My new Train Room a work in progress, Updated 1/2/17

Wow, a lot of possibilities there, and your wife finished the painting. You are a lucky man!! Keep us updated on your progress.

 

Jeff

Hi Charlie,

 

It was great to see you at York, I've been looking forward to seeing the beginnings of your new layout. It look's great so far, please keep us updated on your progress.

 

Thanks,

Alex

Looking good Charlie.  Now the real fun starts.

Dan

Hooray for Toni!!!  You are off to a good start!  Quite a change from the room in the garage.  Now you can build empires.   I see plenty of electrical outlets.

What a great color and room for your layout. Quite a gal you have there.  

Really like the way the ceilings look,  I am sure you will do the room justice with a great looking layout!  Keep us posted.

Wow great progress Charlie!  Looks a lot more complete then when I saw it just a few months ago!

    

Good work! Looking forward to more pics as you progress.

 

Peter

Charlie,

 

You are a lucky man. Train room looks like a fantastic space to build your empire. Great talking with you at York. Looking forward to your progress. Talk to you soon.

 

Hi MICH,

  Looks GREAT!!!!   I'll tell HUDSONJOHN to bring an extra scoop of ice cream for ya to YORK in October.

Looks great. Good luck with the layout.

WOW, what a nice train room and what a nice wife to have done the painting while you were enjoying York. Doesn't get much better than that.

Looking real nice.

Wow! I don't know which impresses me more: your train room or your helpful wife.

Looks great Charlie, love the black ceiling - Will the new layout be Fastrack or you making a transition to another track system?

Greg, I'm going Gargraves with Ross switches this time.

Finally the finished basement all ready for benchwork

Congratulations

 

Looks great.....  Look forward to watching your progress. The blue paint on the walls is a big plus.

 

Nice lookin basement, and love the black ceiling. Excellent choice, it will really draw attention to the layout. Great job.

Outstanding. Like Doug, I think the black ceiling is a great choice.

Well done!

Peter

Wow!  Very, very nice!  What a great environment for layout building!  I see a future OGR magazine feature in the making!

wow that looks great. the black ceiling was something i was thinking about doing in my layout room now after seeing yours i'm definitely going with a black ceiling. what is the name of the blue that you used and where did you get it? if i going to copy i might as well do it with the correct color.

Looks great, Like the light blue walls.  We are just taking down our layout then I need to start our future train room in the basement too.  Did you do anything special for lighting.  Keep posting updates.  Nick 

WOW Charlie your basement is beautiful, looking forward to seeing the beginnings of the layout.

 

 

Alex

Looks Great Charlie - Can't wait to see

Beautiful space for a spectacular layout Charlie. Have you figured out how you are going to handle the doorway that is pictured in one of your photos?

Wow Charlie!  What a great room!  And, you must have hit the jackpot, to have an angel of a wife who would devote the time and effort to do all the painting by herself.  Count your lucky stars.  She's a keeper.  

Wow, looks great.  And so much space to work with!  Have you decided on what the overall dimensions of the finished layout will be?  Or is that still in the planning stage?

 

- Mike 

Thanks for all the kind words. 

 

The layout plans have been finalized and I picked up all the track and switches needed at York in April.  The layout will be a folded dogbone with a double track mainline with dimensions of 17 x 34.

 

Couple questions were asked above, let me answer those:

 

Nick, Lighting is tricky in a basement.  I ran a circuit with dimmers for recessed lights and an additional circuit for track lighting to run around the layout.  I will install the track lighting once the benchwork is installed.

 

69Nickey, The blue paint color is "Riviera Blue" and was Behr flat latex from Home Depot.  Do not use the paint with primer in it, the integral primer prevents a completely flat finish.  The black used on the ceiling is Sherwin Williams black acrylic Dryfall.  This is factory mixed flat black and designed for this type of application.

 

Brian, The door will be spanned with a lift up section.  That door is the access to my mechanical room, furnace, hw etc.

 

 

Thanks Charlie for your answer. You sure have the makings of a fabulous layout. The Detroit 3-Railers are going to be in for a future treat.

Nice how long until your able to run?

Wish I had the answer to that.  I plan to have the benchwork done by mid September.

You have an excellent start.  Don't rush.  A good plan and careful execution will give the best possible results.  (But you probably already knew that)  

Mich, would you consider renting your wife out for a few weeks?  

That is not gonna happen LOL

Charlie, you have a really nice start there.  I am happy for you.

.....

Dennis

michrr714 thanks for the names of the colors. again that room looks super

My wife is my official people painter, but doesn't tackle the big stuff.

 

I had to ask.

What a great start!  Really nice space for a layout.

 

Thanks for the update.

Looks great.  Plenty of room for all those O scale Locos to get exercised!

Looks like a first class upgrade to the downstairs.  With or without the layout, you have added value to your home.  All the best, Dave

That's a fine looking train room - so smart to paint the ceiling black.  Wish I would have thought to do it before layout construction.

 

How did you apply the ceiling paint?

 

Used an airless sprayer Gregg.

 

It's a messy job

 

That's great Charlie! I always figured good planning starts with the surrounding environment. From the details you've put into the basement and the finished results it's not hard to anticipate a marvelous layout is coming.

Late to the party here, but WOW!.  You have done a great job.  

 

The ceiling is extremely well done.  The picture of you doing it is scary.

Wonderful train room, Charlie.

