After waiting nearly 35 years for the space and time, I have been working dilligently on my Saratoga and North Creek branch line RR for almost 2 years. It now looks like we will be moving within 2 years. This has taken all the wind out of my sails to finish the structures and scenery for a major part of the layout. I am now focused on how much of the layout I can salvage. Has any one had experience in moving and preserving craftman type stuctures to be used (hopefully) in our new location?
Many people have done this, but I'm not among them. Cheer up. It's not tbe disaster that it may appearright now.
Try going back through your old issues of MR. About a year ago, Pelle Soeborg did an article on how he moved his, and used the opportunity for a redesign.
[Edit: the article I was thinking of was in the March 2014 issue, and there doesn't appear to be a move involved. I do recall reading one. Maybe someone with a better memory than mine can find it.]
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
OMG!
It's really strange to have a thread start regarding a dilema I only found myself in just yesterday and will happen well within a year. By all means, I am not attempting to hijack this thread but to merely expand on the OP.
My employer is going to a new facility that would spell a 150 mile commute if I don't move. There is no moving assistance and I would end up in an apartment as oppose to a house as I have now. My layout of 4 years would need to be demolished after salvaging the essentials.
With the OP, I would be very interested in the feedback of others on this forum.
Mark H
Modeling in HO...Reading and Conrail together in an alternate history.
Problem solved.
http://www.milbankhousemovers.com/uploads/gallery/Olander2x_1295555216.jpg
I built my layout in 5 sections so that it can be easily moved from one place to another.
Dennis Blank Jr.
CEO,COO,CFO,CMO,Bossman,Slavedriver,Engineer,Trackforeman,Grunt. Birdsboro & Reading Railroad
My first scratch built structure was damaged in a move. I think I relied too much on the packing (paper towels) to keep things from shifting. I would recomment that you put the structures in sturdy boxes, one to a box. Then carefully pack around them something like packing peanuts. If possible move them yourself - I found things moved a lot better when I was the one moving them.
Good luck
Paul
Having moved more than once with things of value (some MRR related, some not), they are always packed by the hand of yours truly and moved in a verhicle driven by yours truly. I've had decent luck with movers in general, but not good enough that I trust them with things that have some value to me and are at reasonable risk of winding up in pieces.
- Mark
Larger boxes can be divided by either foamcore or one inch insulating foam taped in place to make a volume the same area as models. Then pour in the foam peanuts. As mentioned, pack, place in vechile and drive yourself. Most of the layour will be much harder, unles sections can be salvaged.
Why I built moduler
CTValleyRR[Edit: the article I was thinking of was in the March 2014 issue, and there doesn't appear to be a move involved. I do recall reading one. Maybe someone with a better memory than mine can find it.]
I think you might be thinking of Bob Smaus (sp?). Article was in RMC.
I last moved 29 years ago, and most of my stuff arrived undamaged. however, two boxes of official guides, and Public TTs, My librart of ETTs and railroad books never made it. I'm now faced with the prospect of moving again within a year of today, so I appreciate the suggestions. BTW, I am rebuilding my layout into movable modules, which will not only ease my move, but keep me modeling until I actually move.
I've had to deal with relocating a layout three times:
The first time, I dismantled it and salvaged what I could. I took it as an opportunity to start over with new/better skills.
The second time I had built the layout in moveable sections, but instead of taking it with me, I gave it away to another model railroader. Again, I was thinking that I could do better if I started over.
The third time I had built the layout so that it could be disassembled into sections and moved with minimal harm. I was only moving about 60 miles, so I loaded the pieces in my pickup and drove them to my new house, one at a time. I reassembled the support structure and put them in place. All seemed fine, but it's been four years and I still have occasional trackwork gremlins that I never had before My suspicion is that the disassembly/reassembly introduced a small amount of deformation and that it will take lots of rework to get it right again. At times I feel like I should have scrapped it and started over.
However...
The primary reason I chose to move it were two features:
This pair of intertwined concentric curved trestles:
And the turntable:
I figured that it was worth the trouble to retain these two features. They still represent some of my best work, so I'm glad I did, gremlins and all.
Phil, I'm not a rocket scientist; they are my students.
I have moved my layouts a number of times in my 50+ years as a model railroader. All of them were designed to be moved, so I was never forced to take them down.
I have learned to remove all structures from the layout before the move is done, packing them separately and carefully and move them myself, instead of having the movers toss them around!
Most of the comments so far have been valuable in that they suggest how one can design a layout to make the move easier. Problem is, your layout wasn't built with a move in mind, so those bits of advice are coming a bit late.
You haven't said how big the layout is, but your concern tells us it's big enough that the move is worrisome. I think the first thing is to focus your attention on what's practical and what you want. It makes sense to keep the best and scrap the rest.
Think of this as an opportunity to make changes in the layout's geography, era, prototype, operating scheme, etc. If you decide to make changes in these things, that may help you to decide what parts to keep and what to eliminate.
