I’m trying to gather some information about layouts that run above the doors around the room. I need some ideas on materials to use and ways of mountain shelves. Possible concerns or gotchas…
This will be a Ho layout I plan to put about 1/2 from the edge of a 4 inch shelf. Nears the wall I throw in a few things but not much since it’s 4 inces deep but a bit on the high side. Also thought putting rope lighting on the inside my illuminate the train a bit… Also plan on having some lanscape at the corners a various places I have room.
I would also like to take out some small area of shelving a put a homemade suspension bridge.
Why do you want to put an HO layout above the door? You’ll have to stand on something to even see it!!! Can’t you lower it to about the level of the light switch or your eye level? I plan on having an around-the-room layout at about eye level that crosses the doors on drop-in sections. The layout will be attached to the walls with gussets (triangles) attached to the studs. The layout will be sectional, such that I can work on sections in the garage on a workbench. It won’t be wider than 12" - 15" except in the yard area, and then only a little wider.
When you enter a room, notice how close you ever get to the wall. I bet you never get closer than about 18". Your furniture is mostly no higher than about 4’ - 4.5’. Why not use the available space above the furniture at a level that is comfortable for you to see and operate? By attaching gussets to the studs, you do minimal damage to the walls and the layout can be moved if needed.
I just don’t understand putting a railroad so high that you get an ant’s-eye-view. What’s to see?
I disagee completely with Marc C. If you operate your trains while lying on the floor, perhaps he’s right. But standing upright, how much further from the action are you than on a “traditional” layout. In a perfect world we all would have the layout of our dreams, but usually in this one, we create the layout we can.
Building it on a narrow shelf as you describe keeps the track close to the front and the action visible. I am 5’-9" tall and if I were standing “in front” of your layout running at about 6’-10" above the floor, the trains would be passing before me at about the same distance as a layout 4’ above the floor. Of course if you’re standing very close to the wall you’ll see nothing, but standing comfortably back a step or two, you will have an excellent view.
Considerations are the need for extremely good track laying to avoid sending your trains over a nearly 600’ high cliff and creating very narrow scenery, creatively using building flats and taller mountain backdrops. In fact, combining the height with a mountainous backdrop likely will create a more dramatic illusion than is possible on the traditional layout. Your scenario probably wouldn’t lend itself to realistically modeling the prairie lands, though.
I am considering an 8’ high shelf layout around my office for my small collection of HO equipment. Why? Because it is the difference between having something there or having nothing. And no, I cannot put it any lower due to archways, huge windows and 8’ high bookcases. I’m sure jflessne has equally valid reasons.
I use to run my o-scale above the doors in the family room. The o-scale was easer to see as the ho seemed small . If I was going to have a second track I would raise it 3/4 " so it could be seen!
Have you ever BUILT a layout at 6’-10" elevation and observed it from several feet away. I’m an inch taller than you and can only visualize the bottom of the train and the underside of the shelf. There won’t be any view of the top of the train, and from that angle there won’t be any view of the scenery behind the track, even if the shelf is only 4" deep! I’ve seen the G-scale layouts around the ceilings and don’t think it is a smart place to put the trains, as all I get to see is the underside of the trains. In HO, it would be harder to see any detail, as things are significantly smaller. I’m not impressed and would rather find an alternative to doing that. I would rather see the trains from the side or slightly above. I just don’t care for the view from below.
True, one would not see the top of the trains and the scenery, as I tried to point out, would have to have a vertical element since you would not be seeing the base of it.
Here’s an unpainted static model that I set on a shelf at 6’-10 1/2" with some cardboard 4" behind it.
The photo was taken with the camera at my eye-level. (I’m 5’-9") If having a layout meant putting it at this height, I would live with the limitation.
Alternative locations almost certainly would be preferable but jflessne didn’t ask for alternatives or indicate aternatives were possible, so I saw no need to second-guess him and simply tried to offer some positive suggestions for his scenario instead.
