I’m trying to design a HO scale train layout in an attic that is 31’ X 12’.(31’ is the length of the house.) Every layout that I read in MR is set up in a basement or other buildings. My problem is the walls of my attic comes up to 47" high then come up at a sharp angle for the peak of the roof. The height of the room is only 6’ high so I’ll do alot of head bumping while building. My ideal construction is of Kansas City Southern Kenoch yard in KC going “south” to Neosho, MO. Any advice would be greatfully heplful. I’ve thought about a helix at each end and having a double deck about 1’ wide @ eye level. Also design a nice functonal engine yard with hidden staging under the main layout. My attic is finished with full flooring walls and ceiling.
While I’ll pass on the design, that’s a set down layout with a roof that low. Get yourself some good rolling office chairs and build the layout about 38 inches off the floor and don’t use legs, attach it to the wall like a shelf. Fred
[#welcome] tunnelmrtfan.
There is another individual planning a layout, albeit much smaller, in an attic style room such as you describe. Their layout is only 26" or so off the floor and using an office chair vs. standing. The link is http://www.trains.com/community/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=61328
31’ x 12’ is really a lot of horizontal space. Depending on your design you may not need a helix. You may be able to use a nolix instead; search the forum using nolix as a keyword.
Here are some other helpful links for further research.
First:
http://www.nmra.org/. Half way down the page is a link to starting a layout and what all should be considered. This will help answer a lot of the basic questions. The NMRA web site has a lot of good information.
Second:
http://ldsig.org/. This is the Layout Design Special interest group. Look at the primer link on the left of that page. Again, a lot of good information on the design part. Don’t overlook Section C: General layout planning principles.
Third:
Once you have an idea, track planning s/w will help you. There are a few for free such as Atlas RTS (Right Track Software) @ http://www.atlasrr.com/ and XtrkCad @ http://www.sillub.com/ (be sure to read about the free registration part)
Fourth:
Once you have a design in mind, post it here on the forum and the members will help you fine tune it and/or answer specific questions.