Identify problem areas. Those are the ones that you'll want to do over, so there's no point in trying to move them.
Consider the type and amount of space in the new layout location. You may not have identified a specific new location yet, so this will involve some guesswork. Think about what is likely.
Identify favorite areas, and areas that look and operate best. Those are the areas that you'll want to keep, if possible. Inspect them carefully to see how they can be reinforced and separated from the rest of the layout. You have time to do this before the move.
No matter what you do, it's going to involve a significant effort. Keep your spirits up by concentrating on the opportunities for improvement. These could outweigh the perceived losses.
Good luck.
Tom
I built mine in sections, bolted together. I am retired and my house is paid for. I hope I will never have to move it, but it also makes it easy to rebuild sections of it without tearing it down.
If I had to move it, I would pack and move the structures and rolling stock myself. The movers would never touch them. The layout itself could be separated into it's modules and the movers could take that. If you have to start over with the structure, I suggest you consider modular. If you are in an apartment for a while you can build modules one at a time and store them when completed for the day you again have room.
Dave
Lackawanna Route of the Phoebe Snow
LIONS do not build modular. My first monastic layout was on two pingpong tables, and was taken apart when the room was taken up for a different use..
The second layout was taken apart by choice in order to build this layout. It can not be taken apart.
When I am gone they will break it up and toss it on the burn pile. I will leave a "will" designating what is of value and can be sold and what is not.
ROAR
The Route of the Broadway Lion The Largest Subway Layout in North Dakota.
Here there be cats. LIONS with CAMERAS
Moves and living in small rented properties keep me from even getting started. I did start a few modules when I lived in Tennessee (2010-2012) but then those modules ended up in storage for over a year until we moved out here. I dismantled the modules and saved what I could before the move. I am in my 6th different place since 2008. Hopefully within the next year or two we can end up in a place of our own in a northern clime and I can get started in earnest.
Robert H. Shilling II
I've been building my layout for 8 or 9 years now. When I started, it seemed like we'd be here forever, so I didn't give much thought to portability. After 5 years, I started a new section and made the benchwork components smaller, and tried to keep track boundries pretty much aligned with benchwork boundries. I also used terminal blocks where some of the wires crossed between major chunks of benchwork.
I will be retiring within a year, and we may or may not be moving sometime in 2015. So, I've given some thought to all of this. I'm proceeding with more benchwork, but once again I've built in a modular fashion. When I think of taking it all down, I realize that I built all of this once, and I can build it again, if necessary. Structures can be removed and details collected. My benchwork will survive, but the 5x12 foot section may be hard to get into another house. It will go out of this one easily enough, and the light frame and foam construction should make it pretty manageable.
When the time comes, I will have to look at the wiring. There are still a lot of connections between sections, and those will have to be cut and re-assembled. That's actually something that could be done now, using terminal blocks
Most often, though, when I think of moving the layout I think of fixing the things that are wrong with this one. That turns a major hassle into an opportunity, and I like to think of it that way instead.
It takes an iron man to play with a toy iron horse.
Many of the comments have been helpfull. However, I did not construct this layout to be dismantled. I did not expect a move would be in our future. Fortunately, I have not permanently fixed any of the structures to the layout and should be able to save them with careful packing. I have come to look upon this as an opportunity to redesign and upgrade the layout as many have suggested. I am a little dissappointed that I will not be able to complete the original plan but will continue to work on small projects that will not effect the move. Thanks to all for your comments
adkfish After waiting nearly 35 years for the space and time, I have been working dilligently on my Saratoga and North Creek branch line RR for almost 2 years. It now looks like we will be moving within 2 years. This has taken all the wind out of my sails to finish the structures and scenery for a major part of the layout. I am now focused on how much of the layout I can salvage. Has any one had experience in moving and preserving craftman type stuctures to be used (hopefully) in our new location?
This is the same dilemma I am in. The best I can do is always to think in terms of a modular layout no matter what features I design. Decide on sections of whatever module size you think might be practical to move. It's a pain in the butt, and a big hassle, to always have to think in those terms, but I haven't found any other compromise.
Adelie Having moved more than once with things of value (some MRR related, some not), they are always packed by the hand of yours truly and moved in a verhicle driven by yours truly. I've had decent luck with movers in general, but not good enough that I trust them with things that have some value to me and are at reasonable risk of winding up in pieces.
Amen on that, Adelie! I made a move back in 1992, a year before I started collecting HO scale equipment. I had some Lionel stuff that I would set up around the Christmas tree; we moved in July of that year. I trusted the Lionel items to the mover. When I went up to the space over the garage in December to get them I had discovered that they were stolen by the mover. Kind of a blessing in disguise, as I was wanting for some time to collect HO scale equipment and get into scale modeling. It was a lesson learned though; I have moved three times since then and every time I handled the model RR stuff myself.