Pics of the new trainroom

[mikesmowers]

   Hello all, I have been making some progress in the up stairs that will house the new train room and thought I would share some pics and see what you think so far.

  Here you are looking south. The bench work at the end is 14' 10'' long and 5' wide. The long bench along the wall is about 21' long and 3' wide. There will be more benchwork added to the North end later.

 

  Here you are looking North.

  I used 1'' X 4'' lumber to frame in the bench with 16'' centers and am in the process of laminating 2' X 4' ceiling tiles to form the top, the tiles will be approxmately 2 1/2'' thick. It is solid enough I could stand on with no problem.

 Samson, my German Shepard pup, learned last night he could get up there and see out the windows, I don't think this a good thing for him to learn. I will have to teach him not to do that. LOL. 

  I just thought you might like to see the progress so far, comments and suggestions are welcome.            Mike
 

[sparkyjay31]

Five feet wide huh?  Please tell me you left room to get in behind that?!  My 4' wide top is a pain in the back.  As soon as I can that is getting a pop-up so I can reach the other side.  Other than that it actually has similar dimensions and looks alot like mine, I just have a 4' x 8' on the end.

Nice job.  The framing looks real good!!!!

[mikesmowers]

  Yes, I can walk around the South side of the 5' wide bench, I needed to be able to get to the AC unit and the window.     Mike

[sparkyjay31]

I didn't want to be critical, I just couldn't tell from looking at the pics.

Nice doggie!

[SilverSpike]

Mike,

Solid benchwork you got there, and with a strong foundation you have the start of a great layout! With that walk around area behind the 5' wide benchwork you will have perfect access reach.

I try to limit my benchwork depth/reach to around 36", but in some cases it is a little longer, and I have an access hatch to reach those areas.

Cheers,

Ryan

[Dave Vollmer]

Ah...

Blank benchwork is like a blank canvas.  So many possibilities...

Savor the moment, and then start laying track!  Keep us posted!

[Mudbug1001]

Hi Mike,

Very nice.  My train room looks almost exactly like this, except that the left side is a mirror image of the right side (sloping roofs on both sides).  How high is your bench work?  Do you think you'll have any trouble hitting your head against the ceiling?  I think it's going to be close for me - in fact, I'm making my benchwork about 36" wide to push it out from the wall a little bit and will probably only put scenery in the back.

Keep the photos coming!

[AltoonaRailroader]

Looks good Mike, I'll trade you my cold basement for your attic? Huh, what'a say? Well, maybe at least until summer time. :)

[loathar]

Getting there, but I'm gonna have to disagree with SilverSpike and question using 1x4's for your legs like your doing. I would at least add some cross braces to be on the safe side.
You've got the most important thing. An AC unit!

[Kenfolk]

Looking at your benchwork, I get very anxious to move my layout into the loft above new garage, but still need to do some more work (like getting the electricity installed) before that can happen. In the meantime, I have been working on some structures.

The loft has sloping walls both sides;  I was wondering how that would work out, and judging from yours, I think it'll work out just fine. 

The additional space will give me room for a significant expansion (more than double the size). 

[reklein]

WHOA!!!! DOGZILLA!!!!

[Bapou]

If my dog got up on my layout I would know it... There would be little claw marks in the foam.