Latest revision now gets nearly 3 scale miles of mainline on one level. Now I need to decide if I can deal with this, and skip doing a 2 level layout, or if I really want to push it to near 6 scale miles. Pro - single level: easier to build, I have lots of experience at this, height wouldn;t have to be a compromise. Pros 2-level: longer mainline run, more options for industry placement, get to build a helix (yeah, I count that as a plus).
–Randy
Hi Randy:
If I were in your predicament, which is a nice one to be in by the way, I would base my decision on what my back could put up with. For me, if I had to bend over to observe the operations on the lower level, that would kill my back in less than three minutes. If I had something to lean on, like a handle on the lower fascia, I could last a little longer but not much.
I am facing a similar problem in that I want to be able to sit to operate my layout, but I also want lower level staging. That means that I would have to get on my knees whenever something required my attention in the staging. That doesn’t suit me at all either, but hopefully the number of times that would be neccessary would be minimal. However, the construction phase of the staging could be a nightmare. I’m strongly considering whether I can do without the staging.
Dave
Bending over is definitely out for me - my back is not in great shape either. I was experimenting with different heights, and have determined that if I do double deck things, the bottom deck will be low enough to operate seated, in rolling chairs. My previous plans, expanding on what I previously posted, had the branch and main yard on the lower level, the branch around a corner, so you can make up your train from the cars set out by the mainline train, then follow it by rolling around the corner (inside corner) to the main industry, the cement plant, and thence into branch staging in the furnace room. If there is a dedicated cement plant operator, that person could also sit in a chair and reach the tracks, all of which would be towards the front. The cement plant buildings would be behind the tracks but in front of the main as a view block. The main yard is along the long wall at the bottom, so one or two people could sit in chairs and roll back and forth to operate the yard and engine facility. Again, the yard tracks are towards the front and the main runs behind, al all should be reachable from a seated position.
The main yard and engine facility position does not change with this new idea - in fact I lifted that portion, the bottom two rooms, straight off the old plan. I need to come up with something different for the branch.
Of course, being able to roll around in chairs is going to alter my idea for floor covering. There’s really cheap and stained carpeting in place now - I was planning to rip that all out, use a basement finishing kit like the Rustoleum epoxy and make a nice clean floor, and then in the aisleways use rubber mats or carpet tiles so you wouldn;t be standing on bare concrete. Not exactly the best surface for rolling office chairs on though.
I’m forcing myself to rethink things after visiting a home layotu open house the other wekeend, plus re-reading for like the millionth time, Track Planning for Realistic Operation, and it seems mo
I thought the same thing (still do really). What I forgot to take into account was construction that requires work under the bottom deck. The last week of so I’ve been installing Tortoises under the lower level. I use a mechanics rolling swivel chair that adjusts pretty low, but getting down low enough to install switch machines has been really uncomfortable.
No way I’d give up the second level - even if I had double the space, but if you like to avoid discomfort, consider the work - not just the operation.
With the layout top at seated operating height - I can sit on the floor underneath to do work. Also I plan to use the J-shaped linkage for turnouts, along with servos, so there is much less critical alignment necessary - it just has to be in the area.
–Randy
You’ve got to want, as well as need, a double-deck layout. They’re harder to build than they are to maintain, but both will be more trouble than a single deck. Unless your space is expansive and “mushroom” techniques used, scenery that requires a lot of depth or height may face limitations. I’m certain you’re aware of all this. The question is how committed to it do you want to be over the next 10 years?
I don’t think that you can ever make a layout plan that doesn’t have to be changed as work progresses on it. I think the best that can be hoped for is an idea of where the mainline is going to run. Then figure out how much benchwork the room will hold allowing for reach and access. Then start building and let the track flow where it needs to. You will be surprised at what develops for areas for towns and industries along the way. The yards can be planned because they have to operate a specific way. Some large industry trackage can also be planned because of the same thing. Other than that, just get started building.
That’s pretty much how I use my plans anyway - make sure everything can fit. I ONCE did the “print it out full size and tape to the benchwork” thing but never again. The plan serves to tell me that the radius vurve I want fits without going through the wall, and that any vertical clearances are sufficient, and that any grades are within reason. I just take a single page printout and look at it while laying track to get things in the right general area - I can’t be TOO sloppy, like run a track a foot from the wall when the plan called for it to be 6 inches, but it doesn’t have to be EXACTLY at the 6 inch mark, either.
I’m coming around to skipping the second deck and just making it one level at an ‘ideal’ height. Two things are convincing me. With what I most recently cam eup with, I can simply connect the ends for a continuous run display connection, and then run the staging off into the laundry area as a wye. And I recalled some really rough sketches I made before starting a house hunt, based on a typical open basement in a ranch-style house. Unfortunately my basement doesn;t match the size and shape of any of my rough sketches, but one thing I had on there was doing branch lines as a partial second deck - with a two or 3 turn helix. For one, the branch would only see smaller locos, so the radius can come down a bit, which also means the helix would be a little smaller. And it would take the branch completely out of the sight lines of the main, so that if you concentrate on your train, you are either running a main line or a branch line train, not simply by the track you are on but also by the surrounding scenery. By adding a partial second deck, the branch can be significantly longer than the way I have been incorporating it - multiple locations instead of one main industry and the rest represented by staging.
Yes, my ceilings actually are high enough to do a mushroom, but I really don’t want the hassle of building the robust elevated fl