what do you do with your layout when you move, do you breakit up into pieces and take with you, or do you take everything off of it that can be tacken off, or something else, i have always wondered
Salvage what you can, buildings, figures, vehicles. If it is easily taken up you may be able to save your track. Depending on your new space and the way the layout was constructed, you may want to take it too if there is a reason to (Scenery, bridges, trackwork) If however you built the proverbial brick out house, it may be more trouble to take down load up and reinstall especially if it does not lend itself to your new location.
Will
I don’t even want to think about it…
Actually, the last time I moved (22 years ago), I separated the layout into sections, got a bunch of former friends, and proceeded to move it down a circular staircase in the old Rectory of St. Peters that we had rented for 3 years. Then we carefully loaded it into the U-Haul and moved across town into the ranch house we bought. A couple of cases of beer and a lot of swearing later it was still in pieces but had managed to get placed in the basement of the house where it stayed in pieces until I could convince a group of new former friends to help me set it up in a room in the basement that was the reason that I agreed to buy the house my wife wanted in the first place.
Just kidding about the former friends, BTW. It was a lot of work. The best route depends on what obstacles you would have in the process of moving. Can you get the sections back together properly? How much time, energy and $$$$ do you have in the present layout, and how important is it not to have to start all over again.
I once did that… In fact, I built the layout specifically To be moved. Came apart okay, moved okay, sat in the basement for a few months okay… Trouble was, when I went to set it back up, wouldn’t Fit okay…
Sad (or not) fact is, most layouts don’t move very well… Figure on taking everything off and scrapping the rest… With that realization, you’ll save a lot of headache… Plus, it’ll give you the opertunity to try something new with the MRR…
Jeff
[swg]
I’ve moved a layout several times. The first one (not designed to move) was cut into pieces and moved more or less intact. The layout was damaged and never when back together right. It was quickly scraped.
The follow on layouts were designed to move. Again, even designed to move, the scenery suffered. This last move I removed everything recoverable and trashed the rest. The modular benchwork, however, has been resused on four different layouts.
So my advice is to contruct benchwork you can use over and over again. Salvage your buildings, trees, etc. and tra***he scenic shell.
Nick Brodar
I will let you know in a couple of years. We are a military family and I am trying to design a layout with that in mind. I need a mobile layout. I have a few ideas. Definately need to build something the movers can’t destroy, yeah right.
I’ve never moved, but if I do I have a coffee table N scale layout (Under construction and still in the early phases) that I will be able to take anywhere. The HO layout, however, is hopeless in my opinion. It’s secured to the walls VERY well, and I’d rather start anew without the many flaws that comprise my only in house ‘fun’ activity that doesn’t involve a TV screen or moniter.
If I were you, I’d save track, accesories, and the trains, and maybe a couple SMALL scenes that you are really fond of, and junk the rest. What a horrible throwaway society we have, eh?
Trainboy
I moved a month ago, and had to dismantle my 12x25 thriple decker. I salvaged everything I could from the layout (buildings, trees, all the switches, 85% of the flextrack, buss wire, etc). ALL the benchwork went into the trash, since I feel that reusing well-used materials is a waste of my time and effort (my time is my most valuable resource). I did salvage all of my shelf brackets (I like shelf layouts) and will be reusing them.
Moving is probably one reason using latex caulking to glue down track has become so popular. It will hold the track in place in spite of temperature variations but allow the track to be removed with little or no damage. Constructing the benchwork with over- sized lumber may make it sturdy enough to be moved in sections, but chances are your new space will be different enough to warrant a whole new design. Building a new layout in a new space gives you an opportunity to apply lessons learned and avoid the mistakes you may have made on the first layout. Brackets and lumber are always available. Walthers and Shinohara track work is very popular, but there availability is sporadic since it is a side-line of the manufacturer (according to my LHS’ owner who has been around for quite a while).
Overall, if you hadn’t built the layout with the intention of moving it later on, you probably will not be able to.
I may be faced with that next year. If it happens, my plan is to remove a couple of key sections of trackwork intact (2 helixes and the staging area sections). That seems easy enough because of the way they are built. I will remove the track from everything else, remove the subroadbed sections, break down the benchwork and box up/bundle up the whole mess. Some parts will be scrapped before the move, and I suspect some will be scrapped afterwards. Whether or not the salvaged chunks of subroadbed (complete with roadbed) get reused will depend on whether or not they can be incorporated into the new design. I will try to use the same mainline curve radius in the new plan which should give me the best odds of reusing the old sections. Although, I am planning to do that more on the fact that I am happy with the mainline radius than my desire to reuse the subroadbed/roadbed sections.
I agree with those that suggest lumping it, except for the stuff you can lift off of it and pack. However,…if you are inclined, and feel like experimenting, and have the time, take a reciprocating saw and buzz it into three or four sections that seem reasonable to move. You may surprise yourself. With a few thin wood lathe spacers, some screws, some plaster cloth or dipped towels, and some sprinkled ground foam, you may be back in business!
I can tell you that I will destroy mine. It was a decent first effort, but it was not meant to be deconstructed, and my next one will not be a table type layout. So, I get to do it all over again…hee, hee.
Having just finished 30 years military service, my suggestions for those following in my footsteps:
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Starting over every 3 years is really a non-starter, especially given the lost time at beginning/end of tours when you are too busy with other stuff to work on the layout.
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A relatively small free-standing island or shelf type layout is the only hope you have for re-using in your next home. If you do have multiple layout sections, you must be able to combine them in new arrangements.
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Making the broken down layout or section fit a standard mattress box works well for the movers and you. You have your choice of twin (max 39x75 inches), queen (max 60x80 in) or king (never used that size). In the move planning I simply told the movers to bring an extra appropriate size mattress box to put the layout in. Movers can easily pad packing into the mattress box if your layout is smaller than the max dimensions. The layout can be thicker than the mattress box - have the movers split the box and tape it around the layout. This does not protect the layout as well, though.
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Overseas crates do not pack an 8 ft long layout or section properly - they an inch to several inches less than 8ft on the inside. Don’t ask me how I learned this one!
So I recommend designing a base table of 4ft x 80in max that you can hang extensions off of for extra operating characteristics. Keep the benchwork “thin” by using open grid or framed foam construction. Take a 4ft x 6ft track plan, expand it slightly, and make provision to attach extensions later on. Extensions must be less than 8ft long if you build a crate that puts 2 same size extensions face-to-face.
Another option for the main table is 2 sections, each 30x75 in or so. You could go up to about 94 inches long if you crate them yourself in a face-to-face configuration just like an extension.
Be prepared to spend at least one full day (8-12 hrs) getting your layout ready to move, assu
I’m facing this situation right now, helps if we know how big your layout is. Mine is 8 x 20 foot layout in a garage that will get demo’d later this year. I plan to cut the layout into sections that I can handle, stack them in storage with a 1x4 wood framework built around each section so nothing gets crushed move them into storage, stack them until the new garage is built, then reassemble the sections in the new improved garage, with A/C this time!
My layout is designed to be taken apart and moved if need me.
James
chainsaw
Chainsaw and screws don’t get along very well. Reciprocating saws do a fine job on most anything on your layout: locos, screws, track, wiring, hardshell, …