Newbie- Wondering how to utilize space


C

csxma

New Member
Hi Everyone,

Getting back into the hobby and would like some ideas on how to best utilize the space in the basement. Around the wall? Pennisula ? Basement has sheetrock walls, suspended ceiling, and ceramic tile floor. Probably start with something manageable and then expand. I have attached a pdf file with the specs.

Thanks Gene
 
You don't give the width of the room so it's kind of hard to judge but I'd go with a shelf layout around the walls on room 2 about two feet wide with two 4x4' blobs at each end if you want continuous running. That just sets the general dimensions. You need to think about what era you want to model, what part of the country your railroad is in, and what industries and towns your railroad will serve. That will have a lot to do with goes on the benchwork. Are you going to run DC or all DCC? That will have a lot of impact on what kind of track, switches, ad wiring you need. Search for Spacemouse here and read his five minute beginners guide. You have a lot to think about and I believe you'll find the benchwork is the easy part in the long run. :)
 
Hi and welcome.

I usually recommend people star with my Beginner's Guide to Layout Design. You can click it in my signature. Takes about 5 minutes to read. It will give you some things to think about.
 
Welcome to the forum nd good luck . All I will recomend is measure twice and cut once !!!!
 
I'd go with jim's advice for a 2 foot shelf around room 2, but it looks like you have at least 20 feet (judging by the 42 foot dimension you give) so I'd add a 4 foot wide island in the middle with a scenic divider so you'd have 2 feet on each side. That would give you a lot more room for trains, scenery, industries,ect. plus more mainline if you choose to do a point to point. Otherwise, the middle of the room isn't good for much. You'd still have a 4 ft. aisle on each side at the blobs, which would expand to 6 ft. along the 2 ft portions.
 
Oops, forgot to include the width. It is about 28 feet. A 2 foot is probably the best for accessibility but is it deep enough for scenery a couple of mainlines? What about 30"? I have been looking at Mianne and Sievers for benchwork as I haven't done much carpentry before or have alot of tools. Any recommendations on radius? Would like to be able to run a variety of equipment. How do figure out the amount of space needed for a particular curve? I will probably go with DCC as it is easier to setup and will give more flexibility and control.

I appreciate everyone's help and will take a look at spacemouse's beginners guide.
 
Always use the biggest curve radii you can and the largest turnouts you can. They you keep you options open as to what you can run.

30" is a maximum doable bench width. DCC is the way to go.
 
Beyond 2 foot, the reach over gets pretty long.......you could do some scenery beyond that and and keep all your track and such that you need to reach on the front 2 feet. Just do the scenery work before you lay track and such so you can lean on the front if you need to while doing construction. You may have a long reach too.....go to your kitchen table/counter, and see how far you can reach before you feel like you're going to fall over.....that's your max depth. The height you build at affects reach too...you can reach farther at lower height since you can bend at the waist .
 
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I often suggest the exercise that Dave suggests with a twist. I tell people to put a glass of water on the edge of the table and another at the end of the reach. Reach over both glasses and pretend you are re-railing a car.
 
I concur about the two foot width. I am currently working on a 30" wide freight yard and that is about as far as I can effectively and comfortably reach the back wall keeping in mind that there be structures and scenery on the near edge of the layout.
 
If you want to go deeper than 30", there's an ad in MR for a folding gizmo that allows to reach in up to 48" without wrecking anything. It only costs $280 and you have to unfold the whole contraption every time you need it and then fold it back up and find a place to put it. Or, you can just build it 30" wide. You can get a lot of track and scenery in 30" and you'll save yourself a ton of grief.
 
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