I am open and thankful for any advice or comments on the topic, but I would really like to hear some ideas form kids somewhat near my age, 12 yrs. old. here is the senario: say you have a 10x14 ft. bedroom, any you would like to have a small model railroad ( in HO scale ). you have to share space with twin bed, a small desk, a night stand, and a book shelf. you have to have accesse to your closet door, and a window that takes up most of one of the 10ft walls. you would like to have a layout with good ( and realistic ) operation, with a continuse run ( you could live without the continuse loop if you absoulutley must ), but you would like to have a decent amount of space and not to crowded for other activities ( such as dancing to you favorite song on the radio [:D][:D][:D], I listen to oldies ( 50’s 60’s and 70’s ) ). here is the question: what kind of layout would you build ? Thanks !
I’ll have a trackplan in a few days. Sounds like your an MKT and RI fan so I’ll try to find a place where they meet to base the plan on. Should I add anything else?
Actually Alex, it sounds like you really need the help and advice of the older crowd, as they have more experience designing layouts. Beside, we were your age once too.
Will your parents let you build a layout in your room, or are you just wishing and dreaming?
It sounds like you have room to have a cool layout, if you plan it correctly. Where is the door to the room, and the closet door?
The place to start a plan is with a scale drawing of the space, and all of the permenant features of the room. Then we can figure out what will fit. You may have room for curves to make a loop, or you may not.
Can you post a diagram of the space?
I don’t want to intrude, but I am a grown man in the same predicament. Except my room is 9’ x 11’, not including the 2’ x 7’ closet space.
I’d go with around the wall with a duckunder at the door.
I’ve been working on a possible layout plan that would work in my available room space. The general idea is to send the layout around the walls, pass the window, and into the closet. All other things in the room are arranged under the layout, leaving most of the room center open. This maximizes total mainline distance and free space in the room. The benchwork would be pretty high, so the duck under at the entrance is easier.
I don’t have a closet in the traditional sense, so I couldn’t tell you how to handle that. Whatever is in your closet, can it be removed? Or at least lowered so the layout can run above it?
Aggro, do you have to sleep in that room too, or is it a spare room? I’m not a big fan of duck unders, especially when it comes to the main entry to the space. Removable bridges are better for that kind of design.
Because Alex has a closet that he will probably have to keep, a full “around the room” may not be an option for him. I’m thinking of something like a loop in one corner of the room and a wye coming off it with a long tail for yard and industries on a shelf.
Yes. I eat, sleep, and everything else in that room. Bed, TV, everrything. Plus a whole bunch of storage containers.
You may want to consider a layout that will move up and down on a pully system.
Because it sounds like you use your room a lot it seems that you might consider something that will allow you too be a little more flexible.
When you don’t wanna work on your train you can just send the layout up to the celing.
Keep in mind that a layout like this will limit the size of your layout.
Yeah Aggro, as much as you want to maximize your layout, you still need room to move around in there. I suppose if you choose the correct height, and keep the track near the door to a minimum, you could get away with it, but it will be a squeeze. I still say don’t have a duck under to enter the room, you’ll get tired of that very quickly.
Stack the containers, lower the bed and keep the shelf over it narrow, so you don’t whack your head. You could build out from the walls about 2’ all the way around, maybe even 3’ in a couple of spots. Just remember, you’re an adult.
As for Alex, his parents may have some say as to what is OK and what isn’t in his room.
dougal, the only other specification is that the terrian be western oklahoma. aggro, due to lack of carpentry skills and doors that swing into the room, I cannot build and around the walls layouts, but great suggestion ! here is a diagram of the room ( not to scale ! ) :
- 2ft - WINDOW - 2FT -
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- 10ft -
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- 11.5 ft -
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- 14ft -
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DON’T DO IT. My room is the same and I endend up taking it all apart and moving it to my basement. I advise you to not do it. If that is your only space though, then do what you can to keep siblings and pets out. My brother always ruined it, but now that mine is in the basement he doesn’t touch it.
Hmmm, sounds like you have a problem. Well, will a 4x8 work? Or maybe a folded dogbone layout? You could do a shelf layout, it’d just be 4 feet wide to acomodate the continuous (yes, that’s how you spell it) run. 4x…say, 8 or 7 (or 6 or 5). Well, that’s all the advice I can give.
I cannot have a 4x8, but I have not given up on the dog bone idea.
Don’t get wrapped up in the prototype Alex and Mark. Defining the space comes before what goes into it. You can make the railroad look like whatever you want once you know what the benchwork will look like.
I’m afraid the room drawing didn’t quite turn out. Is it a perfect rectangle 10 x 14? If so, just start on one wall, and go around the whole room describing and giving the dimensions. Call the walls north, south, east and west.
Sometime in the late 80’s MR Published a nice 2 by 10 trackplan. I’ll try to find it and give you the date.
Maybe a shelf layout or a switching layout would be adequate. I know exactly what you are talking about. I have the same problem with my parents. If only they were crazy about them too…
Andrew
There are a few shelf layouts in “101 Track Plans”. This a classic title from Kalmbach, which has been around longer than most of you guys have been alive, even Aggro. I think they updated the cover a few years ago, and of course the price keeps going up, but it still sells after all of these years. TRACK PLANS ARE TIMELESS!!! They are also adaptable![swg]
Guess what, I went down to the basement and found my 3 copies of 101 Track Plans. Cover prices of $2.00, $2.50 and $3.00. I knew it was old, but it was in it’s third printing the year I was born, 1961!!! It was first published in 1956!!!
Plans 6, 7, 8, 11, 12, 51, 55, 68* and 72* would all fit, though 68 and 72 would need to be modified. Some of these are small enough that they could be combined or added to to make something really cool.
Big Boy 4005, are any of those plan adaptable for an oklahoma prairie theme ?
I don’t see why not. Most of them are yard and industrial though. Wide open spaces usually only have a single track running through them. That’s nice if your goal is to model the scenery, but in a limited space, I would think that you would prefer to squeeze in some track for the purpose of moving some cars around. Yards and industries have the activity and make great small layouts. Ask Jetrock if you can find him, he likes switching along city streets.
Plan 72 however may be just the ticket. It is 30" wide down most of it’s length with a small bulge in the middle, where it widens to 48". That bulge has a small loop with tight curves, but it does allow you to turn a train on and let it go. This plan would need a little modification, because it is a little too long, 18’ total. But one end could easily be clipped off without losing much of the fun.
Also, if Mark comes up with a magazine date for a plan, I have every MR back to 1950. I can look at them and make you a copy.
Alex, does your room look something like this?
I figured it out by seeing how you drew it in your other post. I used the quote button and was able to see the spacing that was lost by the forum when you posted it.
How far is the entry door from the lower right corner?
Will the furniture fit the way I have it shown?
Do you like it so far?
Big Boy, might work ( I’ll go upstairs here in a minute and lay it out with some E-Z track ). the space from the corner to the door is a little over 2 ft. Thanks !!