Santa Fe all the way! Should have done more planning.
Should have done more planning.
LOL
Shouldn't we all?
Rich
Alton Junction
My HO layout( the part that is built anyway) is an aound the walls shelf layout on the second story of my house. The upstairs consists of three rooms that are all 13.5' x 13.5' in the shape of an L. My shelf layout goes around the walls of tow of those rooms, passing thru the dividing wall. If I where to start over, Id make the shelf DEEPER. Should have done more planning.
Here are the results of the survey to date:
Basement
Traditional - 29
Walkout - 2
Split Level-lower - 1
Total Basement - 32
Living Area
Spare Bedroom - 11
Other Room - 18
Room above garage - 3
Attic - 1
Trailer Home - 1
Total Living Area - 34
Separate Structure
Outbuilding - 9
Garage - 4
School House Gym - 1
Classroom (roar) - 1
Liquor Store - 1
Outside Yard - 1
Total Separate Structure - 17
**********************************
Total Primary Layouts - 83
Second Layouts - 5
Contemplated Layouts - 4
Suitcase Layout (?) - 1
Hi
Mine is in a 18' by 10' shed in the garden. HO west Virginia coal country.
Chris
blownout cylinder rs2mike: Mine resides i my mind only as it becomes more clear and evident that my wife will never allow me the classic car and model train layout . It is far more important to have her ears pinned back than to invest in things that can be sold for money later down the road. Rich: New Category here...In My Mind....
rs2mike: Mine resides i my mind only as it becomes more clear and evident that my wife will never allow me the classic car and model train layout . It is far more important to have her ears pinned back than to invest in things that can be sold for money later down the road.
Rich: New Category here...In My Mind....
Good morning, BC. You're right. We need a category for those thinking about a layout. In the latest tally, I added the "Contemplated Layouts" category to acknowledge these folks so that they don't feel slighted.
rs2mikeMine resides i my mind only as it becomes more clear and evident that my wife will never allow me the classic car and model train layout . It is far more important to have her ears pinned back than to invest in things that can be sold for money later down the road.
Any argument carried far enough will end up in Semantics--Hartz's law of rhetoric Emerald. Leemer and Southern The route of the Sceptre Express Barry
I just started my blog site...more stuff to come...
http://modeltrainswithmusic.blogspot.ca/
I'm building a 4x8 N scale layout in the spare room.
THE SOUTHERN SERVES THE SOUTH.
I have a 36"x80" HCD layout in the breakfast nook.
Jason
Modeling the Fort Worth & Denver of the early 1970's in N scale
I knew there would be someone to jump on that !!!
alco's forever!!!!! Majoring in HO scale Minorig in O scale:)
duckdogger HO on traditional bench work in the side yard. Rebuilding to a simpler track plan using hand laid Fast Tracks products. The concern is UV from the Sun, not rain - hey, Phoenix is in the desert. Decking is 3/4" plywood with cork road bed. Installing risers at present for one-piece end returns (42" radius for outer track)
HO on traditional bench work in the side yard. Rebuilding to a simpler track plan using hand laid Fast Tracks products. The concern is UV from the Sun, not rain - hey, Phoenix is in the desert.
Decking is 3/4" plywood with cork road bed. Installing risers at present for one-piece end returns (42" radius for outer track)
Presumably, you will have some shade or other protection over that. The power of raw sunlight -- as I'm sure you're aware -- is not to be underestimated. The sun will bleach your colors, make your plastics brittle, and wreak havoc with your trackwork as it expands and contracts.
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
I would love to have the one in the Liquor Store.. Just don't ask me to rerail anything.. Yeah the Tank cars would be loaded with Vodka! Ha hah AWESOME!!!
mobilman44 Hi! I've been away for awhile, so bear with me.......................... Has the layout been found yet ???
Hi!
I've been away for awhile, so bear with me..........................
Has the layout been found yet ???
Very funny !
NO SOUP FOR YOU !!!!
ENJOY !
Mobilman44
Living in southeast Texas, formerly modeling the "postwar" Santa Fe and Illinois Central
In spite of the fact that I have now conducted The Greatest Survey Known To Man, I have been asked to improve and categorize the results even further, so I will now do so.
Here are the refined results of the survey to date:
Other Room - 16
Total Living Area - 32
Outbuilding - 8
Total Separate Structure - 16
Total Primary Layouts - 80
Contemplated Layouts - 3
A few additional comments.
Some of the reported layouts are shelf layouts. These have been counted in the rooms in which they are located.
Also, those layouts in rooms other than spare bedrooms were originally reported as "spare rooms" but are now recategorized as "other rooms" including dining rooms, living rooms, and family rooms, just to name a few.
Some respondents reported a second layout, in addition to their primary layout, and these second layouts have now been counted but the room location is not stated for these second layouts.
So as not to ignore those who do not currently have a layout but are contemplating one and who responded to this survey, I have now acknowledged them.
hon30critter Your response to the LION was absolutely hilarious!!!. No offense to LION but I still have a bit of a hard time with the way he refers to himself.
Your response to the LION was absolutely hilarious!!!. No offense to LION but I still have a bit of a hard time with the way he refers to himself.
