Hey all,
I hope that the season of business and buying hasn't got everybody in a grumbly mood. I wanted some track planning advice that includes even benchwork possibilities. This is purely speculation on my part, given the area of the downstairs family room that I am seeking to negotiate for a layout.
The background of this is that my original plans for doing a layout on a 36"x80" door is actually going to take up a larger footprint in the downstairs in terms of overall floorspace. This is my personal concern rather than my wife's... she's not aware of the logistical problem yet. I don't want to take up a great deal of space in the middle of the room, but a door layout would do precisely that... especially if you need to give the layout a 24" clearance around it. Best guess is that it would occupy a block that would be about 7'x 11' including all clearances. 77 square feet.
However...
If I were to move the layout up against the wall, I could get a potentially larger L-shaped shelf layout that would occupy less floor space in terms of the room. I am looking at an L-Shaped corner of the room, that is a maximum of 55" on the west wall, and up to 144" on the north wall. Even if I were to use all of this space, with a 2" shelf plus room for decent turnaround radii, I would be taking up less overall usable floorspace.
Realistically, I would be looking at a trackplan that would use 48" on the west wall, and no more than 132" on the north wall. Average shelf depth would be about 24", but I could go narrower... as long as there is room to turn around at both ends. I'm not looking to have a peninsula as a part of this space, because I don't want too much jutting out into the rest of the room. As it stands, even with clearances, this would take up less space at 45-50 square feet of floor space as it is up against two walls.
So, with these parameters in mind, any suggestions for 1. Benchwork development, and 2. Things to watch out for in track planning.
As I've mentioned on my other drafts for the door, auto industry, cement, and agriculture are the dominant businesses in the area (southwestern Ontario), so those will have some use on the layout. I'm also hoping to include a yard for switching as well.
I hope that the season of business and buying hasn't got everybody in a grumbly mood. I wanted some track planning advice that includes even benchwork possibilities. This is purely speculation on my part, given the area of the downstairs family room that I am seeking to negotiate for a layout.
The background of this is that my original plans for doing a layout on a 36"x80" door is actually going to take up a larger footprint in the downstairs in terms of overall floorspace. This is my personal concern rather than my wife's... she's not aware of the logistical problem yet. I don't want to take up a great deal of space in the middle of the room, but a door layout would do precisely that... especially if you need to give the layout a 24" clearance around it. Best guess is that it would occupy a block that would be about 7'x 11' including all clearances. 77 square feet.
However...
If I were to move the layout up against the wall, I could get a potentially larger L-shaped shelf layout that would occupy less floor space in terms of the room. I am looking at an L-Shaped corner of the room, that is a maximum of 55" on the west wall, and up to 144" on the north wall. Even if I were to use all of this space, with a 2" shelf plus room for decent turnaround radii, I would be taking up less overall usable floorspace.
Realistically, I would be looking at a trackplan that would use 48" on the west wall, and no more than 132" on the north wall. Average shelf depth would be about 24", but I could go narrower... as long as there is room to turn around at both ends. I'm not looking to have a peninsula as a part of this space, because I don't want too much jutting out into the rest of the room. As it stands, even with clearances, this would take up less space at 45-50 square feet of floor space as it is up against two walls.
So, with these parameters in mind, any suggestions for 1. Benchwork development, and 2. Things to watch out for in track planning.
As I've mentioned on my other drafts for the door, auto industry, cement, and agriculture are the dominant businesses in the area (southwestern Ontario), so those will have some use on the layout. I'm also hoping to include a yard for switching as well.