a dirt floor and a dirt pit is probably not a good environment for a layout either.
--Randy
The basement floor is concrete. The ceiling is high enough that I could build a shorter layout that I could sit at but I still need to stand for some things including constructing the layout so that would be a problem. There is also no heat and it's dark & dirty & damp down there. Nothing that couldn't be overcome but it would require a lot of work before building a layout. I know some people have nice basements that they are able to build beautiful layouts in, unfortunately that's not my house.
RR_Mel I’ve been model railroading almost all my life and didn’t have room for a permanent 4’ x 8’ layout until the rug rats moved out. Even now I have a 10’ x 14’ layout in our garage, I’ve modeled in HO since 1951. Over the years I had a 12” shelf layout from 1951 until 1958. Nothing until 1963 then I built a 4’ x 8’ foldup in a bedroom, it folded up against a wall and was 12” out from the wall stored. That lasted until we moved in 1984 then another 4’ x 8’ in a basement until 1987. The final move in 1987 is when I started my current and last layout in our garage. I would say to do what you can with what room you have to work with. Maybe a modular type with several modules that can easily be stored when not in use. Or like mentioned above a shelf layout around the room. Large temperature swings are bad on everything not just the track. Good luck no mater what you end up doing, do what you must to stay in the hobby. Mel My Model Railroad http://melvineperry.blogspot.com/ Bakersfield, California I'm beginning to realize that aging is not for wimps.
The temprature swings are my main concern at this point. Right now it is hovering right around zero here. I had to go into my workshop after work to get some polyurethane for a project I'm working on in the house right now. It was 40 degrees inside the workshop. The only reason it's still that warm is because I had the woodburner going all weekend and everything in there is still hanging on to some warmth. Had I not been out there all weekend it would probably be 15 or 20 degrees in there. probably not the best environment for trackwork, models, & scenery.
kasskaboose Some folks here have garage or attic layouts can tell all about the challenges of working on a layout during the cold/heat. Is there a room inside the house that you can use for even a small layout? Perhaps some pics of candidate rooms can help. You really don't need a lot of space to enjoy a layout.
Some folks here have garage or attic layouts can tell all about the challenges of working on a layout during the cold/heat.
Is there a room inside the house that you can use for even a small layout? Perhaps some pics of candidate rooms can help. You really don't need a lot of space to enjoy a layout.
I have been negotiating with management for some space inside the house but the only possibility would be in the office. Even if I can get space in there, it would only be enough for an n scale layout which I am trying to stay away from.
Modeling the Reading Railroad in the 1950's
Visit my web site at www.readingeastpenn.com for construction updates, DCC Info, and more.
UNCLEBUTCH Have you considered an around the room shelf? 6/8 in wide shelf will give room for main line and a siding or two,along with buildings and such The bigger concern with the shop; if you have to bundle up and then ''go out'' there,, you will soon lose interest
Have you considered an around the room shelf? 6/8 in wide shelf will give room for main line and a siding or two,along with buildings and such
The bigger concern with the shop; if you have to bundle up and then ''go out'' there,, you will soon lose interest
i have considered a shelf layout, but don’t have a suitable room for it.
I know what you mean about “bundling up” to go out to my shop but when I light a fire in the stove I can easily get it between 65-80 degrees in there so it’s plenty comfortable. I must say though I’m not extremely excited about the space because of having to put the layout away in one form or another to work on other things. I also wouldn’t be able to work on it in the evenings because by the time I got a fire going after work and got it warm in there I would be ready for bed. I would love to have a dedicated room for a layout but nothing is really viable at this point. I am still looking for ways to do it inside the house so I am not committed to anything at this point just looking at options.
I have been out of the hobby for a few years but would like to get back into it. The first problem I need to overcome is where to locate a layout. I am thinking about a 4'x8' or so HO scale. I started building an n-scale layout a few years back but quickly realized that I needed to stick to the larger size because my eyes, among other things, are not getting better as I get older.
I don't have any room inside the house that I can claim so that leaves me 2 options. Basement or workshop. Unfortunately our basement is not ideal because I can't stand up straight down there. All of the rooms are wide open but with it being so short makes it very undesirable. The other option would be in my workshop. This poses it's own problems because #1 it would take up a considerable amount of shop space which I have too little of already. #2 the dirt. I do a considerable amount of metal & woodworking in there and we all know that sawdust/metal dust and trains don't mix. #3 Temprature. I have a wood burning stove in my shop but I obviously only burn it when I'm out there so it can drop below freezing when I am not out there. As far as the first 2 issues I was considering building a layout that was suspended from the ceiling and lowered onto sawhorses or legs when in use. When raised up it would have to be housed in some sort of "cover" to keep out dirt & debris.
The problem of temprature control is a bit different. I really don't want to, nor can I afford, to heat that building 24/7. Will the temprature changes wreak havoc with the trackwork?
Any other thoughts or ideas would be appreciated.