What critter find funny, richhotrain now fear. Him immediately try to soothe savage beast, but LION not reply. richhotrain offend LION by misCATegorizing room for him layout. Him explain his foolish oversight, but richhotrain now believe that LION be angry. Lion now silently stalk richhotrain. Him treat richhotrain like prey. Result could be CATaclysmic. richhotrain now want to CATer to LION. Offer olive branch. Him need CATalyst to spur LION to action. richhotrain need to hear from LION. Any response be CAThartic.
?????????
richhotrain!
I am one of the "yet to be" layout people. For now my layout consists of a temporary test track that extends along my workbench and computer desk for about 9 feet. When funds permit (i.e. son graduated, no mortgage) I will claim a 24' x 10' space in the garage. I have been working on the design for several years and improving it as I learn more from these forums. In fact, the financial restraints have saved me from making several (many) newby mistakes that would have occurred had I been able to throw myself into building the layout when I first started.
Great thread!
Dave
I'm just a dude with a bad back having a lot of fun with model trains, and finally building a layout!
Trainmedic I've got mine in an 10' x 20' outhouse
I've got mine in an 10' x 20' outhouse
I wonder if he's ever had a derailment and lost an engine down the hole.
Brent
"All of the world's problems are the result of the difference between how we think and how the world works."
Trainmedic I've got mine in an 10' x 20' outhouse....
I've got mine in an 10' x 20' outhouse....
That's quite a commode!
Steve S
I've got mine in an 10' x 20' outhouse like the one johncpo has. not as nicely finished tho.
Massey ,,,Note taken ...new SOP for the West PENN R/R... LOL
Mine is already counted, way back on page one, but I thought I would add a diagram.
Two car attached garage.
Lackawanna Route of the Phoebe Snow
Here is the latest tally:
Basement - 31
Spare Room - 19
Bedroom - 11
Separate Structure - 9
Garage - 6
We now have 77 layouts accounted for.
We have a Tri-level house and my layout is in the subbasement with the furnace, well and other utilities. The layout will go around the walls of a 12x24 foot room when it is complete. Right now the trains can only move about 18 feet along one wall. That's progress considering two years ago they could move about three feet.
Rich,
Mine is in the basement along with my work areas, not really what one would call a "finished" basement, but it is finished well enough for me.
Wayne
Modeling HO Freelance Logging Railroad.
ChadLRyan Rich, Rich, Rich, Rich, Rich!!!!!! Yo, I finally made a simple Z Gauge one!!! In the 'Living Room!!!!!' Count me!!! See, it is "Channel Zee!!!!"
Rich, Rich, Rich, Rich, Rich!!!!!!
Yo, I finally made a simple Z Gauge one!!! In the 'Living Room!!!!!'
Count me!!!
See, it is "Channel Zee!!!!"
Consider yourself counted, Chad !
U da Man.
Geezzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz, that is terrific.
Your check is in the mail!
West Penn Nscale Has anyone said "DOGHOUSE" I guess thats only when the wife finds a new loco on the layout...lol
Has anyone said "DOGHOUSE" I guess thats only when the wife finds a new loco on the layout...lol
The key here is to have alot of engines and keep them in boxes for long periods of time. Then when she asks you about the new engine on the layout you can simply say that you just took it out of the box.
Massey
A Veteran, whether active duty, retired, national guard, or reserve, is someone who, at one point in his or her life, wrote a blank check made payable to "The United States of America" for an amount of "up to and including my life."
I have a little 9x9 shed that comes with my space. It started out as pure storage, then became a model boat building shop that moonlighted as a computer repair shop then that all got torn down and not it is a model railroad with a "fix just-a-bout anything" workshop.
p.s. My landlord was shocked when she found out what I did to my shed!!
There's never time to do it right, but always time to do it over.....
I also have the basement with a house on it, we bought it 4 years ago and when I first looked at it I couldn't believe the basement, it was dry walled ,insulated with a drop ceiling with recessed lights all around the walls. And so after 21 sheets of plywood and 4 sheets of homasote I have my railroad empire.Jim.
Rich mine is in the garage in western pa ... Alot of homes out here have the 1/2 basement ..1/2 garage...would love to have the seperate building or large shed with power....
West Penn N
Basement - 27
Spare Room - 18
Separate Structure - 8
Garage - 5
Now up to 70 layouts accounted for.
Can we reach 100?
Basement, have in storage an 8'x4' layout I was helping a young fellow to build, he has since left town, and I'm looking at finishing the wiring and as it has 18'' curves and a 4% grad using it as a test track for my locos and rolling stock.
"One difference between pessimists and optimists is that while pessimists are more often right, optimists have far more fun."
Nice finished basement (Including a full bath and closet) with a furnace/air room. Leaves me a modeling space of 30ft by 34ft, for a three deck layout.
Bob
A lot of folks have also given sizes for their layouts. Just looking at the room choices, it would seem the "typical" layout is a lot smaller than the average bandied about (the really large ones would skew the average). There might just be more useful information about the typical railroad in this thread than in previous official survey.
My layout is in our Garage suspended above our car!
The only place available
The layout size is just over 4' X8'
Progress is slow but I am still enjoying the process.
Tracy - Lady who loves the Rails both model size & Real Life!
Building a model railroad (which lives above my Car) in the Land Down Under, Australia.
