The sense of isolation is why I built the extra wall full height, instead of just a half wall. If the top was open with no scenic divider, then someone running on the branch at a location that is about 15 miles as the crow flies from the yard which is on the other side and across the aisle would be able to see that yard. That to me ruins all chance of illusion. Instead, that branch crew will be out there on that side of the wall all by themselves, working to the end which, being all the way over by the door, is going to be quite isolated from anyone else running a train. Out in the country with nothing but wildlife and an occasional farm around. Riding on that very branch even today, in a car filled with others, still feels a bit like that. One of these days I may spring for the caboose rental (flat fee, can take as many people as fit - so it doesn’t matter if I spend that money and then ride by myself, take 2 friends, or 6 friends) and really get a feel for being on a lonely single track railroad with no one but the crew around.
Like I said, this is retirement central down here. People move here and have ideas of building that dream layout, then more often than not, the lower deck gets ignored.
Then, if you develop mobility issues, the upper deck becomes off limits.
The Scale Rails of Southwest Florida clubhouse layout is a fully scenicked double decker.
I can only talk about what I have seen. I have never seen a fully armed and operation double deck layout in someone’s home.
Interesting, unfortuately it is not an option. In Florida you cannot get a primary mortgage unless there is a fully functional kitchen.
My kitchen cost me $22,000.00, and I would have much rather had that 110 square feet for the layout and spent the money ea
My understanding is that most deaths in house fires hppen when the fire starts while you are sleeping. It is very doubtful that you would be asleep in the layout room.
I dont see that many layouts that are complete regardless of design or number of decks. I would suggest that most layouts in general don’t get finished and that there are big sections that aren’t done even after many years. Double decks wouldn’t be any different in that regard and it is likely that the bottom deck would be the last part to finish.
I have seen many double decks with scenery on both decks in my area - Jack Burgess, Dave Adams, Jim Vail (gone now) Tom Ebers and myself to name a few. On some of these layouts (including mine) the bottom deck is the last part to be scenicked.
I suspect that the price of real estate and lack of basements makes double decks more common in the West and you are more likely to see more complete layouts as a percentage. If I had the space to get a long mainline run in a single deck, I would definately have a single deck layout.
Agreed that it is a generally a different concept of scenery.
There are some interesting ways to deal with that issue - one is the view from one scene across the aisle into the other scene can create more depth.
Another is there can be areas where the layout is single deck with deeper scenes. Usually there are parts of a layout - say over the 6 foot diameter helix are deeper and that create big depth. I intentionally left my yard single deck and it can be viewed from the end into a 13 foot long scene.
Another fun thing to explore scenically is having the scenery right at eye level changes the perspective and makes it possible for visitors to see detail in models that they might miss if they were looking from above.
I took all that into account when I built my double deck layout. I had two peninsulas that only projected 6’ out from what was otherwise an around the room layout in a 25 x 40 room.
The two peninsulas were lower in benchwork elevation than the decks around the room and were used as the transition between decks. There were no backdrops on the upper deck of the peninsulas. I did not use a helix. My minimum radius was 36", so the peninsulas were 7 feet wide.
So this kept the room open at eye level, and provided some areas with deep, expansive
trainnut1250
I dont see that many layouts that are complete regardless of design or number of decks.
I would guess that I have visited 15-18 completed layouts. Every one was single decked.
I would guess I have visited 5-8 double deck layouts, all had the lower deck in a state of permanent stagnation/neglect/unused.
Again… elderly retirees with big dreams and oncoming mobility issues.
trainnut1250
Most layouts in general don’t get finished and that there are big sections that aren’t done even after many years. Double decks wouldn’t be any different in that regard and it is likely that the bottom deck would be the last part to finish.
Yes, exactly. The bottom deck gets finished last, but the owners around these parts physically cannot do it, so it never gets done.
trainnut1250
I suspect that the price of real estate and lack of basements makes double decks more common in the West and you are more likely to see more complete layouts as a percentage.
Of 4 permanent club and personal layouts near me, 3 are 2 or more decks, only one is a single deck layout. None are in the basement of the building or house. at least, not in the sense of basement as being a room excavated at least partially below ground level.
That is a pretty small sample to draw any conclusions from.
I have seen a lot of club layouts in my time, and only one was in a basement.
There are three multi deck layouts among my closest modeler friends around here, but many more of the layouts that am aware of nearby are single level.
There are likely many more of both close by that I am not aware of.
Yes, that’s a small sample size, the big list (of those that are willing to let strangers into their homes) comes out in November each year. But those are 4 I’ve actually been to visit (and one I was a member of as well), not just read about. There’s a 5th I can think of, permanent, and it is single deck. So 3 out of 5. That 5th one is built into a former baggage car. And I’m not counting my own - would just cancel each other out, my previous layout was single deck, my new one is double deck. I’ve built at least 6 others (not counting the ones I helped my Dad with) but other than one small shelf layout and the 8x12 donut from a bunch of years ago, they were all pretty much just variations on island layouts - 4x8 HO, 3x6 N, and a couple of 2x4 N scale ones. All single deck. A never happened planned extension of the 8x12 donut would have had 2 decks, but the lower one was strictly staging.
I’m not counting the wide variety of portable layout I’ve seen at Timonium and other shows - I don’t even remember how many there were at the National Train Show in Philly. Including one I am a member of in that class as well. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a portable multi-deck layout, it’s just not practical for transport.
I hadn’t thought about a single state having different coasts. Love your description. Something new everyday.
I have visited lots of layouts in California - somewhere around 100 (I’ve lost track over the years). Most of them were/are not finished. Of those layouts probably only about 20 or 30% were double deck.
Do you mean the old double deck layout that I did not like?
Sure, I have some photos when it was still in the various benchwork stages. Not sure they really show the concept very well:
If you look closely to the left in the 1st picture, you can see the top level of one peninsula across the aisle, and how it is lower than the upper level on the wall.
In the 4th picture, to the right you can see the bench work transition to the lower levels of the peninsula.
And in both the 1st and 2nd pictures, the lower shelf with the model boxes is the staging level.
Again, not sure if you can get much of sense of the thing from these photos. The further along I got, the less I liked it. I redesigned it once as a double decker to improve some stuff, than decided it had to go.
Then, before I could get very far ona new single deck plan, we decided to move.
So now I have this space and a new plan on the drawing board. Hope to publish the new plan soon, but work, family, selling the otherhouse, and the virus have kept me real busy.
Thanks for taking the time to post the pictures. You’re right in that they don’t show a real clear view of what you describe, but I can glean enough from them to get the idea. The new space looks pretty good. Have fun planning the new layout.
