New Layout Room

beamish

HO & Steam Engineer
So we just got a new furnace installed and with all the work that entails it gives me some new space for my trains. Currently I have a shelf layout in another room and it is not doing it for me. With the upcoming renovations it is not going to be possible to keep the current layout so i have decided to start from scratch in a new location.

I am looking for some ideas and for some help.

This will be HO Scale.

The biggest issue I am having right now is what sizes i want to build the bench work. There are some unmovable items that make the use able space a little hard to work with.

Attached is the image of the room. The Yellow section is the only area I have to use as the other colored parts are unmovable. The door is in the upper left on a diagonal.

One thought i have is to make a double shelf level around the walls on 2 sides. The issue with that is the change in height. I am thinking a 22" helix. it is small but would be kinda fun.

I want to be able to run a few larger modern locos on the continuous loop, but most of the traffic will be GP style locos and some small 2-6-0 steam engines.

Any thoughts or suggestions on how i should use this space?

Thanks,
Mike
 

Attachments

  • Layout Room.jpg
    Layout Room.jpg
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Nomad

Active Member
At first glance, I see a type of reversed "G" layout, with another table sticking out towards the chimney.

Loren
 

baldwinjl

Member
Does you picture mean that you can build to the edge of the yellow area and still have access on the color areas (obviously not the walls), or does access need to be maintained?

Jeff
 

beamish

HO & Steam Engineer
Access

I do still need access to the blue area, the yellow is just the floor space that does not have anything sitting on top of it right now.

I was considering the G shape as well. I will try and draw up some rough ideas today depending on what comments i get.

Thanks for the input,
Mike
 

baldwinjl

Member
I do still need access to the blue area, the yellow is just the floor space that does not have anything sitting on top of it right now.

I was considering the G shape as well. I will try and draw up some rough ideas today depending on what comments i get.

Thanks for the input,
Mike
OK, so the blue area is even worse than a wall, we need to be able to walk next to it....
 

Triplex

Active Member
That's really serious, because there's only 5' to the right of it. You can't really fit an HO turnback curve (even a sharp one) and an aisle (even a narrow one) in that space.
 

Nomad

Active Member
Mike, how do you feel about duck unders and such? I hate to suggest those to anybody, but they might be needed.

Loren
 

beamish

HO & Steam Engineer
Some more details, answers to questions

Duckunders are a possibility. I am still young and very mobile.

ceiling is 8 feet with a few ducts and such up there that bring areas down to 6.5-7 feet.

I am trying to avoid the blue area but it might be possible to run a single track around behind the furnace at the bottom. I will look into this possibility.

Pictures? I will try and get some pics done this week so you guys can see what it looks like.

Just to add another monkey wrench to things i have since decided a small workbench, 30 inch by 3.5 feet would be nice to have as well. The workbench is very flexible and can be modified or changed to fit the area available.
 

Nomad

Active Member
A work bench is no problem. You can put it on casters and roll it underneath the layout to get it out of the way. I do that now with an old computer desk.

Loren
 

Russ Bellinis

Active Member
Another possibility for the work bench is to mount it with drawer sliders and have it slide out from under the layout like the keyboard shelf on a computer desk. Mount it a couple of inches below the bottom of the layout and put a bit of molding around the edges to keep small parts from falling off on the floor.
 
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