My Railways blog about my Model Railroad adventures
I could start a 3rd layout..........Hmmm come to think of it , there's an old portable layout at my Dad's place that Mum wants to get rid of.....
Alan Jones in Sunny Queensland (Oz)
Content removed due to a completely frak'ed up and incompetent Kalmbach customer service.
Greetings all
I recently purchased a "Weatherking" brand out building, one of many that is built under that name, (not to advertise) this one is a 10x20ft lofted barn and comes with a 6ft wide double opening front door centereds on one side as well as two 6x10ft lofts one on either end. Storage of anything extra in our house is provided very nicely. Additionally I have a workbench at one end, all of my 1/35th scale military dioramas and 1/48th scale aircraft under the one building roof, not to mention the 16ft HO shelf type layout with a return loop at each end. (All photos on my FB page) As this worked out to be a perfect building for just about everything hobby related it also serves as a workshop as the room is still quite workable with everthing extra in the lofts. I would recommend a building such as these to anyone that has extra outdoor room and they are constucted in such a way one can insulate, supply 110 power and place paneling and other finishing products on the inside to dress it up a bit. My barn was around 3k but worth the investment. Now all I have to do is heat the darn thing as the temps in SW New Mexico have hit below freezing and low 40s in the daytime.
The best,
johncpo
Hello I am kinda suprised to see I am the only one with a attic layout.
Richhotrain if you are sending out checks? My little girl she is 8 and would like to know is this counts as a basement layout
if so then send 2 checks please. Have nice day Frank
My layout is S scale so shouldn't I get a larger check - $1360?
Paul
Alantrains Did I mention that I have a second layout in a coffee table? ($2000)
Did I mention that I have a second layout in a coffee table? ($2000)
That second check is in the mail.
You don't by chance have a third layout, do you?
Basement - 25
Separate Structure - 7
So, we have 66 layouts accounted for.
Each of you who has responded will receive your $1,000 Participation Check in the mail shortly.
Mine is in the dining room (few houses with basements in the South) since nobody uses the dining room to eat in anymore. Room is 11x11 with layout along three walls. In fact the room size and door/window location is almost a perfect match for the spare room layouts MRP had as a theme several years ago. Working in that size and shape room has taught me:
a. Small square rooms are less than ideal -- longer/narrow rooms give length for a reasonable town between corner curves.
b. After hours of measuring, cutting, fitting, laying track, pulling up track, relaying track, I have come to the conclusion that less is more. Even though my original plan was simple, pulling up some switches and track led to better operations and better appearance. Not counting the staging yard, I'm down to just seven switches on the layout from the 15 I started with.
c. As has been mentioned before, published plans are often way to optimistic about how much track will fit in a given space and don't allow enough room for switches, curves and the fact that actual track is wider than a pencil line. Most of the layouts in those MRP plans I mentioned above try to cram way too much in the available space.
d. No matter how hard I try, I cannot always fit prototype track arrangements into the available space. I spent a lot of effort trying to fit a realistic, selectively compressed version of a prototype town in there. It took several years of attempts to realize I was better off modeling the "feel" rather than the actual towns, leading me toward a proto-freelance rather pure prototype. From years of track planning, I probably need about twice the room size to fit a prototype in a satisfying way.
Well, it is about time, mobilman44. We have been waiting on you.
I also have mine in the basement. Trying to talk the boss into building an addition onto the two car garage so I can cut a little hole in the wall and run the trains into the garage. The addition would be another two car garage.
Sam
Yikes, I've just reviewed all the postings and realized I have yet to participate!
Mine is in the largest of 4 upstairs bedrooms - 11 1/2 x 15 ft.
The other 3 rooms are my hobby/PC room, the Wife's hobby/PC room, and a legitimate guest bedroom.
Having the use of a spare bedroom is excellent, but the minus is that all your stuff has to go thru the house before it hits the layout room. Thus, extra care must be taken to not mess up the hallway or stairs.
Mine is in the living room. Its a coffee table layout 2' x 4' and is N scale. The layout has a glass top plus plexiglass sides (it's a Ikea coffee table) so it is relatively dustproof and cat-proof!
Jeff B
Basement for me; it takes up a majority of a 33' by 24' space.
TA462 I've seen one in a guitar case once that I thought was incredible. So much detail in such a small case.
I've seen one in a guitar case once that I thought was incredible. So much detail in such a small case.
You're not just stringing us along, are you?
BroadwayLion Where did you put mine... I did not see "Spare Classroom" mentioned ☺
Where did you put mine... I did not see "Spare Classroom" mentioned ☺
richhotrain no want to offend King of Beasts. Him place Lion's layout in spare room category. Him now fearful that room was wrongly CATegorized. If LION be mad at HIM, richhotrain be willing to change location immediately.
leighant Nobody said suitcase or cardboard packing carton?
Nobody said suitcase or cardboard packing carton?
Is that where yours is located?
richhotrain In what is now universally accepted as The Greatest and Most Important Model Railroading Survey in the History of Mankind, here is the tally so far: Basement - 23 Spare Room - 15 Bedroom - 11 Separate Structure - 7 Garage - 4 Attic - 1 So, we have 61 layouts accounted for. Rich
In what is now universally accepted as The Greatest and Most Important Model Railroading Survey in the History of Mankind, here is the tally so far:
Basement - 23
Spare Room - 15
So, we have 61 layouts accounted for.
