Starting Over

Model Railroader Layouts and layout building
1

For the last several weeks I’ve been trying to design an N-Scale layout to fit inside a coffee table. To make the plan I liked work, I would have had to enlarge the size of the table making it too large for our living room. So my wife said “Why don’t you build a layout in the basement?” My immediate response was “it’s too low” my other concern was that when we go away on vacation we put our cats in the basement so if they get sick or otherwise have an accident at least its not on the carpeting. (Don’t worry, we have someone come in & check on them every 2 or 3 days while were gone) Well, I came up with an easy solution to the cat problem. I can put some type of curtain (probably tarps) in front of the layout so they can’t get at it. I don’t want to think about what our cats would do to scenery & details while were gone.

The other problem is a little more challenging but not one that can’t be overcome. The basement is actually not too low, but the water pipes, heat duct, and conduit are what’s causing me to have to duck. One room is actually only 5’ tall & therefore can’t be used but the other 2 have alot of space. The room I’ve chosen is approximately 11’x12’ and could easily be expanded to other rooms, but I think I’m going to start with the small one. I know if I tried to fill the entire basement it would be overwhelming & probably never get near completion.

The layout will most likely be a shelf layout along 2 of the walls with possibly a peninsula with the return loop in the adjoining room which will make it easily expandible if I ever choose to.

First things first as I will need to make the room “layout ready” before I can even start any benchwork.

2

Congratulations on the new layout.[;)] The low ceiling sounds like a problem. But, it sounds like you can expand your layout to adjoining rooms. Do they have the same height restrictions? If they don’t, then they could be the main or visual portion of the layout, with the other room serving as staging yards. [:D] If they all suffer from height restrictions, consider buying some stools with wheels on them. This will help with height restrictions for construction and operation.[;)]

3

Ah, starting over. You can still ahve a 2’x4’ nscale coffe table layout, but if that is to big there IS the basement. and starting a SMALL layout there is wise.

But I have a few questionsa nd concerns others are likely tro bring up.

1} Is your basement CLEAN? Dirt is an enemy of MRRs and sound like you might have a dirty basement there.

2} is your basement FINISHED and insulated and stuff or is it {see #1 again}? A chilly basement is no fun to work in.

3} is your basement concrete or dry cinderblock walls? If it is stacked stone foundation I would nix the idea. {see #1 again}

4} Is your basement DRY? Moisture will do a lot of damage to trains in a damp basement. A dehumidifier or two can help emptied frequently or sump-pumped out, but if it is a stacked stone foundation, moisture will be your constant enemy. {see #1 again}

5} Is your basement HEATED? AN unheated space can be miserablet o work in fi you are chilled all the time. IF itis damp AND unheated, really miserable to work in {see all previous points.

6}A finished, dry heated/cooled basement even with low hanging pipes can provide a good environment for you AND your trains for years to come. If all of the above are true in the negative, it will be the most miserable time wasting money wasting project you ever got into. You may be building only a small N scale layout to start, but you can still spend a lot of money on: framing, trackwork, scenery, buildings, locos and rr cars. It can add up to thousands of dollars. AS more than one astute modeler has pointed out here {and I now consider myself in that astute group} WHY spend thousands of dollars on a MRR and put in in a very unhospitable, dirty, damp, wet, unheated, uncooled space and expect it to provide you years of enjoyment? Did I mentione Dirty and damp?

Food for thought.

My ideas, knowlege, opinions, experiences, your choices.

4

The one adjoining room has an additional 3 or 4 inches of headroom, but it also has all the mechanicals ie furnace, water heater, electrical panels etc so I am staying away from that room for those reasons.

I like the idea of stools, I was actually thinking more along the lines of an office chair but I’m not sure that’s the best position to be in to operate trains. It would also make the layout quite low for working on. Still doing some thinking on that aspect. Once I move the obstructions I can stand up without a problem though.

5

Michael,

My around the room layout is 48 inches off of the floor and our two cats have never bothered it. Their litter box and food is under the layout so its not like they don’t have plenty of opportunities. I don’t think they can see what’s up there and nothing on it that smells like food so I guess they just don’t bother. One time, the one cat checked out the train while it was moving and, I suppose since it smelled like plastic and oil, he just left. I have read about problems with layouts and cats but I don’t think problems are a given. Maybe if you notice your cats jumping on the kitchen counters it might give you a clue as to what their curiosity might be towards the layout. Ours never do that either.

6

[quote user=“galaxy”]

Ah, starting over. You can still ahve a 2’x4’ nscale coffe table layout, but if that is to big there IS the basement. and starting a SMALL layout there is wise.

But I have a few questionsa nd concerns others are likely tro bring up.

1} Is your basement CLEAN? Dirt is an enemy of MRRs and sound like you might have a dirty basement there.

2} is your basement FINISHED and insulated and stuff or is it {see #1 again}? A chilly basement is no fun to work in.

3} is your basement concrete or dry cinderblock walls? If it is stacked stone foundation I would nix the idea. {see #1 again}

4} Is your basement DRY? Moisture will do a lot of damage to trains in a damp basement. A dehumidifier or two can help emptied frequently or sump-pumped out, but if it is a stacked stone foundation, moisture will be your constant enemy. {see #1 again}

5} Is your basement HEATED? AN unheated space can be miserablet o work in fi you are chilled all the time. IF itis damp AND unheated, really miserable to work in {see all previous points.

6}A finished, dry heated/cooled basement even with low hanging pipes can provide a good environment for you AND your trains for years to come. If all of the above are true in the negative, it will be the most miserable time wasting money wasting project you ever got into. You may be building only a small N scale layout to start, but you can still spend a lot of money on: framing, trackwork, scenery, buildings, locos and rr cars. It can add up to thousands of dollars. AS more than one astute modeler has pointed out here {and I now consider myself in that astute group} WHY spend thousands of dollars on a MRR and put in in a very unhospitable, dirty, damp, wet, unheated, uncooled space and expect it to provide you years of enjoyment? Did I mentione Dirty and damp?

Food for thought.

My ideas, knowlege, opinions, experiences, your choices.

7

I’m going to err on the side of caution on this one. I let my cat come out to my wood shop with me one time & I thought my biggest problem would be her using the sawdust for a litter box. Nooooooooo not my cat. She decided to jump from the chair she was sitting on onto the next closest thing which happened to be the woodburning stove. Yes, it was burning & so were her paws when the landed. I never saw a cat move so fast!. She also likes to wander around on my computer desk batting at everything that isn’t nailed down. Yeah, I’ll go on the side of caution on this one.

8

Sounds like your cat attempted something she couldn’t explain to the EMT…

I sprayed mine with the wet water bottle a few times. Now she leaves the layout alone.

As far as dampness of a basement goes, all basements without some form of dehumidifier get damp in the summer. It’s that whole “cool air sinks” thing. You need a dehumidifier.

9

I will say, she never tried to jump on the woodstove again! Now if I could just get her to stop laying on me all the time!