New poster here, with a question/dilema some of you may have faced at some point in your modeling careers:
How do you ‘stay in the game’ without the space to have a dedicated layout? I’m in my mid-30s, and have had toy/model trains of some kind basically my entire life. From tinplate & postwar ‘O’ gauge Lionel to scale HO stuff through my teens.
Aside from setting up a circle of Lionel hi-rail track around the tree every Christmas, I’ve basically been absent from the hobby since my early 20s, but I’m catching the bug again. Only problem is, with a new house and new (first) child, there’s no room for me to have a traditional layout.
As far as I see it, I have a few not necessarily mutually exclusive options:
A)- Content myself to update/repair/collect rolling stock and motive power until I do have room for a layout
B)- Find a space for a VERY minimal (eg folding shelf-top size) ‘layout’ for at least switching maneuvers (and/or maybe switch scales to N, or even Z?)
C)- Carpet Central: do EZ Track/FasTrack or equivalents actually make setting track up temporarily feasible and not just frustrating?
D)- Local club
I have a bunch of HO rolling stock and steam locos from the '80s and '90s that could use refreshing, and updates to current technology (motors, DCC, sound!!, etc), I could start there and see where things go.
What have others done to stay energized about the hobby, without the ability to operate or run trains in the way one usually thinks about it?
I lived in a hi-rise condo five years that had no real space for an HO layout. If I had known I would be living there that long I would have built some small layout just to keep my hand in the game and learn new techniques. But there was no good place for sawing, drilling, etc., much less an airbrush or even rattlecan painting.
There were not the good prefab benchwork options then that are available now.
I did use the opportunity to convert my entire collection of rolling stock to Kadee couplers, and bring them up to NMRA weight standards where possible. That may sound like a so-what achievement now, but that was when even new stuff still came with horn hooks and I had a 25 year supply of horn hook (and some Baker coupler) rolling stock.
I did some kit building and mostly built the kits as I bought them.
One thing I did was commence my serious library of prototype research material, books, maps, and other materials. That may sound more like railfan activity and I suppose it was.
Knowing what I know now, I would have built, however it could have been done, a small switching layout. I think running trains is very important in keeping up interest either on your own layout or those of friends. Fortunately I did have a friend who had frequent operating sessions.
If you have a backlog of unbuilt kits, or rolling stock that needs attention, you will find plenty to do. But again I think running trains helps keep the spark alive.
I live in a mobile home and have no real space for a layout either. BUT, I FORCED an issue.
I have a 3.5 foot x 5.1 foot HO layout. It utilizes the Atlas snap track exclusively and your 80s-90s shorter equipment should run on it. It consists of two interconnected ovals {connected by snap switches}, a 4 spur “spur yard”{a swiched pair spur off each of two spurs off the main line} and a 2 “spur engine service yard” {one switched spur off the mainline spur switch. It means “fouling the main line” to use the 4 spurs, but it is artificial anyway.
I can load up cars and travel to the outside line and load up a new train and run on the inside simultaineously.
Then I can disassemble the trains backwards and store the cars on the 4 spurs, and the engines on the engine facilities spurs for “servicing”.
A Bachmann EZ DCC system {any basic system will work} ensures I can run the engines in any direction at any speed independently as I want around the layout, essentially with no “block switches” between ovals and just a feeder wire or two.
it is built of 1"foam over open grid construction so is lightweight and easy to set up/tear down if necessary.As long as you don’t climb on it you will be fine. I used 2% grade foam inclines from Woodland Scenics to “vary the terrain”. i hope to be moving soon, so it will move easy!
So, If you can afford just that small a space, you CAN have a HO scale MRR.
[#welcome] to the forum.
I made the mistake of using no room for a layout as a poor excuse to procrastinate. There are so many projects I could have researched properly and started earlier but didn’t and now rue the time I wasted.
I found I learnt a lot by joining the local club, especially when there were like minded members with similar goals and now that I have moved on from the club, I’m finding that getting to run once or twice a year with the local modular group helps soothe the train running itch.
RDG Casey a fellow forum member who doesn’t have a layout uses EZ Track or something similar set up on a wooden floor to show case his brilliant scratchbashed locomotives. You can check out his work and a couple of videos here… http://cs.trains.com/mrr/f/88/p/248717/2792051.aspx#top
Have Fun,
I have been in the hobby for about 12 years and I still don’t have a layout. There have been a variety of reasons as to why not, but the biggest reason (my son) will be moving out eventually (I no longer say ‘soon’) and once his exercise equipment is gone I will have space to construct a 10’ x 24’ layout in the garage.