The Route of the Broadway Lion The Largest Subway Layout in North Dakota.
Here there be cats. LIONS with CAMERAS
nssd70m I also know some model railroaders who don't have a layout.
I also know some model railroaders who don't have a layout.
...................and, no offense to those who don't have a layout at the present time. Just curious where yours is located if, indeed, you have one currently.
I am building a 13ft 8in x 10ft 5in NS themed layout in my basement. I also know some model railroaders who don't have a layout. They model just protoype diesel locomotives. Earl...
My layout is in the back of a former liquor store!
I have a set of HO scale modules that form a junction between two clubs' modular layouts. A video shop had closed down their store at this shopping center, and the management company asked if we would like to set up our layout there. They did not want to leave such a large vacant space unfilled, and figured it would be a while before someone would lease that sort of a space. As it turned out, a mattress store did lease it, but the management company offered us the old ABC (liquor) store space instead. We have been in this space just over a year now and it looks like we will remain for some time. BTW, the mattress store is now out of business.
John
If everybody is thinking alike, then nobody is really thinking.
http://photobucket.com/tandarailroad/
TA462 Usually the yappy ones are the ones without..........
NEWSFLASH!! >>> You can be a model railroader and not have a layout.<<<
There are craftsman structure modelers, prototype modelers, armchair modelers, diorama modelers, etc. Dave Frary doesn't have a model railroad, and he has forgotten more than you will ever know.
1) Sometimes it's best to think before punching the keys. (take a time out maybe?)
2) I prefer read the "yappy" posts over your very simpleton views of the world. You seem to have a habit of disrupting (hijacking) the flow of good threads by attacking another members statements, habits, modeling etc. When the feeling rears its ugly head, refer to #1.
Richotrain- Add another layout to the spare bedroom category.
"The true sign of intelligence is not knowledge but imagination."-Albert Einstein
http://gearedsteam.blogspot.com/
TA462 Wayne, I've been at that station. Do you live around there?
Wayne, I've been at that station. Do you live around there?
No, I'm in the Niagara region. While I've been to Goderich several times in the past (looking at houses, among other things) it was a friend on another forum who mentioned the station when it was for sale. I contacted the realtor and drove out to have a look. The old CPR station, on the other side of town, is also an attractive structure. It's currently used by the town's Public Works Dept., I think.
pastorbobMy Santa Fe in Oklahoma is in the basement,
http://www.trainlife.com/magazines/pages/138/0/model-railroading-june-2004
Texas Zepher doctorwayne: zoning regulations precluded its use as anything but industrial. Waivers can be granted. OR make it somethihng industrial with a care takers quarters in it.
doctorwayne: zoning regulations precluded its use as anything but industrial.
Waivers can be granted. OR make it somethihng industrial with a care takers quarters in it.
Zoning regulations can be amended with what's known as a "Minor Variance", but only developers seem to have the connections necessary to actually get zoning changed. The structure itself occupies most of its lot, which is probably a variance in its own right. While there's a neighbourhood in the area to the south, it's beyond what appears to be a former teamtrack yard, with tracks and an overhead crane still in place. The RailLink shops are directly to the east, with what appears to be other industry in nearby buildings. To the north, across several active tracks, is the Maitland River, while to the west is the line down to the salt mines on the shore of Lake Huron. This is RailLink's main customer, and I was told that it takes several geeps to pull short cuts of cars up the very steep grade.
This is the view to the southeast, with parts of the neighbourhood visible, along with a portion of the overhead transfer crane. The town's water tower is to the left of the plow.
This is the view just to the east of the station, with lots of derelict rail equipment and the shops just visible to the right of the frame. I didn't even bother to get out of my truck for the photo, as the wind coming off the lake was bitter, with freezing rain and some snow:
This was taken from the station's tower, looking north: that's the Maitland River visible just above the hoppers:
This view looks west, towards Lake Huron, with the track leading down towards the salt mine:
...and a couple of interior views:
I hope to drive out there next year (when the weather gets nicer) to take some more photos. It's apparently been sold or leased and is currently being used as a community centre.
dknelson If we can keep the thread going until April, someone can claim to have the "pressurized basement without support columns." Dave Nelson
If we can keep the thread going until April, someone can claim to have the "pressurized basement without support columns."
Dave Nelson
In which case, I can resurrect my idea of a bathtub layout.
My Santa Fe in Oklahoma is in the basement, in fact, all the basement except for a full bathroom, a storage closet and the necessary heating and cooling items. The layout is three decks, taking up a space 30ft by 33 ft. Our hose is a multi level, so the basement is smaller than a ranch style house. But, it is fully wired, finished, floor, celing, etc. and is a nice place to hide out or get away, and a great place for a railroad.
My wife does come down and clean the bathroom, which is nice, and also points out other areas that need to be cleaned up.
My layout is runs along one wall of my living room. It is the only space available to me, and I try to make the most of it.
