All right, "Here We Go!"


J

joe circus

Well-Known Member
The daughter moved out ( again ) and I have a train room for the first time in 7 years! I've read a number of the threads and think I have the answers to the questions you'll have before you can help me with this, my 6th layout.

I'd like to keep this thread running from design all the way through construction, wiring, track laying, and scenery application.

First, the room is 15 by 23, but don't get too excited, it's got 4 doors... :(

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joe circus said:
The daughter moved out ( again ) and I have a train room for the first time in 7 years! I've read a number of the threads and think I have the answers to the questions you'll have before you can help me with this, my 6th layout.

I'd like to keep this thread running from design all the way through construction, wiring, track laying, and scenery application.

First, the room is 15 by 23, but don't get too excited, it's got 4 doors... :(
Click to expand...

FOUR doors? Hall, closet, bath ... ?? Can you draw them into the image?

I'm glad you're getting to work on a new project. Very exciting times!
 
I'm not too worried about operation, though I want a small amount of switching available. I'm mostly interested in just running them around the track... I'm thinking I like the late '50s early '60s, a little steam, mostly E and F diesels. I do have a number of passenger trains I'd like to run through the latout.
 
simple enough take out 3 doors :D

What kind of ideas do you have, or what would you like to be able to do with this layout? Continuous running with switching or what?

Where are these doors located on your plan? seriously though, can we get rid of them or do you have to use these doors?
 
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It looks to me like I'd like to build it modular or sectional, whatever it's really called. 2 by 4 sections.
 
This where I am so far, def open to some suggestions. Plan was 1 by 3 or 1 by 4 open with foam insulation, I want a bit of elevation change, but I may have found out I can't buy foam boards here... :(

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You could check Lowes or Home Depot online and see if you can have the foam boards shipped.

I have a few shape suggestions-
1. The area left of the left OPEN I'd make into a yard and connect it to #2 at the top of the diagram.
2. I'd start out by running a loop around the larger open area.
3. If you used #2 to make an incline going up as you go towards the diagram bottom, you could build a mountain in part of your pit area.
4. You could layer your track around the mountain at different elevations. I was initially thinking about a loop, but that may take away too much area from your pit. Look at Hoexplorers' layout thread to gain ideas what to do with the mountain.

Just some food for thought.
 
joed2323 said:
so are you making liftout section for where the doors are? why so many doors?
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This is what is called a "bonus room" ( so affectionally ) in Florida. It's on the first floor, 1 door to the outside, 2nd door to the water heater, 3rd door to the garage, 4th door to head up the stairs.
 
So basically to you gotta walk through this room to enter the garage and upstairs? Or is there another way around?
 
joed2323 said:
So basically to you gotta walk through this room to enter the garage and upstairs? Or is there another way around?
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Naw, this is at the back of the house, there is another door at the other end of the garage and another set of stairs there. And, the front door.
 
I think you need to really consider how much you want to put up and take down modules to access the doors. Your tolerance level for that might be quite a bit higher than mine, but five doors would require me to move layout parts more often than I would like.

This might be a situation where an island type of layout may be a better fit. If the "pit" area was roughly the size of the table, you could still have broad enough curves for long passenger cars. You could shove the island up against the north wall and have a shelf appendage along the NW wall, for staging, a yard, or a switching district or such.
 
Or get rid of the 2x3 foot sections on each end and have easy acces to all the doors.

This is a layout I drew up using 4' x 4' corner and 2' x 6' center moduals. All it is is a close to prototype track layout for the passenger station on top and a fictional freight yard at the bottom. As you can see I tried to keep most of the switches contained to single moduals so they dont cross the joint to the next one.

Module-Layout-2-rev-b-XL.jpg
 
First, let me say thanks for all of the input. I'm really looking forward to working all the way through this project right here in this thread!

Second, a word about the doors. The door at the top of the "map" is the door to the outdoors, I've lived here almost 7 years, I've gone through this door maybe twice, once to inspect some wind damage, and once to give the repairman access. I have drawn a slightly different "map" which moves a 2 by 3 in front of that door should it need to be accessed. The door at the bottom right of the "map" is to the water heater, replaced last year, should be good there. The door at the bottom left is to the garage, it'll be used for construction, the "shop" is in the garage. There is another door at the other end of the garage that we use on a daily basis, so no loss there. And the door to the left is from upstairs, the one that'll be used on a daily basis.

This room has been used for storage and has never been able to be walked through anyway.

I'm thinking that the closest section to the stairs door will be the only one ever moving.

Does that make any sense?
 
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Railrunner130 said:
You could check Lowes or Home Depot online and see if you can have the foam boards shipped.
Click to expand...

Thanks, I'll try that today.

Railrunner130 said:
I have a few shape suggestions-
1. The area left of the left OPEN I'd make into a yard and connect it to #2 at the top of the diagram.
Click to expand...
I like how you're thinking, that was my thought as well. I'll post a map with the modules numbered and assign them ideas.
Railrunner130 said:
2. I'd start out by running a loop around the larger open area.
Click to expand...
I would like a double main line for continuous running.
Railrunner130 said:
3. If you used #2 to make an incline going up as you go towards the diagram bottom, you could build a mountain in part of your pit area.
Click to expand...
I have a plan with a penninsula sticking into the pit, a mountain would be great on it!
Railrunner130 said:
4. You could layer your track around the mountain at different elevations. I was initially thinking about a loop, but that may take away too much area from your pit. Look at Hoexplorers' layout thread to gain ideas what to do with the mountain.
Click to expand...
That is currently my fave thread on here.
 
I numbered the modules so we could assign stuff to them. I'm being greedy now I think with the 2 peninsulas, but I like Railrunner130's idea of making a mountain ( 7,8,9,10 ), and my last layout had a 4 by 8 peninsula that was "The Berkshire Division" from Model Railroader, Dec 1992, I wouldn't mind giving that a better go this time on 17, 18, 19, 20.

Also, I'm liking the idea of a yard on 1 and 2. The trains could come out of the yard onto 3 and head straight across 4 to 23 to go "west" or switch right onto 4 towards 5 to go "north".

It's going to almost always be just me, are the 2 foot openings to operate/work in ok?

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I bought the 1 by 4s for the benchwork for section 2 and 3.

What size boards do you guys like for the legs, 2 by 2 or a 1 by 3 "L" or 2 by 4???

I'll get the legs after you let me know along with the boards for 1.

The local Home Depot can't even find 2 by 4 by 8 foam board in their system, even though I can find it online... sigh.
 
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