Model Railroader has this topic now, I don’t remember if we have ever had this topic.
I have a scale drawing of mine, a blueprint.
Its 118 Sq ft. with two meandering loops 112 ft. and 174 ft. of track total.
13 switches and dual cab control with 13 blocks. A small 4 track yard and 4 of those blocks are the yard.
L Girder open grid with sawn out roadbed on risers, no scenery yet.
I am single, its in my living room.
This should be an interesting topic, it’s always fun to learn about other layouts.
My layout is a mere 38 sq. feet - basically a 4x8 with an extension for the engine terminal.
I don’t know the total length of the trackage, but the O42 mainline is 18’ 4-1/2" around the loop.
It has 16 switches and one turntable. Since I run clockwork O gauge trains, there are no blocks, no wiring, no transformers.
Most of the track is vintage O gauge 2-rail clockwork train track, except for the O42 mainline which is modern Lionel with then center rail removed to match the appearance of the older track.
Construction is a simple table-top, just a frame with plywood on it.
Scenery is limited to a grass mat over the table, with sections of sandpaper under the tracks to simulate ballast. Toy trains running through toy train scenery.
The layout is located in our storage room.
You can see pictures and a track plan at: http://oldwinduptrains.tripod.com/operating.html
My layout until I took it down last week was 8’ x 16’ so it was 128 SQFT. had 2 loops I also had a shelf layout of 14’ x 16’ so I guess it was about 200’ - 224’ of track
My Layout is also in my living room. Loop to Loop
Steve
My layout is small it’s 3 1/2 feet wide by 12 feet long 1 main with 7 switches a crossover and a 3 line yard. It serves the purpose of running my trains.
Mine is 7’ x 12’, and built the only way I know how: All 2x4s on 16" centers, so I could nearly park a car on it. The main level is all Fastrack. I have one line that just runs around the perimeter of the table, the other has a little more going on. It is about 6x9, with a figure 8 on one side, and two spurs for parking trains so I can switch back and forth between them. It includes 6 Fastrack remote switches. As I still have serious doubts about my artistic abilities, scenery is very simple. Green paint with gray painted roads.
In the back is a second level, that is 40" x 7’. I have one oval of Bachmann HO gauge EZ Track, for my 0n30 Royal Blue set. Inside of that is a loop of 0-27 tubular track, so I can run my Lionel trollies or my Marx set. There is a mountain on one end, and everything is white. Looks nice with all of my “A Christmas Story” Dept. 56 buildings and figures.
Ours is 186 Sq ft, bigger than many but smaller than Warren Buffett’s. Doubt it will ever hit the pages of CTT like most of our layouts. But we like it so it is all good. [Y]
Every layout has something that is good because it works and provides fun and the hobby to the owner. Some have a lot of room and some have hardly any room for one but if you have anything your going to have fun.
We went for many years with no layout. So glad we have one now. [:)]
It’s neat to see all the different perspectives. Mine is on top of a raised rock-filled but sealed crawlspace in the basement. It’s like permanent benchwork, covered with about 14 4x8 1/2 inch foam boards and indoor-outdoor carpet. The whole space is about 29 ft. by 11 ft. which I think works out to around 320 sq. ft. The layout has had all sorts of different track set-ups during the past 15 years. The latest is essentially a large squiggly oval around the perimeter with a few sidings at the front.
Mne is a pair of loops, one 042, the other 027 with a reversing loop and town to one side and a yard in the middle. Size: 64 ft sq
My layouts are in a state of flux. When I have one at home, it is usually about 6’ by 9’. We also have a modular 6’ by 9’ Polar Express themed layout that gets set up at the Katy Museum and usually at a November swap meet.
About a month ago, I had a 6’ by 16’ set up at another swap meet.
We also set up a layout three or four times a year for kids programs at the Katy Museum. These usually are usually around 9’ by 18’.
Typical layout is on folding tables consisting of a loop with a siding and a sepearte loop running around the inside of that.
Roughly 13ft x 13ft. Built it in 3 stages, over the past 15 years. Each section was fully sceniced before any new benchwork was constructed. Slow and steady worked for me.
The original Connellsville Sub was a 9ft x 6ft L-shaped configuration, consisting of an over-under track plan with long passing siding.
Next came the Cumberland Extension, which allowed for a longer run between 2 interconnected mainlines, with the addition of a 7ft x 6ft folded dogbone.
Finally, came the Stony River branch, at 7ft x 4ft, allowing for true 2 train operation, enveloped around an industrial complex with a Lionel coal dump, feeding black diamonds into my former bathroom sink.
Mine is a very basic 5 x 8 layout.
Mine is only 5x8 with 2 loops and one siding. However, it took me 2 years to complete the scenics…right down to detailed building interiors.
13’ 2" x 8’ 10"
two mainlines on the lower level, folded dog-bone on the upper level, both levels connected by a seperate transition track. Lower level inner-mainline also has a reversing loop to turn trains around so they can go back “up-stairs”. I can run 2 trains on the lower level mainlines, and 2 on the upper level. If I ever get far enough there will be a point-to-point line for a coal train to go from the mine to the coaling station.
Mine’s basic 4x8, all I’ve got room for. Three loops, two “mainlines” and one for a trolley.
I used MTH Realtrax, the layout’s in an outdoor building (I call it "The Chugger Barn) without climate control so I used the MTH track to avoid corrosion problems. No switches, I like to just set 'em up and watch 'em run.
Taking a loooong time to do the scenicking. I keep spending money on trains and not scenic supplies!
Basically it’s 2 loops with 2 passing sidings on around the room shelving near the ceiling. It has served the purpose well over the past decade but I’m tiring of the limited view from down below. Great for showing off undercarriages.
The new work in progress will take up most of a “T” shaped room, 24’ X 30’. Building the room itself is holding up layout developement. Gettin’ close though, sometime this summer.
Bruce
When I originally started buying model trains to share with my kids, I’d set them up on the floor like I use to do when I was little. That evolved into my current layout (pictured) which is on a 4ft x 8ft sheet of plywood covered with green porch carpet. I get it out of the garage and place it on the floor of the living room when we want to run some trains. It has O27 track around the perimeter, an inside modified figure 8, and two spurs. Scenery is added when we use it, by building stuff with Lincoln Logs, Lego, etc.
I’m currently in the planning stages for a new, more permanent layout that will consist of 3 sheets of 4ft x 8ft plywood in the shape of an L along two sides of my home office. Probably won’t do much for scenery other than a building here and there. I’m not a modeler, I just like to run the trains.
Late joining in on this thread, but we have two layouts. One is 23 ft. by 36 ft. and the other (Polar Express theme) is 8 ft. by 25 ft. The larger layout has 8 main lines, and the PE, two.
HI James,
Please contact me at Classic Toy Trains about your Marx and windup pictures. Thanks, Roger Carp, Senior Editor, 262-796-8776 ext. 253
I had a 4x8, but it was just too big for me to finish or work on with my limited time and $$. So I cut it down to a 4x5 1/2. I thought I would enjoy a larger layout more, but it wasn’t feasable.
Sometimes smaller can be better, and more fun, too!