Help me design an attic layout

I did an around the room layout in my attic-like spare room. For me that was the best option as far as "real-estate".

The layout in the video is the opposite to what you say you would like, around the room. It looks like video layout would fit in your space with some small changes so why not have it in the middle of the room and walk around it?

Allowing for a 2' aisle, best possible table is about 7x12. Consider that on two sides your aisle is going to have a sloped ceiling overhead.

An 11x12 around-the-room layout will work nicely. The height of your knee wall and/or the bottom of the window will be the controlling height of the bench work. One advantage, with lower bench work your top can be wider. I'd suggest 42" max. A peninsula in the center (from window back towards the door) will give you space for sidings/yard area.

Were it mine, I'd do a U shaped folded dog bone with reversing loops on each end.  

I'm doing a layout in the attic of our A-frame, the room is 13-1/2 x 13-1/2 but due to the severe roof slope my layout is 13-1/2 by 7'.  Around the walls is the only way to go for me as it affords me an 072 outer loop and an 064 inner loop. Good luck, that's a nice sized room you have.

Thank you fellas...around the room it is then.  Anyone have any horse shoe shaped track plans they like? 

Are there any step by step instructions for building a layout like the video posted above? I’ve looked around on YouTube, but didn’t see much. 

What color for the walls?

Hi ASYMAIR95,

Some other considerations:

1. The knee wall height is higher than the window sill height -- going to the highest point where the slope starts decreases use of table top for train clearance-- I would suggest somewhere between to two heights or just below the window sill. Can you hang the AC units in the top sash?
2. Speaking of the windows--that table may have to more narrow than the rest -- you'll need access to the windows
3. It's appears that the long wall has the heat unit-- that table should stand away from the wall to permit good convection--floor to ceiling air flow
4. Electrical needs--are the receptacles for this area on their breaker in the electrical panel? Are the receptacles on one circuit or separate circuits? Are any of the receptacles switched on/off by a switch near the door? Having clean power and the ability to power the layout on/off at the door are good options
5. Are you satisfied with the lighting?

I would paint what ever vertical wall is exposed and the ceilings in Sherwin-Williams Tibetan Sky - it is a very light blue - like the color of the horizon over the tree tops on a sunny day- it shows less blue when brightly lit and slightly darker in dimmer light. It is actually a white with a touch of blue.

I don't see any need to do the end walls. You may want to paint a scene or put backdrop photos there.

You'll also need a visual block for AC unit(s) in the windows. They are what they are, a necessity, but if you hide them in any way, it will look better.

here's a concept for the U shape with an allowance for the baseboard connector. The grid is 6" blocks.

I can see the long corner being good for a yard/engine storage and using Gilly's thoughts. if you give me a few measurements and some clarification on track inventory, I can put together a track plan concept to start you off. 30" wide tables except for the window end and the turnaround ends near the door. 24" in front of the windows.

I apologize, Welcome to the OGR Forum!

I am sure you'll find what you need with the wealth of knowledge that the forum members have.

Thank you for the help Moonman. That is the kind of brain stimulation I was looking for. Let me try and answer some of the questions.

-The window ac units are for the downstairs bedrooms, not the windows in this room. We are just storing them here for the moment.  There will be no ac in these windows.

-We usually do not open these windows. Wasps tend to come in when we do. Thinking we can keep the benchwork wider in this spot.

-The heater is not used too much in this area, helps keep the fuel oil bill down. Will be using a plug in heater to just heat this room. Summers I will not be using the trains much, so no need for cooling.

-I will check the electrical out today. That was something I hadn’t thought of. Will report back with findings.

-The only lighting in this area at the moment is on the ceiling fan in the middle of the room. What would you recommend for lighting on a layout? Something on a dimmer switch I assume? A fan would be a bad idea because it would blow around scenic grass and foam?

-Will head out today and find some Tibetan blue. I need to paint the whole room because it needs it. It hasn’t seen paint in decades. Also need to finish some baseboard trim and paint before I start. Hoping to get that going today.

-Some updated measurements:

The shorter long wall is 135”

The longer long wall is 202”

The window wall is 137”

The door section of wall is 61” from door frame to corner of  shorter long wall.

The last section of wall is from door frame to corner of longer long wall. This section of wall is not angled, it is flat and perpendicular to the window wall. This piece is 70”

The only section that is angled is the wall with the door in it.

Height of the knee wall is 44”

Height to bottom of window sash is 34”

Thank you again for all the help. 

Just a quick back story. All of my track, and most of my trains came to me from my Father. They were his and my Uncles when they were kids in the 50’s. My Grandfather who I was very close with bought most of these train sets for them and spent hours playing with them with the kids. My Grandfather, and Uncle have both since passed. My Dad is 71, and I would like him to see his trains running once again before his health deteriorates. I now have children of my own 4 and 7, and would like to pass on this Lionel tradition.

Thank you again for your help. I’m currently cleaning all of their old track and will get a track count for you. I figured I could always buy more if I ran out. Thanks again

Welcome to the forum. Lot's of great talent and advice to be found here. I agree with Tom and Carl, an around the room "folded dog bone" style layout would work best. The head room along the wall is poor due to the roof line so better to place the trains there. I peninsula in the center would make for a great yard for switching trains.

Think about how you want to operate your trains- do you like to do a lot of switching or loop running.

If you want operating accessories watch the size of them. They take up a lot of real estate.

Try and use larger radius curves (054 min), as this will allow longer trains to negotiate curves easily.

How many trains do you want to run simultaneously?

You've come to the right place for help.

Bob

The whole room may be too much blue. Paint it any color that you like.

At the top of the forum, in the blue menu bar, you will see a search button.

Search attic layout a look at some of posts. That will give you some ideas of how other forum members utilize the space.