If building a layout in unusual places means having a layout of some kind vs having nothing, I would always opt to encourage building it despite the obstacles.
Wayne
Added: Are you still with us jflessne ? Any thoughts?
I have done what you are considering in my dining room. Of all the projects and enhancements that have been made to my home, I do believe this is the one that everyone enjoys the most. Can you see the trains? Of course you can see the trains. Can you see the scenery? Of course you can see the scenery. Is HO the best scale for this idea? It depends on the size of the room. My layout runs around a room that is 12X18…HO scale fits well without being the main focal point in the room. My shelf is made of Melomene which is nothing more than partical board finished both sides with a very thin layer of formica. It is attached with screws at every stud thru the width of the shelf, was alot of work and requires good shop equipment to accomplish, but it was the only way to avoid any kind of angled supports or brackets. The background will be a border size wallpaper of bavarian mountain scenery as soon as I can find it. I do have a few buildings up there where they fit, in the corners mostly and along one 18 foot wall where I made the shelf 8 inches deep as opposed to 4 just for this purpose.
You will need to raise the buildings up around 3/4 of an inch to compensate for the angle that you are viewing from. Tips or tricks…the biggest problem that you will face with this layout is noise. Do everything in your power to isolate the track from the shelf surface. I highly recommend foam for roadbed and do not mechanically attach the track to the shelf. This layout is really a memorial to my father who left me his collection of bavarian style buildings and Roco rolling stock - anyone who has run Roco equipment knows that they are virtually silent in operation as they are precise little machines. If I run them any faster than “creep” you would swear that jets were flying over. If I run any of my other loco’s up there the noise is just unacceptable. I did not even consider this when I was building it so let me say it again - do everything in your power to isolate the track from the shelf. Do not le
Thanks for the picture. It shows exactly why I wouldn’t do it. But, It is not for my railroad, so jflesnee can do whatever suits his fancy. Personally, I’d like to see the trains better for all the effort he’s going to have to go through.
jflessne seems to have vanished after starting the discussion, so we have no way of knowing if there is are alternate locations. But I would still advise him to build it at that height rather than build nothing because some feel that it’s not ideal. Not all are blessed with acres of basement.
Having something is better than having nothing in my opinion. It seems to have worked for thexder. I’m glad no one told him to forget it.
I love to be told that something “can’t” or “should’nt” be done. I hear the words but the imagination area in my brain almost always translates them to “can” and “do”. Most of the time this has worked out great…there have been a few instances that I will just write off as a golden opportunity to learn from my mistake…such is life. Wayne, thank you for the kind words. Your writing indicates that you may be inflicted with the same condition that I am!..
The layout around my dining room ceiling should be considered as a decorative functioning display, not as as an interactive railroad. As I have mentioned before, everything that is up there was left in my care when my father passed away. As all of it was of a european style it would not have fit into my existing basement layout at all as I like to model and run with big heavy american diesel. It just did not seem right to put everything in a box and store it. I considered static shelf displays. I considered running another small layout in my basement with just this equipment. Combine both ideas and you get - running layout shelf display. Idea was born…told my family…they shook their heads in disbelief…imagination heard “cant” converted it to can…big windows - door wall - above the door it goes…Norm Abrham building stuff with Melomine…add the fact that I personally do not know anyone that has this (or would want it for that matter)…idea moved to plan then reality. It has been running for 5 years now and to be honest I cannot even imagine having a dining room without a train.
I miss my dad…when I look up he is there…I think he would have loved to see his trains run as they do and to see something that he enjoyed so much in his life carry on in ours…(that was a tough sentence to type)…sometimes it is more than just a train.
Mark C. I appreciate and agree with your observations as
You might try foam board as a subroadbed with cork or Woodland Scenics roadbed to keep the noise down. I’d be tempted to lower it and put a drop down section in front of the door. At 5’ high, it would be fairly easy to duck under when the trains are running. Remove it when the trains are not running.
