First, thank you everyone for the insight, suggestions, and personal experiences related in the above posts! I really appreciate it, and these have led to some new ideas as I look at my project.
When I initially posted, I didn’t want to cause limitations in responses by being overly specific about my scenario. This obviously generated questions, mostly around geographic region. I’ll provide some more details here:
I was born in 1981, and lived in Rockford, IL for my first 26 years. I’ve lived in Billings, MT since. I was gifted my first Lionel train set at age 3. My father and my uncle (mother’s side) have been O-gauge enthusiasts for most of their lives. At age 14 I began working and was able to invest in a model train hobby (hence, 25 years of planning my final train room/building). I was married in 2011, and my bride and I have 3 boys (2016, 2018, and one more in Feb 2021). Since moving to Montana, I’ve come to learn that I really took for granted my Illinois years in relation to O-scale trains. I grew up with easy access to the many model train stores in the Chicagoland area, and frequently visited the monthly DuPage County Fairgrounds train show. The hobby was generally popular. In Montana, I’m a lone wolf in this hobby. When I was a TCA member, there were 8 total Montana members, and none of them lived near me (4-5 hours away). When I discuss my hobby with Montanans, they wonder “why in the world would anybody do that?” I’m not complaining – I’m attempting to relate that Montana is a very different place when it comes to O-gauge. This forum is priceless because it provides a place to discuss with like-minded folks.
The discussed new building will be an addition to our dwelling. The new building will house the train room, our first indoor garage, and massive amounts of storage. This storage will allow us to convert existing areas of our current dwelling into additional living space, which is handy as our family continues to grow. The lot is fantastic so we aren’t going to leave it – it is our “forever lot”, but not our “forever house”. We plan to demolish and replace this dwelling in the future. This new building is a step towards the overall “new house” plan, and will span multiple years to see through fruition. I have had many conversations with the city planning and city engineering offices about the addition. I have recently begun working with an Architect.
Tom Tee: thank you for expressing the valuable lessons you have learned regarding a separate train room. I am still proceeding, but now with more wisdom thanks to you. Strongly considering spray foam. Ongoing building costs (utilities/insurance) and increased taxes are being taken to heart, and I’m getting better estimates about what those expenses will look like. I have ordered Creative Layout Design by John Armstrong. The train building will be attached to our existing dwelling via an insulated breezeway. Optimally, this breezeway will be really close to the master bedroom, which will be ideal for the ‘sleepless night’ train room excursions you referred to. I appreciate the basement model layout construct, as this is what I’ve been used to all my life. As I’ve observed my elders advance in age, they found traversing the stairs very painful. Additionally, I have some friends who are confined to wheelchairs. These two factors make stairs a difficulty in my master train room plans, which is why I will stick with a ground-floor concept. Thermal spill will not be available in my situation, so I will take some extra steps to conserve the desired temperature in my room. This will be the largest and possibly the only accessible permanent O scale layout in the largest city in Montana. This effects the concept of ‘target audience’ in ways that most other folks wouldn’t deal with. I am looking at ways to incorporate the “minimal duck under” access that I observed at the massive HO layout at the Colorado Model Railroad Museum in Greely, CO. You’ve provided fantastic common sense advice, and it will benefit me for decades to come. Thank you whole heartedly.
Loose-Caboose: thank you for the wise suggestions regarding electric receptacles and layout heights. Yep I’ll be using an Architect. Obviously anything in the cement pad (like in-floor receptacles) need to be addressed really early in the planning process, so I appreciate that input. Regarding layout height – my current layout is 4 feet tall, which allows delightful room underneath for storage and plenty of room to work. Lighting under the layout has been a necessity. I achieved this by doing something really inexpensive and simple – I strung a giant strand of white Christmas lights through the support beams, and this has been an effective source of light for the past 6 years. I’m toying with the idea of keeping the 4 foot height, and providing safe platforms to stand on all around the layout for guests to view the action.
