Fred:
Thanks for suggesting the LED T8 tubes. I have done a little research on them and they work great IF you have the correct ‘instant on’ ballast. The club house is in a very old building so we would have to get a couple of sample bulbs to test things out.
Ed:
Cleaning the fixtures is certainly a smart idea.
The ceiling is only eight feet high, or maybe less, so getting to the light fixtures won’t require huge ladders.
Dave
Do plug-in track lighting instead, conponents are cheap (many times free if you know the right people or buy the cans on e-bay) and you can use screw in LED’s, works great, my whole bacement was done for less than $500, way less and that includes the old bulbs (CFL’s) and the new bulbs (just replaced all the CFL’s) LED’s.
fwright—I am interested in seeing the details of your “top adjustment of leg length.” It sounds like a great idea—I’m getting too old to stoop and crawl.
I am interested in the details of your “top adjustment of leg length.” It sounds promising—I’m getting too old for stooping and crawling.
The details were developed by other club members, and published in the 2013 HOn3 Annual.
Basically, a 3/8" threaded rod is fixed into the lower leg section. An upper leg section of 2x2, sanded smooth, is bored to accept the threaded rod through a threaded T-nut on the bottom of the upper section. The top of the upper section rotates against a bearing plate (piece of plywood). The top section is rotated, extending or shortening the amount of threaded rod between upper and lower leg sections, which adjusts the height of the leg.
You simply reach under the module corner during setup, and twist the upper leg section to raise or lower the corner of the module. No more crawling on the floor and adjusting legs at the bottom.
When first made, the top of the upper leg section was a 1" diameter dowel glued into the 2x2. This 1" dowel fit into a hole in the bearing plate on the module, sort of locking it in place. This proved to be not all that important - the modules were pretty rigid when clamped together, and the legs adjusted without the dowel and hole.
Some folks used PVC pipe for the top section instead of 2x2. Basically, anything you make move up and down on the threaded rod will work. You want the upper section to be comfortable when twisting with your hand for adjustment.
Fred W
I see it now. Thanks for the information.
Fred:
Thanks for the suggestion about the adjustable leg mechanisms. Even though our new layout will be permanent (more or less), being able to adjust for level easily is a good idea.
Dave
Here is a challenge for all you layout designers. I have attached a diagram of the space that our club has for a new permanent layout. Basically, the layout has to fit below the ‘S’ shaped dotted line that runs across the middle of the diagram. For now, I’m more interested in the layout outline, but if you want to add track then by all means please do so. Walls cannot be moved. Let’s see what you can do:
Here is my best attempt. Actually I made several attempts but I won’t bore you with all of them. The green arrows indicate aisle width, if that wasn’t clear. The return loop on the left is 40" radius and the one in the center is 44" radius. The straight shelf sections on the right and the bottom are 30" deep:
Thanks for your input!
Dave
looks like a great start.
store the portable layout under the club layout or make it attach to the club layout and be part of it.
lounge area is too big. place bar stools areound for sitting and watching.
If you can the peninsula will get wider with a backdrop down the center of it for main line on both sides.
Steve
I don’t think 8’ of width is too much for a table even with bar stools instead of chairs. More of us are John Goodman before rather than John Goodman after.
I assume something 6x12 that is “portable” comes apart - good idea making it part of the ‘permanent’ layout, extending the layout up the left side. Or is it a different scale?
–Randy
Hey Dave-
The first thing I noticed is wide aisles. Good decision! Try to resist the urge to encroach on them.
Robert
the turn back on the 11 foot side is going to tight if you hava a 40" radius. will not quite fit the profile you have drawn there.
Steve
I think you’re trying to do too much in the space. I can’t imagine a track plan that would fit in the area you have drawn that would keep club sized operating sessions interesting.
I would put storage under the layout, move the lounge to the storage room, dump the portable layout and dedicate the entire main room to the primary layout.
Agree with Carl, maybe store the portable layout under a peninsula, and other items under the layout against the walls. Break area in what is now the storage area may be a bit small but the layout itself would be much bigger, a good trade off in my opinion.
I agree. Find someone’s garage to store the portable layout in or get a storage unit. Turn the storage room into the lounge. Those two items eat up half of the space, and everyone who ever built a layout knows you can never have too much room. The lounge doesn’t have to have a large table in the middle. It can have a bar and small cocktail tables.
I’m not sure how the kitchen is designed but you might be able to build a passthrough between the kitchen and the storage room and have the bar inside the kitchen.
Hi gang!
Thanks for all the replies! Lots to think about.
Let me try to address some of the suggestions:
I should have given a few more details about the portable layout. It consists of seven 2’ x 4’ modules. When assembled the track is 62" off the floor (which we all agree is too tall by the way). When broken down six of the modules fit into two roughly 2’ x 4’ rolling cabinets. The cabinets form the support structure for the layout when it is set up and that is why the layout is so high in the air when assembled.
We have made the decision that if and when we take it to shows, it will be in good working order. We don’t want to have to make repairs at the shows. That has been a problem in the past. That means that we have to have space to set it up to work on it. Also, it does provide running space for two or three operators.
There has been some discussion about rebuilding the portable layout so that it is at a better height. That would also theoretically allow it to be integrated into the permanent layout.
The possibility of scrapping the portable layout hasn’t really entered into the conversation as far as I know. I will raise the possibility. Certainly we could design the permanent layout so that parts of it could be taken to shows.
The storage area is 8’ x 10’. It was deemed by the club executives that it was too small for a lounge. Perhaps that decision needs to be revisited. We have what seems like a lot of stuff to store, but what still has to be done is go through each box and toss out the garbage. We moved a bunch of pretty rabid looking scenery materials and a several old structures that are caked in dust from the old location. I suspect that a lot of what we dragged from the old place will end up in the trash.
I believe that the kitchen is 10’ x 10’. It has storage space in it too, but almost all of that will b
You’ve already got a lot to think about, but what about moving the lounge area to squarely in the middle of the room, with the layout wrapping around it? You could have spinning chairs at your big table, so you can either face the table or spin your chair around to face the layout
Hi speedybee:
Interesting concept. I’ll have to think about that one for a while.
Thanks,
Dave
OK guys, I just stirred the pot! I sent the club members an e-mail making the following suggestions:
Then I suggested committing sacrilege! I said that we should scrap the existing portable layout! We can build the new layout so that part of it is portable. That will allow us to still do the shows. I might have to wear some body armour to the next meeting in order to survive![swg][(-D][(-D][(-D]
At the risk of repeating myself, thanks for the ideas!
Dave