A new home brings a new railroad room, smaller than the last one. It is 9.5 ft. X 13 ft.; my plan is for the layout sections will be approximately 2-feet wide running around the walls on three sides and free-standing on one side to give me access to a fiddle yard, so the layout size will be 13’ X 8’. It is HO-scale. I have no track plan designed yet.
I was thinking of using wall brackets to support this layout but determined I’d need to spend at least $200 for brackets and stuff. So I am rethinking the plan to focus on build individualing “tables” framed with 1’ X 3’s, if I can find them. I am planning on 1/4" plywood and 2" foam as the layout surface. The backdrop would be a roll of thin aluminum set in some kind of tray to hold it.
I AM finally getting to the questions: I need to come up with some way to support a “roof” over the layout to support and hide the lighting. I was thinking of 1/4" plywood, painted white to reflect light, and some arrangement of flourescent strip lights hidden by 1/8" Masonite along the front edge. Anyone have ideas on how to support this weight off the layout tables? I don’t want to have to fasten anything to the walls as this new train room is beautifully finished with chair rail and wainscoting. I’d have to repair all the damage when we move again.
I’d also appreciate ideas as to what type of lighting to use. I mentioned flourescent, but what about the small track spot lights, such as the halogen lamps?
I visited a wonderful double deck layout in Racine WI (south of Milwaukee) last week and this guy, a fine craftsman, had a fascinating idea. Above his layout was a sort of lattice work of thin slats of wood, very open and lightweight looking, and hanging on those slats were lots and lots of the typical rope lights. They did not seem to give off much heat which was good. The light was not intense. In the aisles he had recessed lights. The entire layout had the feel of early morning or evening rather than bright midday sun that most people strive for. It complimented his nice scenery.
The “roof” as you call it is known as a valance simply make it out of 1x2 pine and cover it with 3/16" Masonite I have screwed and glued the frames together and used Liquid nails to secure the Masonite to the frames. Make sure to pre-dill and measure the frames so you hit the ceiling joist when you drywall screw them in place. I have replaced my incandescent bulbs in my track lighting with those high efficiency curly florescent one’s .A heck of a lot cooler, less watts and more luminous no compromise in lighting what so ever. of course paint the inside of the valance with bright gloss white paint before installing it. You may also want to consider using a few long florescent tube fixtures for every day/additional lighting. The ones on the tracks work best for highlighting aspects of the railroad. For back drops I use 3/16" Masonite as well but I have seen where a lot of guys use rolls of linoleum with the decorated side facing away form the layout of course.It’s cheap, it’s easy to work with and secure simply stable it in a few spots or secure it with screws etc. in out of the way places. A lot of guys like it as it bends super easy and follows any curves you have on the layout.
Why not make the layout on foldaway legs such as done on the Salt Lake route featured in MR or secured legs if you desire. Having the layout on casters can be very advantageous for working on the layout or getting to things on the back of it etc. It’s not carved in stone that every bit of bench work has to be secured to the studs in your house with nine million drywall screws. Thinking outside the box before you make the box can prove to be a good thing.
OK, how about building in part of a 2-car garage, It is only 19’ wide but it is probably 22’ long. So, at maximum, I’d have no more than 8’ wide by something less than 22’ long to give room from framing along one wall and at the roll-up. There’s the cost of the framing, insulation, drywall, drop ceiling and insulation, and wiring. My guess is $1,000 to $1,500 in cost to have someone knowledgeable to do this, by the time I frame-in and install a through-the-wall heat pump.
I could also consider having a “storage shed” (say 12’ X 12’) built and dry walled/insulated/etc. Probably $3,000 or so. The drawback to all this is cost; we are retired on somewhat of a fixed income.
Complicating this is I think I am going to sell off all my HO-stuff and go with On30. So much to think about, and all my track planning tools are packed away in a storage shed I know not where.
You are not alone! I’m working on two layouts, one in HO and one in O. After much dithering about and selling off equipment from several scales, I’ve finally settled on building one of each!
As you may have guessed from my forum name, I’m a big fan of the Milwaukee Road. After starting a 3-rail layout, I happened to see the Beer Line articles in MR and now I’m planning on building something similar to it in HO.
The problem for most of us is space. I use the late Mr. Armstrong’s philosophy of “givens and druthers”. What do you would love to build, but what can you really fit into the space?
Good luck and remember, what fits on paper may not fit in your physical space.
