Hey everyone. My fiance and I are buying a house and we have 4 bedrooms and no kids. So I’m filling one of them with trains. I model HO and space is tight. I think the room im wanting to build it in is 12x11. I’m wanting to build in bedroom 2 and have it against the wall maybe a dogbone with a helix to a second level. Any ideas or pointers would be greatly appreciated. I hope I can figure out the dimensions of the room to give better information. 
A 12 by 11 ft. room is a nice space for a layout, but I have my doubts whether you will have enough room for a helix in it. A helix requires a fairly large radius to work safely - you should not go below 2ft. 6 inches. That´ll eat away over 5 by 5 ft. of your room.
It would be great to use BR #3 and #4, just take out the parting wall and closets. Still leaves one for a guest BR.
If you are left to use that #3, one problem w/ an around the wall plan is the jog for the bath linen closet… I agree that a helix would not work,
Dang I didn’t know a helix had to be so big. Well I guess I will have to come up with something. I like the idea with bedroom 3 and 4, but the old lady will not go for that. The house is will be finished being built in Feb. so I have plenty of time to plan something out. What is another good way to get down to a second level? Do you think I could have a Track that runs down the back of the lay out that will come around on the second level? I have never built a 2 level layout or one that goes around the room. I always did 4’x8’ before so I’m new to this kind of planning. Thanks for all the help!
That´s called a nolix and certainly a valid alternative in tight spaces.
If you have never built a multi-deck layout before, may I suggest to do some reading?
Our host Kalmbach offers a book on designing and building a multi-deck layout - you can find it here:
Designing and Building Multi-Deck Model Railroads
Thank you for that. I didnt even think about looking for a book. lol. I just ordered it. Well with that I will start doing more researching. If there are anymore references you have I would appreciate it. Thanks again.
Since the house is still under construction is it too late for a small change?
If you could eliminate the closet in Bdrm 2 and the little “hall” closet, move the door to line up with the bathroom wall. Since it is not the primary bathroom, shelves over the back of the toilet could provide space for extra towels, etc. rather than having a whole closet. Would make your room a little bigger.
Good luck,
Richrd
Its really a great idea but the house is too far along in the process for that to be an option. The flooring is going in next week so its a little too hard to take out the wall. Thank you for the ideas tho.
Could you switch to N scale? It would give you more room for a better layout.
I started building an HO layout in a 13 by11 room and it was going to be really cramped. I now have a 10 by 24 foot space. I also have two levels and a no-lix. Here are a couple of photos where you can see the climb up.
to echo earlier sentiments, getting a helix in there would be tough. I am currently building a layout in a similar sized room, and from an operational perspective, I think I am in for some great times. Its an interesting ISL, and a mainline for through traffic, with hidden staging so my trains ‘go somewhere’.
I think you have plenty of room for a fun trainroom and layout.
The space you’re in might be on the smaller side for a two decker. While you could probably fit one in, I suspect you’d lose as much to the climb up as you gain in the second deck (unless a helper grade is part of your ops plan).
One thing I’ll differentiate from others. This looks like a smaller house with no basement. In that case, don’t give up closets, or storage in any form. You can never have enough storage in a house and you’re spouse will be greatful (and so will you when their stuff doesn’t end up in the train room.) I have a similar space and her stuff has now migrated into the train room, across the floor so that I’m only working in half the room and yet she is still needing more.
Have the carpets been laid in that room? If you still want carpet over laminate or other, I’d suggest a tight pile indoor/ outdoor variety. The garage is not too far away for all the cutting for benchwork, so saw dust won’t be that much a problem. The tighter pile carpets work out so much better that they clean easier and won’t really loose screws and such in the pile.
Minor woodwork within the space can still be done, just cover the floor w/ large cardboard or masonite. I do this regularly and floor protection is always needed or my customers tend to get a bit peeved at me.
Hi EL,
I am so jealous. Not only do you have a nice space. But you have a great woman who is letting you have the front room. I am regulated to the basement by the furnace.
Anyways, are you a MRR subscriber? If so the track plan database can be a great place to start.