Unlike some people, I feel under no obligation to pretend that only one set of modelling standards are true, and that any others H0/00/EM/P4 are mistaken; or that I know better than people themselves what is right for them to use. The point is precisely for all modellers to decide for themselves. My blog: http://no-two-alike.blogspot.com/
CTValleyRR It does seem kind of strange that only 54 or so of us appear to have layouts.... to judge from the posts; although we do seem to be deliberately excluding the "I'm planning it" or similar responses. Of course, there's probably a whole group (judging from the number of views) who just can't be bothered.
It does seem kind of strange that only 54 or so of us appear to have layouts.... to judge from the posts; although we do seem to be deliberately excluding the "I'm planning it" or similar responses.
Of course, there's probably a whole group (judging from the number of views) who just can't be bothered.
I suspect that you are correct, CTValleyRR. Most cannot be "bothered" to respond and identify the location of their layout although, from the number of Views, it seems that people are interested in the topic and where others have their layouts located.
Or, maybe the title was not specific enough and some read the thread thinking that it is about people who don't have a layout. I should have titled it, Where is Your Layout Located?
In any event, this thread is all about one of the most important surveys ever conducted in the history of these forums, LOL, and some dare not to participate. Curse them all!
doctorwayne I looked at this one a couple of years ago when it was on the market. It was spacious and affordable, although it would have needed some work to make into a home. Word was that I'd be living there on my own, though, which sounded fairly attractive. However, zoning regulations precluded its use as anything but industrial. RailLink runs right by this side: ...and here's the street side: Wayne
I looked at this one a couple of years ago when it was on the market. It was spacious and affordable, although it would have needed some work to make into a home. Word was that I'd be living there on my own, though, which sounded fairly attractive. However, zoning regulations precluded its use as anything but industrial. RailLink runs right by this side:
...and here's the street side:
Wayne, you should have bought that piece of real estate when it was on the market. It looks like the perfect place to build a club layout.
You wouldn't have lived there alone for long !
doctorwayne zoning regulations precluded its use as anything but industrial.
Mine is in the basement, approx. 15'x36'. DJ.
Perhaps some of those without a layout would be interested in this little property.
http://www.realestate.com.au/property-house-qld-clayfield-108791356
Unfortunately it is across the Pacific for most of you, and at AU$697,500 might be a bit expensive for a layout, but you also get a 1910 style Queensland house in a desirable suburb where average prices are above AU$1,000,000.
cheers
Like V8Vega and Jeffrey Wimberly mine is in my kitchen and has now spilled out to the living room. If/ when I have to move it, I will have to use my saws all. Or sell the house with it in place.
Basement here also.
Russell
Didn't we have a thread once about how many lurkers there were/are? There is where the views stem from as well then....
My personal layout is currently unbuilt as I do not have any space to build it yet . If it was not for the club that I belong to I would be a closet model railroader. The club layout ( HO) is in a 32x60 ft. building. Six penninsula's with over seven scale miles of track, Fully DCC , and completly sceniced. There has been days I have not left until the sun starts to rise.( IGOR my coffin Please.LOL)
Otto
P.S. - I did not know if it was allowed to name clubs by name in the forums. If curious send me a PM.
Mine is in a separate room that is attached to the carport opposite the main house. The room is 15 x 21 feet. Below is an early diagram of the benchwork, the upper part has since been completely revamped making it only 2 feet wide for much of it's length and extended to near the entrance door which is in the upper right hand corner on the long wall. All that empty space in the right hand side of the room contains a work bench, storage units of one kind or another.
Jarrell
TA462 I honestly thought there were a lot more from the way some people talk. I'm kind of curious about the size of people's layouts too.
I honestly thought there were a lot more from the way some people talk. I'm kind of curious about the size of people's layouts too.
Start a thread, TA462.
OK, here is the tally so far:
Basement - 19
Spare Room - 13
Bedroom - 9
Separate Structure - 5
So, we have 51 layouts accounted for.
0-6-0 Hello mine layout is in a 3rd floor room its18 x 12. It might have been a Attic at one time but it finished now. Here is a pic Have a nice day Frank
Hello mine layout is in a 3rd floor room its18 x 12. It might have been a Attic at one time but it finished now. Here is a pic
Have a nice day Frank
There you go. Our first attic layout.
Attached 2-car garage, 25x25 with insulated walls & ceiling and its own heating/cooling unit. In addition to the main doors (which are always bolted shut), there is a door on the side and a door into the main house where I need to maintain an open path; also a stand-up freezer against the house wall where I also need to keep it clear. So my layout can only fully cover 2 of the 4 walls. But I've still managed to squeeze-in a layout that satisfies my givens-n-druthers.
When my wife and I were house-hunting, I told her I required one with space for a reasonable-sized layout. So we agreed from the beginning that the garage would be mine (except for the freezer of course!).
-Ken in Maryland (B&O modeler, former CSX modeler)
Mine was in a spare bedroom but since we moved it is now a memory with parts in boxes.
Joe
Mine was in the basement of my old house, and in the basement of the new house. It's a 4X8. Did I mention I moved it as a whole? 4X8 doesn't seem so small when you are moving it as a whole unit. I'll never do that again.
Modeling the N&W freelanced at the height of their steam era in HO.
Daniel G.
Bedroom. Glad I'm into trains, when we moved I got the largest room!