I have kept myself busy in several ways:
I purchased 3rdPlanIt layout design software early on and I have spent a lot of time working on my plan. I can’t remember how many revisions I have made but now I have a workable solution. I have been able to correct numerous faults as I studied the plan and learned, mostly from the forums but also from resources like ‘Track Planning for Realistic Operation’ by John Armstrong. That is a ‘must read’!
I spent a lot of time scratch building structures. That was a lot of fun, and I learned a lot. All of the structures I built will fit into the layout, although I may re-build a couple of them to correct mistakes I made the first time round.
I got into installing sound in almost all of my locomotives. That was a real learning exercise but very rewarding. I had sound in my S series switchers long before any manufacturers were offering the option commercially. I have put DCC, and in many cases sound, into very tiny switching engines. I learned a lot about programming. I also learned a lot from my mistakes![swg][(-D]
I have gotten into building kits. I did a ton of Athearn BB freight cars at first, and I was very pleased to bring them up to NMRA standards. More recently I have tackled a few resin kits. At first they scared the heck out of me, but I soon discovered that overcoming the challenges is most of the fun.
Along the way, I got into installing lighting in HO scale vehicles and I had a ball with that. Just as an example of how one’s skills develop, I hadn’t quite fig
I am in the same situation as the OP - hardly any space for a layout and, as a matter of fact, hardly any funds to build one. Nevertheless I am quite active in the hobby as there many ways around these obstacles. They do require a change in scale to the smaller ones, though.
Build a Z scale briefcase layout - a web search will give you interesting ideas!
Other options include building a micro-layout (look here for ideas), or a small HOn30 narrow gauge layout.
I have just starting to build my own little layout. It´s a rather simple and small layout, not more than just a loop of track and a siding. The setting is in the Swiss Alps and it follows the prototype of the Rhaetian Railway. The layout itself will rest on a cabinet on casters and will be built to furniture standards for good looks. The room it will be in is a shared facility - office, laundry room, guest room, train room - all in one.
I am one of those people that’s a little unique. I actually have a layout but haven’t run a train on it in so long it isn’t funny. I live in town and my layout is out on the ranch where I grew up south of town and I don’t drive. In my case, I find time to get buildings (and the occasional car/engine that I don’t really need) that I want to eventually place on the layout and have them. Main reason for getting them is the fear that they won’t be available when I am actually ready for them.
If there is a prototype railroad that you love or guides you, learn as much as you can about it. If it is a fallen flag, join that railroad’s historical society. If possible even attend a gathering or convention (depending on how it is set up). You never know what you will learn (or find to buy if they have swap meets). I even am working on 5 Thrall gondolas that were purchased at a swap meet. They needed a bit of work to convert them to an actual prototype. Even though they aren’t done yet, seeing the model brings the memory of them running in real life back. (Unfortunately, not enough to remember all the details on the cars.)
If it is still active and you live close, take an day every one in awhile and go railfanning. Sometimes you even might see something on a active road that came from a parent road that you can use. (Parent, for this purpose, means old road or roads that formed the new railroad.)
I will second using eBay. Given I don’t have a LHS where I am, eBay is the main way I get my hobby supplies. Occasionally, I even find gems that you wouldn’t find anywhere else.
Additionally, the fourms are a very good source of information. You never know when you can contribute to the fourms with something you have learned that someone else can use and learn from.
I also let trains work their way into my life in many ways. The wallpaper on my smart phone is even railroad-related. If am looking for something unusual
LION has 24 x 27 foot room. LION builded a layout with 900 feet of track, 14 scale miles of the stuff. Big as room is, LIONS have no money. Nobody pays the poor LION. Him must make do whigh what him can find. Poor LION.
Current Layout of LION is nice, see my web site, but there are other railroad things you can do on paper or the computer to keep you interested and ocupied.
You can build the layout inside of your head, and then write things down on paper. LION has timetable for the railroad of him, with over 500 daily trains. Him can do that on paper, but more difficult to do on the layout. The equipment, the trains and the track are all there, but the hours in the day are not.
Even a small layout requires elaborate thought and planning if you want to do that. But there are just so many aspects. Previous layout of LION was of Middle Earth (Him was a Hobbit in those days) but here are the timetables that I designed for that layout. The planing of these timetables took many many hours. And I thought it was fun. Beyond that you can work on your crews and labor contracts for your crews. These timetables representd trains that I had, and could run on the layout as described without equipment being used for other trains.
