Too much space: is it possible?

[Anonymous]

Ask about utility costs and see if you can afford to support the summer cooling and the winter warming in that prospective house.

As previously stated, having a workroom, family room where people can relax and possibly a space for the wife's own interests.

With the magnitude of that much space it is easy to feel "overwhelmed" and not do anything at all. If it was me, I would break the overall project down to several "towns" and areas such as Yard, engine areas etc and work on it one at a time.

Avoid creating too much "Track" if your trains must travel all the way back to the rear and work it's way back to you you may actually forget about it as it may take several minutes or more to make the trip. Try to use onboard sound on the engines so you can track em. Of course if that chugging and puffing suddenly stays in one location then you know that engine may have had a derailment before it really becomes a problem.

Consider the wear and tear.. Would you be willing to clean all that track, or fix all those cars? For some people workbench time some times exceeds layout time.

If you plan to have several people come out to run your railroad as a operating session, look at your lands. Can you park 6 cars in that driveway and not interfere with normal everyday access?

Does your house have more than one bathroom where you may be able to host 6 or more people in the train room without interfering with the rest of the private living space in your home?

Will you be able to get that 4x8 sheet of plywood up there? Or will your track in the corner furthest from the heater experience too much contraction in the winter? Is the environment stable as far as dust, mold and mildew?

Many things to look at. I only have a humble 2x8 foot with big plans for the future but that 2x8 footer is teaching me what I can use and not use. For example I dont need that 300 car mega yard/division point if I only have 60 cars (half of which is unfinished)

One other thing, if people come to run thier trains on your pike, what happens if they show up with a DCC engine (not BLI) and you only have block/cab analog control?

Are you able to cool all your power packs and remove the heat away from the operator so the person does not "Cook" as he or she drives that train.

A closed route that supports very top speed operations such as may be when a operator brings a 8 year old and his or her train to see how fast it can go... (Trust me, children loves to see them go) without fear of derailments, running off the track onto the floor etc.

Will your wife be disturbed at 4 in the morning when you fire up that big boy and drag that 200 car hotshot onto the main for a bit of full moon rip? (Soundproofing)

And finally. read and re read the numerous "Rules" that helps teach us what to do and not to do due to past human/layout problems.

[tomwatkins]

Yes, too much space is a possibilty. You don't have to fill the whole basement, or barn, with railroad. I think there needs to be a real possibility of seeing the project to reasonable completion, although I agree that model railroads are rarely "completely done".

One approach might be to design and build a smaller railroad in one area of the building which could be expanded and added to into other areas. That way you could get something up and running, move on to building scenery and operation and then move on to building the next addition if you want to.

Have Fun,
Tom Watkins

[andrechapelon]

QUOTE: Originally posted by NevinW

My kids are moving out and my wife has the bug to sell our house and buy a new one. Well, she took me by this house and it is really nice and out in the woods away from everything. The house is smaller than the current house. Nice and my wife loves it.

Then the owner shows me the "barn". 48X70 feet with a second story that is heated and finished. The thing is enormous!! It was designed by the owner as a wood shop but looks like a furniture factory. I feel overwhelmed by the size of model railroad you could build in this thing. G scale wouldn't be that much of a problem. I shudder to think what I could do with that space. [:p] This suggests an entirely different set of problems that I have never considered before. Is it possible to have too much space?

You don't have to use the whole space for a model railroad.

At least that's what my wife tells me about our 34 x 24 basement.

I would think the gating factor(s) would be cost of building the thing, whether or not you could assemble a cast of thousands (or at least a cast of several) to help you build and operate it and how much maintenance the beast would need.

By the way. Where's the house located, what's the asking price and are you going to make an offer?[:-^][:-^][:-^][:-^]

Andre

[Anonymous]

I am in a similar situation. I am looking into the possibility of purchasing a closed down mining equipment factory on the northside of town. After remodeling it and adding a top floor, I will have roughly 35 X75 of open space for a model railroad. My ambitions is large eneugh I can build one that big. But I am definatly going to need help to run all the trains that a layout that size can handle.

James

[rrinker]

I agree, you CAN have 'too much'. Now, you need to find out how many railroading friends you have around that can help out, both for construction and operation. And don't forget to leave space for a crew lounge for off-duty people so they aren't hanging out and getting in the way of crews trying to operate. With that kind of space, you can partition it off to make a lounge area, keep all such activity out of the actual house, which will make the better half MUCH happier, plus partition space off to be a workshop, keeping the dirty partsof the hobby away from the layout, AND still have room for a very nicely done layout.

Now I'm jealous!

--Randy

[Anonymous]

Yes it possible. Build a layout that fits your goals, maintinance abilty, and budget.
It doesn't have to fit that HUGE area.
You just have alot more possible space to work in.

[NevinW]

My kids are moving out and my wife has the bug to sell our house and buy a new one. Well, she took me by this house and it is really nice and out in the woods away from everything. The house is smaller than the current house. Nice and my wife loves it.

Then the owner shows me the "barn". 48X70 feet with a second story that is heated and finished. The thing is enormous!! It was designed by the owner as a wood shop but looks like a furniture factory. I feel overwhelmed by the size of model railroad you could build in this thing. G scale wouldn't be that much of a problem. I shudder to think what I could do with that space. [:p] This suggests an entirely different set of problems that I have never considered before. Is it possible to have too much space?