For the NEW FOLKS

[claycts]

First welcome to the world of Model Rail Roading. I am posting this for the new folks getting into this fascinating and at times frustrating hobby. When we look at a great layout in MRM or other publication our “Got to have now” juices start flowing. There are more books written on building your first or 50th layout but there is ONE thing that is not in any of those books. Before I come to the point I will give you a little of my background. I have 35+ years as a designer of electrical and security systems for all types of buildings. In that time frame I spent many hours at a drafting board and later a cad machine. I have also designed shopping malls and other structures in that time frame. The one thing that was a constant in all those years as it is now is there are standard sizes for everything made for construction. From the 2x4 (1 ½ x 3 ½) to the size of plywood.
The meat of this is that I spent 2+ years doing design work on my dream layout, planned everything down to the smallest thing BUT the one thing I forgot was the simple matter of STANDARD SIZES. In my design I have a very fancy (and impossible to build) walkway in my layout. I ignored the fact that Ceiling tiles are 12x12, 24x24 or 24x48. My walkways are every size BUT THAT. So every piece must be cut to fit. This is costing time and money during my construction phase. Please remember that your railroad must fit in a space that has a floor and a ceiling and if you are doing a special room or changing a room watch this part of your design. I would be building bench work and laying track if I was not spending my 3rd day trying to get the walkway ceiling to fit and pass the inspection of the minister of finance (my wife).
Take care and enjoy
george pavlisko, old enough to know better but still goofed.