The layout was small, but the land that it represented was enormous, and I plotted the location of each station, passing siding and so forth so that the trains actually met the schedules that they could physically do and not just appear and disapear at random.
So here is my paper railroad… (Click on images to enlarge)
I was going to sugggest a micro-layout, but Sir Madog beat me to it. I think that is a great idea. If you look through the Small Layout Scrapbook on the site, you’ll find every type of layout imaginable. Some can be rather toy-like, but others display an incredible level of modeling that clearly have taken the builders years to construct.
One nice feature is that many of them are so small that they can be put away when you’re not working on them. And better yet, you might be able to work on one in area where you’re near your family and not squirreled away in a basement.
I am on the opposing end of life and had to sell my house and move to a condo. To stay in the game I built a 12’x44" HO layout in a spare bedroom. Not real big but it gives me space to run trains and have some fun.
There is always space no matter how big or small it may be.
Industrial switching layouts ( ISL) is becoming popular and doesn’t require much room… For several years my wife and I lived in a 24’ x 60’ double wide trailer and my ISL was portable… I could set it up and switch cars and then remove the cars and engine and stand it in a kitchen closet when not needed. My good wife alloted me cabinet space for storage.
I also had a antique roll top desk in the dinning room that I used a a work bench. I kept my work desk tidy as per my habit-I loath messy work areas so a place for everything and everything in its place is my motto and as my habit I work on one project at a time and that helps keeping things nice and neat.
These are great suggestions. I currently have a small layout (4 X 6) and working on a donut layout in a 11X7 room. Still relatively small, but I have learned the great benefits of being member of a club. I am only about 20 minutes away from one that has a large layout, allowing me to run large locos with long strings of cars. I suggest you explore your local club(s) and see how that can complete a smaller layout at home.
I find myself in a similar situation but getting there from a different direction. I currently have a medium to large sized home layout. But for a varietty of reasons, we will soon be downsizing to much smaller living quarters where there will be no room for a layout. I plan to stay active in the hobby by helping several firends in the area build their layouts.
Due to age and several artificial joints I can no longer be a benchwork monkey, crawling and contorting my way around legs and girders to string wire or mount switch machines from underneath. But I can help with anything “above ground” from laying track, designing and wiring panels, instaling decoders, building structures (kit bashing is my specialty) and a myriad of other things to help others bring their dreams to reality.
I went with the local club option, and it was well worth it. If you find a good one you get to draw on the experience of people who have been doing this for years, plus you get to skip a bunch of mistakes and pitfalls that have already been made, and you can get help with troubleshooting problems and upgrading your locomotives and rolling stock. I can suggest a few good ones in New England if you are in this part of the country. If not, a trial member ship in the NMRA is also a good place to start, some divisions in the NMRA even have modular operating groups.
I don’t have room for a large layout, when my smaller layout ended up with boxes stacked atop it for the foreseeable future, to keep my interest I got into building Micro-Layouts, they are small about 1 square foot each in size and allow me to explore different aspects of the hobby without breaking the bank or taking up any serious space
Wanted to thank everyone for their views! I had lost interest in the hobby years ago when it became obvious I would not be able to build the layout I wanted. But like the Rolling Stones said, sometimes you can get what you need!
I’m inspired now to build a small switching module probably using a hollow core door with something on the top to deaden the noise a bit
As the initiator of the thread, I want to echo mitcher’s sentiments. In only a few days I have a number of ideas to consider thanks to the members here. In another area of the forum I stumbled across the MR trackplan for Rice Harbor, a splittable “4x8” (actually 5x8) design.
The left-hand side of that plan incorporates a turntable and engine servicing depot with a couple industry spurs and a mainline w/ passing siding. I’m pretty sure I could work this into a 2x6 (or 2x8) shelf layout built on half a sheet of blue/pink foam that could be easily dismantled for storage. With a couple fiddle tracks, I can envision operations for passenger service engine changes/turnarounds as well as local freight service.
I grew up along the old RDG Bethlehem Branch in PA (now sadly being slowly dismantled, likely forever), so that’s the setting I have in mind for inspiration. With plenty of artistic license to allow me to run other motive power and stock I like (generally late-steam PRR, RDG, and other Eastern PA & NJ lines).
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