Good luck with the move and future layouts.

Bob

Good for you, I too am a mid-westerner living in the south (the land of no basements and  attics to hot to use) and would love to have the prospect of a basement in my near future.  Good luck with the move and am looking forward to updates on the futute build!!!  Jim

Thanks guys. Can’t wait to start planning and construction. I am going to try and stay “smallish”, so I can enjoy operating trains  in my lifetime.

Godspeed and good wishes.  Will be sorry to see a nearby fellow train aficionado move away!

@Obuckler posted:

Godspeed and good wishes.  Will be sorry to see a nearby fellow train aficionado move away!

I was just thinking about you earlier today. Hope all is well with you. I hope to meet a few fellow train/Lionel fans once we get moved. Lots of train shows and modeling activity up that way. Take care.

Jeff

@mowingman posted:

"...... I am going to try and stay “smallish”, so I can enjoy operating trains  in my lifetime."  Very wise goal!

Moving out of Texas, are you trying to start a trend?  I thought everyone was moving into Texas.

@gunrunnerjohn posted:

Moving out of Texas, are you trying to start a trend?  I thought everyone was moving into Texas.

Ha ha. Texas is a great place to earn a living. But, heat, dirt, constant construction, and lack of trees are not on my list of favorite things. This area is growing way too fast and way too big for us. Time to get back to a slower lifestyle and a more rural setting, with trees, (and basements).

Jeff

Seems to me you will need to change your name from mowingman to shovelingman. Wear warm clothes. LOL

@CurtisH posted:

Seems to me you will need to change your name from mowingman to shovelingman. Wear warm clothes. LOL

I will have to think about that. We will see what this winter brings us!

Moving is usually a hassle, but at the end of the rainbow is a great reward -- a basement that can be the home base for a train layout!

Mike Mottler    LCCA 12394
Living in central Arkansas in a suburban home with no basement and envious of your situation!

@mowingman  congrats on the move. I am in the same process but this one from Illinois to Michigan. Jeff

Congrats & good luck!  We moved locally at the end of May, and I now too have a large basement to work with.  I've already started tinkering w/SCARM again & hope to be able to post something in the "Track Plans & Layout Design" forum soon.  Can't wait to see what you come up with! 

@ScoutingDad posted:

@mowingman  congrats on the move. I am in the same process but this one from Illinois to Michigan. Jeff

Great. you will have more snow days to stay in and work on your layout.

Jeff

I love South Carolina!!

@Woodson posted:

I love South Carolina!!

South Carolina was actually on our short list. My wife was born and raised in upstate S.C.  Her hometown is nice, but housing prices are still high, and the town is just getting too big.

Jeff

We got everything packed and moved pretty much on schedule. Boy, it is a real mess when you move at 71 years old, and from a place you have lived for 44 years. We got settled into our new location in SE Ohio the first week of Dec. Even though we downsized a little, we should have downsized a LOT More. Time just did not allow.

I have a basement now, but it is half full of boxes. I imagine it will be quite some time before I can even organize my train stuff, and get a spot laid out in the basement for a train layout. So, I will have to get my train "fix" here, reading the forum and the magazine.

Jeff

@mowingman posted:

We got everything packed and moved pretty much on schedule. Boy, it is a real mess when you move at 71 years old, and from a place you have lived for 44 years. We got settled into our new location in SE Ohio the first week of Dec. Even though we downsized a little, we should have downsized a LOT More. Time just did not allow.

I have a basement now, but it is half full of boxes. I imagine it will be quite some time before I can even organize my train stuff, and get a spot laid out in the basement for a train layout. So, I will have to get my train "fix" here, reading the forum and the magazine.

Jeff

Been there, done that, burned the T-shirt!

We moved from 5,000 sq/ft into my current condo.  However, I got a nice train room out of the deal, so I'm not complaining.

Don't get discouraged, we moved when I was 74, and yes, it was a major mess!

I started with this...

Currently I'm here...

Very nice train room. Also, thanks for the encouragement. I get kind of "down" when I look at all we need to do before we really get settled in.

Jeff

It's daunting when you first start, a pile of lumber, a mountain of boxes, and an empty room.

Congratulations on your move!  Am in real estate here in western NC and you have proven to be one of the few exceptions to the old adage "You never hear of anyone retiring and moving North!"   LOL!   Good luck sir

Congratulations on the move and the new basement!  Too bad you moved to SE Ohio, if you'd come to the Cincinnati corner there would be lots of help available to jump start your new railroad.  Hopefully you can find some train guys local to you.