Acela
The timbers beneath the rails are not the only ties that bind on the railroad. --Robert S. McGonigal
My N scale layout was in my family room. An around the walls shelf with a 74 foot single track main with a couple of passing tracks. When running I had to install two lift out sections to span doorways and my cats used it as a raceway to get from window to window and I couldn't run it continuious in the winter because it ran too close behind my woodstove.
I moved it up to an unused 11 ft X 8 ft bedroom, reversed the swing of the door to have the entire space for layout. With the addition of a helix I will get the 74 foot mainline back.
modelmaker51 Another basement layout. It has it's own 12x23 ft room. It's an around the walls with a center peninsula double decked layout.. My 12x18 around 3 walls workshop is next door, my desk and computer are on the 4th wall. There's also a 6x18 ft furnace room that also houses the helix. the last room is 12x24 and is the party room .
Another basement layout. It has it's own 12x23 ft room. It's an around the walls with a center peninsula double decked layout.. My 12x18 around 3 walls workshop is next door, my desk and computer are on the 4th wall. There's also a 6x18 ft furnace room that also houses the helix. the last room is 12x24 and is the party room .
Party room? There is no better party than model trains, that space would go to the layout real quick if it was mine.
Sheldon
Jay
C-415 Build: https://imageshack.com/a/tShC/1
Other builds: https://imageshack.com/my/albums
I'm slightly jealous of Richhotrains layout room/building.
Here's my entire layout. Well just about all of it, there's a bit more in the bottom right corner
Basement - 16
Spare Room - 12
Bedroom - 6
Separate Structure - 4
Garage - 3
So, we have 41 layouts accounted for.
What I can't figure out is the 756 Views of this thread and only 41 identifying a location.
C'mon, the rest of you, where is your layout?
Texas Zepher richhotrain: Wow, how big is that space? It is a school house gym. So it is a full basket ball court 95x50 with bleachers on each side and a full stage on the end. I guess about 125x80 not counting the front lobby/bathroom/concession area. 9600 square feet or so. here is a snap shot of the inside. This was taken the first day we looked at the property before we bought it. It looks much better now without all the desks all over and floors swept up.
richhotrain: Wow, how big is that space?
here is a snap shot of the inside. This was taken the first day we looked at the property before we bought it. It looks much better now without all the desks all over and floors swept up.
Absolutely awesome.
Thanks for sharing.
oops, didn't get back to this thread until now,
Spare room is a study between garage and rest of the house, so I have to leave a path thru the 2 doorways. Gives me a 12ft X 6ft rectangle with a couple of extensions in the corners.
One small around the walls switching layout with a lift-out across the door in a 6.5 x 11.5 foot workshop/tool storage room on the ground floor:
One small (8 feet x 15") switching shelf on the back wall of our upstairs living room:
Smile,Stein
well this week I just got the half of the basement that doesnt have any furnaces etc in it cleaned out... thats where mine will be... lol
Mine is located in the finished basement... taking the space that formerly was my son's bedroom who is now married and has his own home. When completed it will 9 x 16 space.
Corey
Railroading In Council Bluffs
http://www.rrincb.com/
Visit my caricature carving website:
http://iowacarver.tripod.com/
My present layout is in our laundry room, a 8' x 6' x8' point to point switching layout. My other layouts have usually been in a spare bedroom.
John in Carolina
Mine is in the basement. Current phase is 12x31 ft. I plan to expand into more of the basement later on.
Enjoy
Where is my layout? Still sitting in the racks at Lowe's.
I used to be clueless, but i've turned that around 360 degrees.
Mine is in a small area of a walk out basement. It is heated and air conditioned with my work bench in the same area.
My wife actually offered the adjoining rec room, but I couldn't bring myself to "trash" it.
As you can see I used it as my home office. After retiring I did move the oak desk on the left along with the computer, printer, etc to the rec room. Incidently the desk was bought used and had been in SCL/ LN office. A calander dated 1981 is on a pull out'.
Hey, the blue walls are a big improvement over the rose colored block sealer.
Good thing I didn't use the rec room for a larger layout when this one isn't half finished. That would have made me feel real guilty.
Don't Ever Give Up
It is a school house gym. So it is a full basket ball court 95x50 with bleachers on each side and a full stage on the end. I guess about 125x80 not counting the front lobby/bathroom/concession area. 9600 square feet or so.
Zephyr,
I remember how excited you were when you picked up this fixer-upper (and how jealous most of us were). Sorry to hear you're still working on it.
For myself, my layout is in a semi-finished basement. When the kids are done with school, I'll be raising the garage roof and building a guest bedroom and a train room up there.
Mine's in the train room. Non-model railroaders call them basements.
Marlon
See pictures of the Clinton-Golden Valley RR
richhotrainWow, how big is that space?
I built a 24' x 26' addition to my house about 5-6 years ago, just for my HO layout (plus a basement for my wood working shop. I have a 20' x 18' layout with a little space around it for workbench, storage and viewing. It is about 70% done (most of the track is in place and some minor scenery has been started) and I am anxious to get to the detailing stages but have to keep reeling myself back to prevent working myself into a corner.
-Bob
Life is what happens while you are making other plans!
