Maybe a 150,000 sq ft abandoned Walmart? More than enough to model UP’s Bailey yard in H0 with no compression! A quote from this article:
The big-box aesthetic does not immediately lend itself to any other use. The buildings are often upward of 150,000 square feet. There simply aren’t many enterprises that need that much space, and because the buildings are built for a single-use purpose, it’s not so easy to break them up into smaller units. Yet all over the country, resourceful communities are finding ways to reuse these buildings, turning them into flea markets, museums, schools—even churches.
The way the economy is going alot of those big boxes will find good use as homeless shelters…the sub prime mess has created a sudden demand for rental accommodation.
I was in the planning stages of “the big one” over the summer. Once I got to speak with a couple of contractors, that idea went the way of the dinosaurs! At $140.00 per sq. ft., the first extimate, a 30’ x 18’ addition was out of the question.
My boss is a self-made zillionaire and just purchased a hangar at the nearby executive airport to store his Embraer Legacy 600 jet and large collection of automobiles (must be nice!). My railroading buddy and I have been trying to convince him he really needs to get into model railroading and appoint us in charge of the project. There is lots of empty space in that hangar yearning for a layout!
Over the last year or so we have actually looked in to leasing unused retail space, but even with the market down it is way too pricey. I did just find that I can get a used 40’ shipping container for about $2000, which may end up being the next layout room if I ever move to a house with a flat yard.
Of course, I should get some track on the current layout before discussing the next one too much [:)]
Myself, If I could afford a large building I’d buy the building in the SF Bay Area that houses the Stanford Linear Accelerator. The building is about 2 miles long. You could make a very credible model of the SP from California on up to Oregon/Washington. With DCC, you could also get a good walk to the other end of the building in at the same time.
Willow Run! Of course the old Blimp hanger at Moffett Field out in California would make an ideal location for a thirty story multi-deck layout in N-Scale! Anyone interested in the Onion Specific, foot-for-foot, tie-for-tie, spike-for-spike?
After all the political fallout falls out, the Yucca Mountain (proposed, unused) Nuclear Burial Site should be for sale cheap. Five mile main tunnel plus spurs, guaranteed to be dry and (allegedly) located in stable ground…[:-^]
Of course, it’s kinda far from the nearest LHS. [(-D]
I hope you realize that you would glow in the dark after a few minutes in the tunnel. Yucca mountain is where they set off the underground nuclear tests. BOOM!!!
My wife and I are planning to build a new house in around 5 years. It will have a 4 bay garage/workshop set back from the house with a loft above it. The loft will someday be home to my future empire.