Mark Boyce: I appreciate your warm welcome! I will do my best to keep the community updated on how things are going for years to come.
Susan Deats: great advice – thank you. I have a track plan in mind, which may be influenced further by John Armstrong’s book when I get my hands on it. Appreciate the mentions of receptacle configurations – I will see what is involved.
Mike H Mottler: thank you kindly! I’ll have a roundhouse area on the scale layout, and the classic layout will be more of an “anything goes” area. You bring up a good point about dealing with shelf storage and re-railing – could you please elaborate on the hassle involved in this? I have not had this sort of construct before and knowing about some potential pitfalls will be very helpful. With my current small layout, I have to re-box everything every time I change my roster (several times a year), and I had hoped that wall shelves protected by plexiglass would resolve that annoying ritual. The layout will have several regions built in to provide trains reasons to travel about. I’ll share my designs in upcoming posts, and I appreciate your discussion on the subject. Ah, reversing loops and switches – thanks Mike – you will find that I’m rather dull and peculiar when it comes to switches, but I’ve learned to live with it 😊.
SantaFeJim: Thanks! Yep LED is the way to go. Hoping that the city allows me to install thinner gauge copper in the ceilings since LED doesn’t need standard gauge stuff (no, not THAT standard gauge). I will visit your topic to gather more info!
Lehighline: Thanks for the super advice! Oooo black ceiling – interesting idea! Great comments about dust control – I plan to do my cutting in the garage portion of the building and then bring the completed lumber into the train room for construction. Sound dampening will be an interesting feat. I’ve done A/V production in various venues, and have experimented with different materials to control the travel of sound, but haven’t worked with this in my hobby yet, so I’ll be looking for good ideas. Flooring material will be key. My father-in-law has sold and installed flooring for many years, so he will be a helpful resource. I definitely want the ability to control the level of room lighting while also controlling the trains. Somewhat scary, but I think everything (lighting and trains) will be wireless and app-based by the time I get there, so maybe the type of tablet I eventually acquire for room control will be a big factor. I really like backdrops – my first layout back in Illinois had beautiful backdrops that completely changed the atmosphere of the layout. Unfortunately my new scale layout will not incorporate them. There is a possibility for a cross-layout dual-sided backdrop on the classic layout.
Oman: I very much appreciate your insight on Hyper Heat. I’m looking at a few different heating options for the overall building and specifics for the train room. Initial plan is to use electric heat only, but I’m looking at all options, and working with an Architect. With us planning to remove our dwelling and replace it in the future, HVAC considerations related to the (permanent) addition are numerous.
JohnnieWalker: Yes, you just spent more of my money – fantastic idea which I had not considered. The ceiling loop will end up being the largest loop I’ve ever constructed. Thanks!
CurtisH: Thank you – I hadn’t thought about radiant floor heating, so I appreciate the mention. As I replied to Oman above, I was planning to keep things simple with electric heat throughout, but your comments are helping me consider other heating avenues. Now to figure out ductless A/C without window units…
Mallard4468: thank you for checking out my blog! Yep you are right, temperatures can be extreme on both ends, but thankfully those extremes don’t last more than a week at a time. I just don’t want my trains or myself to melt or freeze during those weeks 😊
RJT: thank you most kindly for the wisdom. Are metal studs similarly priced to wood studs at present (with crazy lumber prices right now)? Limited ceiling height will be key, and the height of the layout will be a factor… digesting several ideas and opinions on that now. Oodles of outlets are in the plans. To achieve storage above the train room I’ll need to install a mezzanine (steel truss-based). Some of the pole barn builders I spoke with said they could do this with wood, which I found rather impressive (either a 30 or 40 foot span). And, for now I’ll stick with my inexpensive yet effective Christmas light method of lighting under the layout.
Jay Francis: congratulations and best wishes for your project!
Thank you again to everybody thus far for your comments, suggestions, and experiences!