I think you'll need a fan at times. You can always get some different LED bulbs in different colors (2700k, 3200k, 5000k) to change the look. it should be ok for what you want to do and keep the costs down.

Thanks for the measurements. 34" isn't too low for a deck height - set up something flat that high and see how you like it. Avoiding going around the windows over the sill will make the build easier. That will give you 8"-10" on the sides of vertical space for buildings flats or painted scenery.

I'll set up the walls in my software and a beginning table shape to start and make them 30" wide, except for the ends near the door. 24"may work for you and it will make better use of sheet material. Cut a piece of cardboard and lay four lines of straight and an accessory or building, maybe a switch. Mock up what can fit for the long runs. You may be surprised with 24".

keeps things simple now to get something up and running. That will be enough of a task.

I can offer you a suggestion you may want to consider for your walls and ceiling. How eager you are to wanting the walls and ceiling painted would be a factor.

Using a roller, I gave the whole room a basecoat of a not-too-bright off-white; then, I painted the blue, using a brush, with my attitude relaxed, bit by bit. When I came to a spot where I thought a cloud might be happy, I left that area unpainted in blue, leaving it white; thus, having more of a creative experience than a chore.

The gradual process turned out to be fun. So, all the clouds you see here were not painted atop the blue sky. Rather, the blue was painted up to where I imagined clouds would be, letting the clouds take shape in front of me.

And of course I realized that if I wanted parts of the sky to be a little more stormy, I could take a bit of gray and shade/feather the bottoms in anytime I wanted.

Those are all amazing recommendations, thank you, thank you.

I checked the power today and all four outlets are hot and non switched. I think the whole attic is on one breaker.

I was thinking of making the benchwork wider, just using 4x8 sheets around the perimeter. Is 48” too deep to use for the top of the benchwork? That would leave me with 3’ in the middle to move around between the two sections. 

I would like a good mix of loop running and switching, with emphasis on loop running. I would like to run three trains at once, with a trolly/gang car line. I mainly will be using the sidings for storage of cars and engines. The few operating accessories I have could be on their own siding.

I bought some paint today and will get to work with the roller and brush.

Thank you again for the help.

Joe

Asymair95 posted:

I was thinking of making the benchwork wider, just using 4x8 sheets around the perimeter. Is 48” too deep to use for the top of the benchwork?

Height to bottom of window sash is 34”

Joe

If you build 32" tall bench work (same as I have in my attic layout), 42" wide is doable. I would not suggest going 48". FWIW, you can get under 32" bench work, but it is not fun. I'm 6'2" and can barely sit up under the layout. If I could have built it @34", I would have.

I was doing some mock up today and discovered what you are talking about. 48” is difficult to reach across for someone my height 5’9”. I am going with 34” on the height. 

I painted all the baseboard and doorway trim yesterday. This week will be the blue on the walls/clouds, and buying wood for the benchwork. 

Every night after everyone is in bed I clean 10 pieces of track. I have already cleaned, repaired, and tested all the switches. 

Interesting perspective on too low. My issue was it being seen while lounging on a sofa. 30" would have been nice I think, but before I ever take some off the legs I have something new to measure; the melon to joist clearance.

I'd want at least enough at 40" or 50" to fit an 0-36 or 0-48 line in. I know your focus is postwar, but there are just too many tempting engines that need something bigger than 0-31. You can't even run an old Berk, FM-TM, GG-1 etc on the 0-27, the 0-31 would be pushing it slightly.

Asymair95 posted:

Every night after everyone is in bed I clean 10 pieces of track. I have already cleaned, repaired, and tested all the switches. 

BTW, when it comes to track cleaning, you aren't using steel wool are you?

A few comments on the comments.

Running a 726 Berkshire - I've run mine witht Irvingtom, Manhattan and Madison on my O-31 test loop with no problems, but it looks ridiculous.  You need two inches clearnace from the third rail on the outside of the curve.  Consider using O-56 on the outer loop, O-31 on the inner and something between on the middle.

The GG1 on O-31 is fine, the articulated chassis has four short segments.

Consider running all the way raound the room and having a lift bridge at the doorway.  It's not difficult and would give you about 50 foot long loops with no worries about the kind of crowding you'd have at the end of a dogbone.  I've built two of them, on curves.  I'll take some photos and post them tomorrow or Tuesday.  

I have solved all of the problems of maintaining alignment and electrical continuity.  Maybe I should write an article about building drawbridges.

In regard to accessories, If you want to be able to use the 97 coal elevator or 164 log loader, you need two tracks 15 inches apart.  That's an exact fit for a layout using  022 switches.  Consider this lyard diagram with a reverse curve between A and c and an 022 at B.  Tracks 1 and 2 will be 15 inches apart and the 97 0r 164 will fit perfectly.

1_____A

              \C______B______

2_____________  /

Got the room painted a nice shade of blue. The Mrs. said she would do the clouds for me, she likes artsy stuff like that.

Some answers to concerns posted above.

I don’t want to use a wider radius track than the o31 I currently have. Part of the reason for building this layout is the nostalgia of running trains on track that was used by my Grandpa, Uncle, and Dad. This is why I’m going through all the trouble of cleaning the old track. I’ve seen videos of the wider radius track, looks great though. I have more o27 than I have o31 though.

I do have a few engines that will require the o31 track. There is a GG1 and Southern F3 that need the wider radius. Most everything else is o27 friendly.

I’m using 3m pads to clean the track, followed by a wipe down with wd40. The oil will be removed before running.

I was thinking about adding a complete loop around the room. The door to the room opens into the room though and would hit the benchwork. 

I don’t have either of those accessories. The only one left is the 364 log loader. All the other ones were sold several years ago when we fell on hard times

I would like to buy back some of the accessories we sold during that time. I will have to get a list together.