So, the two of us were set on a 4x8- designed a layout based loosely on something from an Atlas book, and were still tweaking things up. I decided over the weekend to get a piece of 4x8 foam to start dabbling wiht real track and see how the layout will fit in the corner of the basement mom is letting us have.
Last night I decide to haul the foam downstairs and guess what…???.. it doesn’t get around the corner at the base of the stairs. Ooops. At least we didn’t spend the next 18 months building the layout in the garage to discover THEN it couldn’t make it to the basement.
So… now we’re back to square one on the design. I think we’re going to do something sectional and probably a “u-shaped” layout. Any pointers to some good sites for smaller U-shaped (maybe you call them “walk in”) layouts? Here are some restrictions and requirements (restrictions by mom; requirements by the 8 yr old)…
we have about 6’ x 10’ total space, give or take a little. It will fit in a corner of the basement, so not a walk-around layout.
n scale
need a flat, nice, nice, long loop. Nik (the 8 yr old) likes to run long passenger\freight trains and speedy bullet trains. Dad sometimes finds it cathartic to watch a train go round and round with a tall glass of scotch at the end of the day
Besides the main (flattish) loop, we’d like some “over under” action- bridges, etc on another trackset over the mainline loop- can either be another loop (ideally) or a to some industries or something
Nik would like to jam in a small yard, maybe a turntable
Any and all pointers to layouts or sites or thoughts are appreciated. I’ll be here with the scotch in the mean time
Do you need to build it in the garage, and then move it? You could try a modular idea, maybe even make 4 2x4 sections. Though other shapes may be more interesting at this point. I will think some more!
yeah- the basement is a nice finished area- not a great place for the plastering\scenincking part of the work.
We’re not stuck on doing the 4x8. Our 1st layout was on a hollow-core door- that made it into the basement quite easily, so that’s the max size of a “section” or “module”. We’re not too crazy about doing the n-trak thing- want something a bit more interesting than that.
Start planning a modular setup using door panels as the basis.
Of course you could always cut the foam in half and drag 2- 4x4 panels down but I think the door panel idea would give you a much more interesting method of planning and installation.
Heres an idea, you could take that piece of foam, and cut it in half, and then carry the 4’x4’ pieces down there, and just put them onto the wood as 2 pieces.
Hollow-core doors seem to work well in this situation. There are more different sizes than I realized when I first started looking at them, including narrower bi-fold closet doors that can be handy. Although the image below would be a little large for your space, it shows how cutting the 4X8 sheet can yield a nice N scale layout tucked against a wall in a corner. The minimum radius of about 12.5" might also be a little tight for modern equipment or the big steam that’s coming out in N scale.
Your experience of a full 4X8 not fitting around a corner is something that happened to one of my clients also. In his case, he could maneuver the 4X8 sheet alone into the basement, but once the underlying 1X4s, fascia, and scenery were added, he couldn’t get it back out … it was like a ship in a bottle!
I wasn’t thinking of NTrack modules, just that you could build it in modules, so you could move it. But they’d only go together one way.
I like the idea of running along the walls, maybe even “waterwings”, 30 inches or so deep should let you have a yard on the long stretch, and turnarounds on the ends. You’d also have enough length to get some elevation change into it, I think.
I built my 4x8 in four sections as people here have suggested, then assembled it in place. I’m pretty happy with it, although two sections would have been more rigid. The original intent was to make it actually portable, but I went a little too megalithic with the benchwork.
6 x 10 is pretty small for a walk-in if you want continuous running ( and you bet I couldn’t do without that mental catharsis any more than you could. The Scotch sounds good too.). However, it’s a great size for a traditional table layout. Put in some popouts or a narrow access alley at the back for rerailing trains. You can get nice deep scenes on a 6 x 10 table, and an island is good if you have a few kids gathering 'round the trains.
If you can get two 4 1/2 x 5 pieces these days (for ping pong tables) you can put them together into a 5 x 9. This was a popular thing to do back in the day, too.
Lets see, space 6 feet by 9 feet, limited access getting into the space. If you build you workbench in four sections say 3 feet by 4.5 that would let you get the benches into the space. Once all four benches are in the basement they can be bolted or screwed together to form a solid bench of 6 feet by 9 feet that you could build on or be built in the garage and moved into the basement as four individual tables and assembled in the basement as the 6 foot by 9 foot finished product. By treating the finished workbench as four workbenches that interlock into one larger workbench it will let you build it else where and move it into the final place with just the joints to finish off.
Myself I’m building an around the wall layout in five modules because I rent and will move someday and the landlord does not want me building a layout that will have to stay and I do not want to cut it up when I move. So at the table joints I will have minimum scenery and track as to allow me to reassemble the layout while minimizing the damage done to it when it is moved.
Basically what I’m saying is think of you workbench as a whole but build it as if you cut it into four pieces and are putting it back together. You can even bolt the four tables together in the garage, finish the layout. Just remember not to have any structures over the three joints that are permanently mounted. Once the layout is done, take the four sections apart, move them into place in the basement and reassemble it as a whole layout again. With adjustable feet its easy to level all four tables to match each other.
Just a long shot, but can you take it out whatever door it came in, and then down to the basement level and in another door? But you probably already thought of that.
My basement is finished and reasonably nice and I haven’t had any issues building a layout there. I have to be careful but it can be done. The basement is carpeted so I put the layout on wheels (for other reasons). It’s 11’x12’ but I can roll it around (carefully) if needed. It makes carpet cleaning easier.