The LM&E is in a 17 ft. by 13 ft. room in the basement under our sunken living room. It has about 7ft. 3 in. headroom. There is a lead track that goes through the wall and becomes four staging tracks in a storage area that are about 12 ft. long.
The main layout is comprised of three levels. only the arriving track is on the lowest level as of yet and for awhile. But it will have interchange tracks on one side and industrial area on the other. ( no windows)
It also has a four ft. six inch duckunder to get under the two mainlines and into the main room. So far there has been no problems and I consider it some exercise going in and out. If I cripple up too bad I will rearrange that into a drop bridge I do believe. But not in the works right now.
I also have a "little" workshop in that storage area as well for doing on the spot repairs. I do most of my building in the computer room on the main floor. There are overhead shelves on both sides of that storage room for rolling stock storage as well as a mini belt sander and a mini table saw.
I consider myself very fortunate for this space and my wife has no problems that I have taken this over.
Johnboy out.....................................and trying to get down to the train room.
from Saskatchewan, in the Great White North..
We have met the enemy, and he is us............ (Pogo)
No basejment, no attic, no garage. Mine is located in the front room of my 25' trailer. The long side with the extension (Layout Ext) is ten feet long. The other side by the door is six and a half feet and it's seven feet eight inches wide. Diagram is not to scale.
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
Separate room in a finished basement:
Mine is in a finished half-basement. It takes up the entire space. There is a laundry room and bathroom.
Michael
CEO- Mile-HI-RailroadPrototype: D&RGW Moffat Line 1989
Room dimensions are 9'x9' with an in-the-open offset hallway adjacent to the furnace room for its anti-Jack Frost hobby room winter feature.
In a split-entry home, the basement is not a basement, but half of the lower level is finished, with a hobby room for a 100 year-old library bookcase plus an organ along the wall -- With a 5'x9' layout space. Now, why would CR&T be N Scale?
Conemaugh Road & Traction circa 1956
Mine is right now occupying the better half of my desk, leaving just enough room for a stack of MR copies, the notebook I am typing this on, and a telephone. My wife has already started to be a little grouchy about this mess, so I will have to finally put op the racks & rails for the planned shelf, on which my mini-modular N scale layout will find its final position.
Mine is in a typical "California Basement"--AKA the 2-car garage. Nobody out around these parts parks their cars in their garages, garages around here are for storage and 'guy stuff'. The Yuba River Sub is my 'guy stuff', LOL!
Tom
Tom View my layout photos! http://s299.photobucket.com/albums/mm310/TWhite-014/Rio%20Grande%20Yuba%20River%20Sub One can NEVER have too many Articulateds!
Texas Zepher richhotrain: So, where is your layout? At the moment it is in my head. However, I do have a separate building that I purchased for it. Making the two meet is the hard part. I've been three years now just trying to get the building ready (like no leaks in the roof, properly running water, sewer etc.).
richhotrain: So, where is your layout?
Wow, how big is that space?
In 1997 at age Forty I finely found someone that could tolerate my weird sense of humour and married her. Sold my average size house on my average size lot in North Vancouver and bought a Mcmansion in the country. 1.25 acres with a near new 5000 Sq. ft house all for the same price as my little house in the city. Can you say "Train Room"? It was always in the back of my mind to get a house big enough to have a decent Train Room. The only down side was trading in the hot sports car for a Honda Civic for the commute. I rode my bike the 11Kms. each way at the old place.
My layout is in what the Real estate Agent called the guest suit. I hope my guest trains have a happy stay.
The down side of the room is a big window, three doors and a six foot wide entry way into the room. The upside is a fireplace, Bar and full bathroom. One of the bedrooms is my model building/repair room.
We are now looking to move further East as the developers are knocking at the door. When I bought the house the closest bus stop was 12 Km. away, it is now 8Km. away. That's close enough to smell the new Walmart. We are probably going to have a house built for us that will have the things that my wife's hobby needs and 400 Sq. FT. Trainroom. That's about the right size for this Lone Wolf.
Bar with Lazyboy.
Office/repair room.
I feel pretty lucky having the space I want.
BroadwayLion The LION built his railroad in a Classroom! ☺ It is a second (or third floor--depending on how you count them) floor above the library.
The LION built his railroad in a Classroom! ☺ It is a second (or third floor--depending on how you count them) floor above the library.
How do we know that you're not LION to us?
The rest of my layout is outdoors:
My small switching layout shares space with my office in the second bedroom of my apartment. The layout is L-shaped. 9 feet long by 2 feet wide along one wall and 5 feet long by 1 foot wide along the adjoining wall. I also have a planned 2 1/2 foot long cassette attachment to go on the end of th3 5' x 1' side for "staging"
And, like any apartments, they do not like holes in the drywall, so, to stabilize the narrow L-girder constructed benchwork, it is attached to the wall using "outriggers", which are attached to the base boards with drywall screws.
Our house is on a hillside, and it has a lower level (some call it a walk out basement). It includes a 64' long room dedicated to the layout. There is also a separate woodworking shop in the lower level with various power tools. The layout room is along the "uphill" side of the lower level, and it is against foundation walls covered with drywall. There are interior walls to separate the layout room and the workshop from the other rooms in the lower level.
GARRY
HEARTLAND DIVISION, CB&Q RR
EVERYWHERE LOST; WE HUSTLE OUR CABOOSE FOR YOU
richhotrainSo, where is your layout?
