Well here in the Mid Atlantic, most of my friends layouts are in their basements, since most houses have basements, usually pretty nice ones at that.
But my layout is above my detached garage/workshop. The layout room is 24' x 40' and is heated and cooled.
I designed this building some 16 years ago as part of the restoration of our home. We have a basement, but the basements of 1901 Queen Anne houses are hardly the place you want to put a model railroad - the headroom in the basement is barely 6 feet.
Sheldon
CTValleyRR Mine is in my (unfortunately) unfinished basement. Knowing the drawbacks of this arrangement, I'll gladly accept a donation of $50K to finish it, because that's kind of outside of my budget at the moment.
Mine is in my (unfortunately) unfinished basement.
Knowing the drawbacks of this arrangement, I'll gladly accept a donation of $50K to finish it, because that's kind of outside of my budget at the moment.
Why or how could it possibly cost $50K to finish a basement to the level needed for a model railroad?
Install a drop ceiling and some good lighting, paint the walls and floor, partion off just those areas not associated with the train room (utilities, laundry, etc.)
Even in a large basement that should not cost more than $8K (or less) to do yourself or maybe $15K if you hire someone.
Mine's in the basement./dungeon. It's at least dust free down there and air conditioned.
Springfield PA
Mine is in my front room which is 7' 8" x 13' 5". It almost takes up the entire room.
Dr. Frankendiesel aka Scott Running BearSpace Mouse for president!15 year veteran fire fighterCollector of Apple //e'sRunning Bear EnterprisesHistory Channel Club life member.beatus homo qui invenit sapientiam
It's in the basement, the other half of the basement is the 'crew lounge'.....
Jim
Modeling BNSF and Milwaukee Road in SW Wisconsin
This is a room off our family room. I ask the wife if I could put a layout in the corner and she said yes. She did not say how far out from the corner I could come.
Brent
"All of the world's problems are the result of the difference between how we think and how the world works."
superbe That and, since I have a gas water heater in the garage, it can't be climate controlled. Not a problem now, but in August the temperature is brutal! Chuck, I know of a Diner that has a gas heater as well as A/C and of course fany over the cooking areas. Their problem was solved by putting and exhaust fan in the exhaust stack of the gas heater. It may pay to look into this. Good luck and Happy Railroading Bob
That and, since I have a gas water heater in the garage, it can't be climate controlled. Not a problem now, but in August the temperature is brutal!
Chuck,
I know of a Diner that has a gas heater as well as A/C and of course fany over the cooking areas.
Their problem was solved by putting and exhaust fan in the exhaust stack of the gas heater.
It may pay to look into this.
Good luck and
Happy Railroading
Bob
Thanks for the thought, Bob.
The real problem is that local code requires that the garage has to have open vents through the exterior wall. Can't close 'em, and no practical way to isolate the rest of the space. Putting up a wall in a garage violates local code.
Believe me, I flew several ideas past the local code enforcers - who shot all of them down.
Chuck (Modeling Central Japan in September, 1964 - in a Mojave Desert garage)
Connecticut Valley Railroad A Branch of the New York, New Haven, and Hartford
"If you think you can do a thing or think you can't do a thing, you're right." -- Henry Ford
Mine is neatly stack awaiting construction start date.
Larry
Conductor.
Summerset Ry.
"Stay Alert, Don't get hurt Safety First!"
Don't Ever Give Up
Spare bedroom, actually, the bigger of the two bedrooms in my apartment. Goes around the whole room.
--Randy
Modeling the Reading Railroad in the 1950's
Visit my web site at www.readingeastpenn.com for construction updates, DCC Info, and more.
My double garage filler is in - the garage. No connecting door from the house, but the garage's personnel door is about seven feet from the front door, a straight line under cover.
The only (minor) annoyance is that, since we follow Japanese custom, I have to change shoes to go into the layout room. That and, since I have a gas water heater in the garage, it can't be climate controlled. Not a problem now, but in August the temperature is brutal!
Chuck (Modeling Central Japan in September, 1964)
Mine used to be in a separate structure with heat and A/C.
When I moved, I brought the layout with me and it is now in the basement studio that I share with my wife (she paints). I have about 20 X 15 feet and it's nice to not have to leave the house to go work on trains (like I did with the separate structure - sometimes wading through a foot or more snow). It also gives us time together, even though we are working on our own stuff. I just like being in the same room with her.
Phil, I'm not a rocket scientist; they are my students.
I had a pole barn built for my layout, my layout is 4'x78'x24x78' it's a U shaped layout that follows the walls with a 6'x50' island in the middle. I had the barn built with total HVAC with humidifer and I keep the temp at 71 year round. I had a drop ceiling installed with indirect lighting to have a even light effect without shadows. I have a 10' wide mechanical area on one end of the building where I keep the small hot water heater, electrical panels and half bath and laundry tub installed plus this is my work shop for my equipment. I have a track that runs into a mountain and comes into my workshop so I can add or remove equipment and then run back out to the layout. When I was "retired" by the military I spent about 6 months planning my last layout and designed the building and layout with all the specs such as lights, outlets, HVAC, work shop, mechanicals and access from previous layouts I had and visited so I had a vision of what I wanted. I had the building built 5 years ago and I have the benchwork done, trackwork done, and about 2/3 of the basic scenery done: i.e. plaster of paris covering the benchwork. Plus making hundreds of trees to add to the layout later. I was going to put the layout in the basement but then realized I would have to give up things I wanted to do or have on the layout in order to fit it in my basement. So the wife got a new car and I got a new pole barn. I figured it was a good trade. My wife likes to point out to me from time to time that I spent more on the pole barn and benchwork than I did for the house when we bought it many years ago. It's nice to go out there and just turn up the tunes and work on the many kits I have to build or applying more plaster to the layout. I run the trains on my layout and sometimes the neighborhood kids will come by and watch the trains so I enjoy a few operating sessions and the kids don't care if the scenery is done. Most of the kids are 6-10 years old. Neighbor is a scout leader so the kids see the lights on in the barn they come over and check to see if the trains are running. ( gives me an excuse to run the trains ) lol.
Mine is in a 6 1/2 by 12 1/2 room in my basement that I partitioned off from my wood working shop
Needless to say BOTH are cramped
But you deal with what you have and I don't want to give up my cabinet making hobby other wise I could have had a 12 1/2 by 18 foot room
51% share holder in the ME&O ( Wife owns the other 49% )
ME&O
Mine Ho regular one is in a spare Bedroom wiht a bunch of other junk- our "storage room".
The under-the-table-top-Xmas-tree layout occupies a corner of the Living Room as we are building a newer bigger one than we had and it hasn't been taken down yet. {the tree has}
If you are in an apartment, pick a spot you don't seem to use that isn't in the way and locate it there.
-G .
Just my thoughts, ideas, opinions and experiences. Others may vary.
HO and N Scale.
After long and careful thought, they have convinced me. I have come to the conclusion that they are right. The aliens did it.
I have a 10 feet long shelf layout along one of the walls in our living room.
Swedish Custom painter and model maker. My Website:
My Railroad
My Youtube:
Graff´s channel
Looking at where to put a layout in my apartment so I can start planning the benchwork, I am left with two choices, (a corner of the living room, and a corner of the spare bedroom), and it made me wonder, "where does everyone else put there's?
I have heard of other layouts, like one of my options, being located in a spare bedroom. I have also heard of them being built in an attic room, in the basement, in the garage, and heck even in a large shed specifically built to house the layout with electricity and full HVAC.
So, I ask, where is yours?