@Bob posted:

Congratulations on the move and the new basement!  Too bad you moved to SE Ohio, if you'd come to the Cincinnati corner there would be lots of help available to jump start your new railroad.  Hopefully you can find some train guys local to you.

I grew up here, so it is like going home. It is much more rural here than down toward Cincinnati, but you are correct, not many modelers most likely. I did recently hear there is some type of model railroad club down in Parkersburg, W.VA. That is a short hop, so will have to check it out in the future when things settle down.

Jeff

Jeff, Congratulations on getting moved in.  Yes, it will take a while to get unboxed, settled in.  I was not aware there is a model railroad club in Parkersburg.

@Mark Boyce posted:

Jeff, Congratulations on getting moved in.  Yes, it will take a while to get unboxed, settled in.  I was not aware there is a model railroad club in Parkersburg.

Mark, I really don't know anything about it. However, a friend sent me a copy of a flyer or ad they put out for a Christmas showing they had a week or two ago. You are over there in W.Va. somewhere, aren't you?

@mowingman posted:

Mark, I really don't know anything about it. However, a friend sent me a copy of a flyer or ad they put out for a Christmas showing they had a week or two ago. You are over there in W.Va. somewhere, aren't you?

Jeff, I did live in Keyser, West Virginia at one time.  We live in Butler Pennsylvania now, a bit of a drive down I-79.  I always loved West Virginia!

I moved 4 years ago Jeff. My train room is just about done ready to start building the layout hopefully that will be within the next month or two good luck on the move

Thanks for all the positive feedback. Starting over is a challenge, but I am encouraged by those here who have done it at one time or another. Yes, the possibilities are endless if I look at it the right way.

Jeff

Well, it has been a while, but finally making progress on the basement, (new train room). After moving, I have been working on the main part of the house and the yard. You know the saying, "Happy wife, happy life". Today the painters did the basement walls. I had already hung a bunch of LED lights, so what a difference it makes. The floor is still an issue to be resolved. Photos show a big difference from what it was originally.

Nice progress on the new train room!

@Mark Boyce posted:

Nice progress on the new train room!

Thank you Mark.

Jeff

Looks great Jeff. Hope the benches go up soon. 👍

Bob

@RSJB18 posted:

Looks great Jeff. Hope the benches go up soon. 👍

Bob

Thanks Bob. Those are the only benches I thought would be moveable, so I will have to build more. I hope the price of lumber comes down soon. Also need to figure out what I can do with the floor, without breaking the bank.

Jeff

@mowingman posted:

Also need to figure out what I can do with the floor, without breaking the bank.

Jeff

Menards has concrete floor paint. It comes in various colors. I painted the bare concrete in my train room a brown color.

It eliminates the perpetual concrete dust, helps cut down on dampness, and provides a clean surface to walk on that can be wiped, swept, and even mopped if need be. Add a throw rug here and there if you prefer.

@mowingman posted:

Thanks Bob. Those are the only benches I thought would be moveable, so I will have to build more. I hope the price of lumber comes down soon. Also need to figure out what I can do with the floor, without breaking the bank.

Jeff

The interlocking shop floor tiles are reasonable and do a good job to soften the concrete. Just put them where you walk.

Cant help with the lumber prices unfortunately.

Hey Jeff - Looks like a great space

Going through the same thing - relocating - we had our walk through with the builder yesterday with settlement scheduled for next Tuesday the 28th - fingers crossed

It's been awhile but if all goes well there is a nice "train room" waiting for me

Jeff, have a sidebar conversation with OGR’s Alan Miller. I suspect he knows of a number of O gauge people in SE Ohio.
Also, for your flooring, avoid the interlocking rubber EPDM mats. They can generate quite a static charge! Not good for delicate electronics!

Chris

LVHR

@lehighline posted:

"Also, for your flooring, avoid the interlocking rubber EPDM mats. They can generate quite a static charge! Not good for delicate electronics!

Chris"

Do those mats trap dampness underneath?

You might want to take a look at this thread by NJCJOE for tips and ideas on finishing the basement, including floor coverings.

NJCJOE's New Train Room - 6/17/22 - The Inaugural Run of the Standard Gauge | O Gauge Railroading On Line Forum (ogaugerr.com)