My basement layout also shares a certain amount of space with my recording studio....which can get a little hectic here.
I've got the family room (see my post on the first page) but I did offer my wife the family room for her crafts and stuff in exchange for the basement. I was actually surprised she turned me down. I think she realized that the trains are actually a lot more attractive upstairs than all her clutter would have been, and she doesn't have to straighten things up for company!
I'm glad it worked out this way. My train room is bigger. Still, every now and then I look at the basement and think about how I would have arranged a layout there.
It takes an iron man to play with a toy iron horse.
In a separate finished room in our finished off (insulated, dry-walled, and painted) detached garage.
Elmer.
The above is my opinion, from an active and experienced Model Railroader in N scale and HO since 1961.
(Modeling Freelance, Eastern US, HO scale, in 1962, with NCE DCC for locomotive control and a stand alone LocoNet for block detection and signals.) http://waynes-trains.com/ at home, and N scale at the Club.
Basement...
My 4' X 10' layout is in a spare 10' 6" X 9'6" bedroom which also serves as a computer room.
Remember its your railroad
Allan
Track to the BRVRR Website: http://www.brvrr.com/
dknelson The disappointing part of my layout is in the basement. The nice part of the layout is still in my brain. Dave Nelson
The disappointing part of my layout is in the basement.
The nice part of the layout is still in my brain.
That's hilarious!
mine is in a building in the backyard 24 x 54
jeff
Spare bedroom that is also affectionately called the "junk room" as it is where we store what we don't have space for elsewhere.
Since trailers don't have basements, neither the layout nor the "extra schtuff" has anywhere else to be.
We also have a 42" square layout in the Living ROom for the Christmas time layout.
-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.
Mine is on the second floor of my house, in a living room that we don't use, "as a living room". Our house, before we bought it, was built in three phases, you see. The first was original structure. The second, out the back, was two story, with a family/dining room on the first floor, and the master bedroom/bathroom on the second. The third phase, out the front, was a two car garage on the ground level, and two bedrooms, full bath, laundry room, closet, and TV/family room. We are not much of a TV family, as we limit what our 8 year old son watches on TV. We also spend much of our evening in our master bedroom. My sons bedroom is on the "other side" we call it, because, as i stated one expansion out the back, and one out the front.
So, I'm slowly building an around the walls shelf style layout in the "TV" room. It's on the second floor, inside, heat and air conditioning, hardwood/laminate flooring. The only bad thing right now, is the lighting is not good for a layout space. This can all be worked out at some point though. Just not a necessitiy at this time.
Mine is in the extra living room. I have half of a 22x14 room with 18 foot ceilings. It's not your typical layout room!
In my basement separated by a wall and doorway from my cabinet making workshop
51% share holder in the ME&O ( Wife owns the other 49% )
ME&O
Here in the Mid Atlantic most people have basements, so that is were most of the other modelers I know have their layouts.
But I live in a 110 year old house, and the basement is not really suitable for model trains - even after we did a lot of work to it. It has a low ceiling, lots of ductwork, heating pipes, boiler, oil tanks, well pump and tank, water conditioner, A/C air handler, support posts, electric panels, etc, etc.
So my layout space is in a room above my detached garage. The garage is 32' x 40' with a 12/12 pitch roof to match the house.
This provides a 22' x 40' room, with angled upper walls like an attic, for my train room. It is fully insulated, it has osb sheathing on the walls rather than drywall to allow easy attchment of the layout structure. It is fully heated and cooled by a propane furness and A/C unit in the "attic" space above the the layout room.
I designed the building specifily for all the purposes it serves and supervised its constructiion.
It only has two windows, one front, one back, set pretty high off the floor, nearly 5 feet.
The lower level of the garage houses our two cars, garden tractor and my workshop.
My model train workshop area is in the house, in the basement.
My layout was originally screwed in place, built attached to the walls/floor. But currently I am rebuilding it into moveable modules because we do not plan to retire here - so the layout needs to be able to go with me. I have past the point in this hobby were I have any desire to start over - I will not tear down and throw out any more layouts.
So, I may "complete" a new version before we move, or I might not - but in any case whatever modeling I do get completed will travel to the new retirement house and it will be selected or custom built to have a suitable space for the layout.
That may be a basement, or another custom building such as I have now.
We added a garage some years back, with a train room as the second floor. It came out too nice, and became a family room with a section for the trains. Now that my daughter has gone to college, I'm slowly re-claiming territory. It's a great space - large, well lit, carpeted floor, heat and air conditioning. I still share it with the large family TV and some couches. That lets me work on the layout and watch football on Sundays at the same time. I get a lot of ballasting done that way.
Larger of the two bedrooms in my apartment.
--Randy
Modeling the Reading Railroad in the 1950's
Visit my web site at www.readingeastpenn.com for construction updates, DCC Info, and more.
Basement.
https://tstage9.wixsite.com/nyc-modeling
Time...It marches on...without ever turning around to see if anyone is even keeping in step.
Alantrains Spare room, so you were right in my case. No basements in Queensland.
Spare room, so you were right in my case.
No basements in Queensland.
Which spare room? Bedroom, den, living room?