I have 11feet by 30 inches and a 6 foot 30 inch return along two walls. The retrun will easily fit my saw mill pond and auxillary sheds and outbound lumber tracks. I have four six foot staging tracks.
So I have 11 feet to build a small yard, service facilities and a representation of a town–a company store, passenger, and an industry or two–and do it without over crowding. Well it all fits okay as long as I don’t have a yard lead–which of course pretty much defeats the purpose of a switching layout.
I’m not asking for help at this point. I have eight months to either sort it out or make a compromise. But I figure I’m probably the only one in this boat, right?
Time to go back and study plans by Rice and Armstrong.
This is the eternal problem in model railroading, too much layout and not enough basement. Some people have ended up adding additions to their house to fix this - temporarily at least.
Leave it to Chip to post the obvious…! [;)][;)][;)] The answer is YES! If I lived in a Mansion all by myself with 40’ x 40’ rooms and all the moneyt in the world, I still wouldn’t have enough space. But then, I’m a dreamer…[:D]
BTW, the construction guy is coming tomorrow to give me an estimate on the additional room for my layout. It will be around 18’ x 12’ and will add to a room that is approximately 14’ by 18’. My hope is to live long enough to have it all completed before I have to move into the Nursing Home… [:p][:p]
I’m going to make a predition. As long as you are laying track and expanding your layout, you will stay out of the nursing home. (If you haven’t heard of it do a google search)
Is the Pope Catholic. I like the Wincheaster house analogy. I also believe in free will which means I can make choices. I was amazed at how much I could cram into my limited space. Those who say it is not prototype have never looked my head.
That’s the haunted mansion isn’t it? Maybe I will just come back that way and make trains run in the middle of the night…[:0]
I know of a Nursing Home nearby that has an operating layout for the residents. It can only be used under the direct supervision of the Chief Engineer (a volunteer), but who knows 20 or 30 years from now it may be DCC instead of DC and have more scenery (kinda plain now). If I can’t take my trains with me, I ain’t goin’! [:D][;)][:D]
No, it is the home of the wife of the Winchester Firearms Mogul.
A psychic told her that she would die when her house construction was completed so she kept adding on to her house. She had doors that opened into walls, and stairways that took 100 steps to go up one floor and stair wells that led to nowhere. Like I said, do the Google search.
I feel for you. I’m trying to cram 100 mi into a 12x20 space. Ok, lets simplify things, how about 40 mi in a 12x20 space. Good. O fine, i’ll just fit 6 mi in a 9x8 space!
Couldn’t you double up by using the staging yard section for the yard lead? Neither takes much depth and you could use scenery to hide the staging yard. For example have the yard lead on near the front edge of the benchwork and have the staging yard under a hill that lifts out for access to the staging yard.
Well, yes I could, but the first part of the yard lead would be hidden. It goes through a wall and back again.
Here’s what I am dealing with. What you see here is doodles so nothing is even close to set in stone. I want to avoid track in the back corner. Where the current yard lead ends is log pond. In fact, I was shrinking the pond and growing the lead and it didn’t work.
Under the layout is an entertainment center. Under the staging is a sofa. The stub to the lower right will be the expansion along the wall over laundry and workbenches to Phase II on the complete other side of the room.
No my friend. Having abandoned the garage and moved to use the spare bedroom, I now have a 11’ 7 1/4" x 11’ 9" space to try and crowd in what I’m looking for and need along a roughly 100 mile (or 57 mile if I half the area) stretch of line.
The OL and I recently picked up Small, Smart & Practical Track Plans (ISBN 0-89024-416-2) and Mid-sized & Manageable Track Plans (ISBN 0-89024-623-8) both by Iain Rice. He has some intresting ideas and innovations, but he sometimes lacks a follow through with hard info and numbers, so one is left to ponder and back engineer.
I’m positive you’ll make the space work, you certainly have a better eye for track design that I. [;)] Keep us up to date.
Having toured the Winchester house this summer, I can say for sure, I do not have enough space for my (dream) layout, but will have to design with what I have. Maybe I could go multi-level. The more the merrier LOL
hey Chip your obviosly no different than any one else sounless you switch everyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy thing over to N scale … just kidding hmm your not N scale already I hope if my memory serves me right that is. Have you thought of maybe making another level under the bench work or perhaps another level above the bench work ?[:)]
