I may have the opportunity to have a train room in a new house to be built in a couple years. What should I include in the building plans? Best floor covering? ceiling? walls? lighting? electric outlets? The room size could be from 10x15 to 15x20.
Any suggestions/ideas for having the perfect dream train room would be appreciated.
We just completed an addition to our house that included, among other things as 22’ x 23’ room that will house my new layout. I I have wall recepticals every 8 ft. and two floor recepticals near the center of the room. I installed twelve can lights and have provisions to install track lighting where needed. I have added a wet bar in the corner of the room that includes a sink and refrigerator. The floor was carpeted with a commercial grade (i.e. durable low pile carpet). The doors to the room are pocket doors so that no space is wasted by having the doors open into the room. I prewired stereo speakers into the ceiling and have a cable TV and phone outlet in the room as well. I have started bechwork and I am delighted at how livable the room is.
That’s not just a layout room, it’s my dream room for anything a guy could want!!!
Ceiling? definitely. The solider the better, but suspended is probably adequate. (I’m picturing a basement–anywhere else would already have something.) You’ll need something there to hang your lights from.
Floor covering? In the basement, a rug to keep your feet warm. It also cushions your catastrophic derailments a bit. On the other hand, tiny bits WILL disappear in it. Suggested test: drop a Kadee coupler spring on the carpet and see if the salesman can find it. Shag carpets definitely OUT.
Lots of lights. Lots of outlets. Have access to the outlets – plan your bechwork to leave them clear. Switches for all the outlets. Have one light plugged into the circuit that the layout is plugged into to warn you that it’s still live. Other than that, separate circuits for layout, lights and “other” e.g. power tools, vaccuum cleaner, TV sets… Colour code the outlets?
Can you arrange to have the access in the middle of the room? This lets you use all the walls with no duckunders. (works best in attic or basement.) That’s assuming that you will have a big circular track plan.
–David
A few years ago an article in MR or maybe the NMRA bulletin – guy was remodeling and included benchwork in the contruction order – that means the borrowed money to pay for it was tax deductible! Hats off gentlemen, a genius!
Speaking as someone who is 6’8" tall the one thing I’d change (but cannot) about my basement is the headroom from the ductwork.
Dave Nelson
THANK YOU all for the suggestions. Keep them coming, as I still have plenty of planning time left. I hope to avoid using a basement, unless it can have a large groundlevel door to the outside. I’ve had enough of trying to bring 4x8 sheets down narrow stairs.
Your ideas are great and I really appreciate them. Pocket doors! I wouldn’t have thought of that. Space outside the room for helixes- great idea, but that may require better negotiating skills than I have.
How about lighting? Flourescents are cheaper, but cannot be dimmed . Would a combination of tubes & bulbs be best?
Thanks again.
Since I haven’t laid any track yet, the answer is no. The wet bar doubles as a sink for my modelling projects. But it is pretty convenient to have soft drink or brewsky handy in the train room.
I don’t think that would go over to well with the wife. But then again, I could add an HO scale Hooters to my layout. Maybe Walthers could come out with a Hotters as part of their next Cornerstone series.
I have had that opportunity 2 years ago and one thing that I had the contractor add an extra row of blocks so I could add a drop ceiling and keep the plumbing up above the ceiling as much as possible. I also deleted all of the small basement windows ( the basement is all underground so I had the basement steps come down from the garage. The house is a double wide 28x76 so I now have nothing in the basement except the postd and an exit at the rear of the room.
The wiring I installed and put the outlets 4 to a box and about every 10 to 12 feet. The lights are set up on 8 switches to only light the area I am in at the time (saving electricity). I drywallte and foam insulated the walls, the ceiling is already insulated. I have about 50, 4 tube & 2 tube flourescent lights throughout the basement.
The floor will have rug inthe isleways eventually. The benchwork is up and have over 2300ft of HO track down so far. The scenery is just beginning. Have had many operation sessions using Digitrax Radio DCC.
This layout is one fun thing to operate.
BOB H Clarion, PA
To Bob H. in Clarion, PA
I would like to chat with you. Will you contact me? My email address is: georgeyurick@cs.com
Thanks so much.
We recently remodeled an existing portion of the basement as a train room. The above advice on lighting, ceiling, and electrical is good, you may consider the following:
- Adding shelf/layout supports before finishing the drywall.
2., room to eliminate allow onshing rpp
You’re right. I’ve been dreaming about a room like this for over twenty years. My wife notices how much time spend there w/ my sons and fellow model railroadrers.
By the way, I forgot to mention that I had to agree to a kitchen remodel to get the boss to go along with it. We don’t have basements in California and I found it was too difficult to operate DCC dependably in my garage. We spent two years planing our home addition which also added a couple of bedroom and a bathroom. The crazy part is that with interest rates wqhere they are today, my monthly payment didn’t change much.
We recently remodeled an existing portion of the basement as a train room. The above advice on lighting, ceiling, and electrical is good, you may also consider the following:
- Adding shelf/layout supports before finishing the drywall.
- Cove your corners and have center access.
- Add hydronic heat in the floor and good carpet and pad.
- Add peninsula supports or center aisles before finish carpentry and drywall.
- Garner a corner outside the room for your helix (or two).
- Leave room for a comfortable workbench and storage/staging tracks.
- Allow for the separation of room and layout lighting.
Hope this helps. Have fun and good luck!
What I want to know is;
Does the track get used as much as the “Wet Bar”? Good for you, John
Where do the waitresses from Hooters sit?
Since I haven’t laid any track yet, the answer is no. The wet bar doubles as a sink for my modelling projects. But it is pretty convenient to have soft drink or brewsky handy in the train room.
Not only is the interest deductible, but the loan can be repaid over 30 years.
I’ve had a lot of fun with this thread, as you can see from my numerous posts. With respect tot you question about lighting. I discussed this issue at length with numerous people at the NMRA convention in San Jose in 2000. I decided that, for my purposes, incandescent lights w/ dimmer switches was the way to go. Th principal disadvantage is higher electrical usage and heat generated by the bulbs. If you go w/ flourescent lights, be sure to get the tubular light covers to block out the UV light or else your scenery will discolor over time. I would be interested in hearing the responses of others on the topic of lighting.
You raised a really good point about the light switches. I had pocket doors installed, so installing the light switches on the wall next to the door was impossible. The solution was to build a pony wall (i.e. a wall about 40" high) that sticks out perpendicular to the room wall next to the door. I installed a bank of six light switches and a ceiling fan switch on that wall.
I’ve used Ott Light flourescent tubes for quite a while. They simulate natural daylight very well, and I haven’t noticed any scenery fading. They are more expensive than regular tubes, but they are good for about a zillion hours.