Here is an interesting layout that is kind of around the room with a helix in the middle. You could change this slightly to fit you room. You could also add a lift out to create a continuous loop. You could also modify the plan to fit your room better. In other words, look at any track plan as a starting point and adapt to your space and or needs.
http://mrr.trains.com/~/media/Files/PDF/trackplans/2010/mrp-k07_klondike-mines-.pdf
So read up and study and check out as many layouts as you can. Keep us posted on your track plan
Regards
Derek
I am using a “No-lix” on my plan, which is approx 9x13. There will be 10" separation between staging and “main” level, approx 2.25% grade.
Brad
Can I throw out a contrary thought? We might remember being told in high school physics class that “a gas expands to fit the available space” but a model railroad doesn’t have to.
Although the suggestion to consider N scale makes a good deal of sense, if it is to be HO I would explore HO layouts that are truly suited to the room you are considering (versus crammed and jammed into it, or punching out holes between rooms): a point to point, perhaps an L shape perhaps a U shape, perhaps even an E shape, but with a theme that really places an emphasis on detail, such as an industrial corridor with intense switching, or the sort of centralized rail service as one sometimes sees in some town/farming areas. I can tell you that if you really want to model scenes and structures (and rolling stock, and complex trackage) to the high level that we see in MR or GMR or RMC, even on a relatively small layout you are looking at a major time commitment BUT – and this is the main point – with a possibility of actually seeing accomplishment of goals rather than what can be a never ending project such as a large layout where quality often suffers due to sheer practicality issues. I have seen many large layouts stall – or even sputter and fall limp. In fact my own is in danger of doing just that unless I stop getting distracted by all these darned entertaining YouTube videos.
A related issue to think about now is, just how many folks do you think you’d be running your trains with? Really big layouts without an operating session team you can rely on often sit gathering dust, and oddly enough I have seen large layouts where the owner ends up operating just one portion, often the very industrial switching district that I suggest for your entire layout theme.
I would forget features such as a helix or nolix or double decking, which somewhat ironically are space saving ideas best suited to a truly&
Since you’re buying the house, if it were me, I’d remove the wall/closet between bedrooms 3 & 4. If you do most of your sawing in the garage, those rooms are closest to it.
If one of the bedrooms is to be used as a guest room, bedroom 2 might be the better option for guests since it offers a tad more privacy when walking from the bedroom to the bathroom. You could remove one of the closet walls between room 3 and 4 to give a walkway in between those rooms, which might be something you want to do anyway, even without trains, since to get from room 3 to 4 now requires a walk into the main room. To restore that removed closet wall in the future would only cost a few hundred dollars.
If I was going to use bedroom 2 for trains, one option would be to build a triangular shaped oval that runs into the closet and put a narrow shelf along the east wall for staging and an interchange.
You can build distance into your operating plan by simply running laps around the oval. I don’t think its worth the trouble to build a multi level plan in that space.
Although it is unconventional, a number of layouts have been built with two (or more) decks that are physically unconnected. These may represent two separated locations or staging and operating patterns may be used to suggest a link between the decks.
I wrote about this concept in Model Railroad Planning 2008 (“Railroading in Paradise”, multi-deck Oahu Railway HOn3 in 12’X12’) and in the Layout Design SIG’s Layout Design Journal #28; Spring 2003.
But if one has never built a model railroad before, a single deck mid-sized layout may provide plenty of interest and challenge – if a good design in developed. For learning to design a layout, there is no better reference than John Armstrong’s Track Planning for Realistic Operation.
Byron
Partly we’ve been focused on the double deck idea, but this room is also ideal sized for the San Jacinto concept Andy Sperandeo wrote years ago. While fascinating in it’s own right for the citrus rush, the same concept could work for many parts of the county. It’s the concept he proposes that key, not the specific track plan.
His San Jacinto plan works because the ops concept fits the available space and doesn’t try to cram too much in. Plenty of room for scenary and detailed construction along with a prototype inspired ops concept.
Additional comments on the San Jacinto District. I’m a big fan of this layout, but it’s not for everyone. This would be for a modest one-or-two-train per day theme.
At somewhat the opposite end of the spectrum, my multi-deck/multi-pass design for the Clinchfield RR in HO in 11’ 5" X 12’ 5" will appear in Model Railroad Planning 2013. This winds 2.5 scale miles of mountain railroad into the spare room without a helix, but requires multiple crossings of the door and is definitely a demanding project.
So there are a wide variety of approaches, themes and degrees of scope that will fit in the Original Poster’s space.