Benchwork Day 1

looks like you got some very streight 2x4's.  The room is really taking shape! 

Yea I picked them myself.  However when they dry that's when they move around.  I used hurricane ties to keep them right where I want them. Little trick I learned from a carpenter I know.

Hi Charlie,

 

Great to see the bench work started, Look's great so far. Thanks for keeping us updated on your progress.

 

Alex

Looking good Charlie.  Only buy the 2x4s that you can use in a week to 10 days.  The longer they are piled up unused the more they will curl.  If they get screwed/nailed in they generally will not warp.

Dan

That is good advice Dan.

Charlie,

I am glad to see you are finally able to start building your layout after all the wonderful room preparation.  It will be a great place to run trains!

Looks Good

 

Charlie....How in the heck did I miss this thread until now!!??  Oh well, better late than never.  Your layout room looks fantastic and you are going to have a very nice and big space to work with.  The black ceiling sure makes a difference.  I did the same thing and went with a black ceiling.  Black fascia and curtains and a black ceiling.  What that did is draw the eye to the layout since the black sort of blended in so to speak.  Anyway, I sure am happy for you my friend...and I look forward to seeing your progress.  Your layout will be spectacular!

 

Alan

       
       


Charlie, that looks like a very big hole in your benchwork.  Looks like about 3 feet square.  :-)
Looking good. You are moving along fast.

Looking good Charlie.

Oh the frame work for the trains is good too....

Charlie,

 

These are the best threads, keep this one going !!!!!!!

 

Charlie are you going to York this October ?

 

Thanks,

Alex

Have not seen this one either - Great start Charlie!

 

Don't forget to have your backdrop in place (if using one) before the bench goes against the wall...

Great start Charlie. I like the way you are doing the legs, this will give you plenty of room to crawl under the layout with a creeper.

Alex I won't be making York till April.

 

Here is my Day 2 benchwork progress.  Could have gotten further but decided to take the kids to the State Fair.

 

Charlie,

 

That's very nicely done bench work

 

 

Alex

WOW!! That's looking great.

 

I am looking forward to watching the progress. Enjoy the building!

Basement is looking great, benchwork is looking pretty good as well,  great start Charlie!

I've been running late with my revisions to the layout since the furnace upgrade this past Spring, but now train board work is in progress!

Super job Charlie!!!

 

Charlie,

 

very nice progress

 

thanks for sharing!

Can you post a drawing of the track plan?

Great work CHARLIE!!!!

What, NO YORK til April?  What are we gonna do with all the Lemon Ice cream? 

Keep up the good work.  Hope you get the trains running soon.

Made some more progress yesterday.

 

Charlie, you are a man on a mission. Looks very good!

It is looking good, Charlie!  Are you using 2x4s all over?

 

Yes.  They were straight and the price was right.

two good reasons!!

Charlie,

 

Looking awesome!!!!!!!!!!!

Charlie,

When I close one eye and squint the other, I can almost see trains running.

 

Your going so quick you maybe able to fill our October slot to host this year!

 

Keep up the good work.

John, we got that covered.    Should be a good one too!

Sounds like I wish I lived a lot closer to Detroit!!

A big thanks to forum member SPIKE for coming by today and helping me wrap up the framing and drill all the wire chases.  Ready for plywood here.

Hi Charlie,

 

Wow great progress, all the bench work complete. Look's great !!!!

 

 

Thanks,

Alex

Happy to see you got the holes drilled before putting the "lid" on the benchwork.  Can't have too many.  Looking good.

Dan

Dan is right.  My old eyes can't see in the photos how many holes you put but I would say at least three is good.  I found out the hard way.

.....

Dennis

You have made a tremendous amount of progress in just a few days. Nice work Charlie. I love to see your progress photos.

Charlie - I too am really enjoying seeing your progress pictures.  You are off to a great start.

 

Art

Charlie,

 

Great looking work!  You are building an excellent foundation for your railroad.

Charlie, time to think about wiring.... The DZ1000s and accessories will need 14 volts AC. I will be using Alex's (Ingeniero No1) Non-Contact Point True Position Detector, which require 12dc. Also, most LED lighting will require 12dc. If you use many Miller Engineering sighs you will need 4.5v. All of these will need a distribution system. I ordered 6 of these distribution blocks, $8ea with shipping (found from the electrical forum). I also am using 18/2 and 18/3 bell/alarm/thermostat wire (solid). The 18/3 is useful for the DZ1000s. Today I order telephone cross connect wire 24/2 x 4 (solid) - 900 ft from eBay. I also recently ordered a bunch of red/black zip cord from www.allelectronics.com. These Euro style terminal blocks are very usefull , can cut into 3s and 4s.
I got my 14 gauge stranded in 500' rolls from Menards on sale. I use a different color for each loop. Plus white for all outside rails.

You thought I was kidding when I said make twice as many and twice the size holes in your benchwork.

Let the fun begin!
Dan

Oh yes the fun is beginning.  I go tomorrow for my plywood and will deck the layout on Sunday.

Hi Charlie 

     Take a lot of photos, be an excellent feature article for O Gauge Railroading Magazine.  

Great job Charlie, frame work looks super.  Are you going to lay Homosote on top of the plywood for sound deadening or foam board?  Each step in a layout is closer to your own miniature train world.

 

Steve, Lady and Tex

Charlie:

 

At those moments when you might get frustrated with this project, please know the following:

1. You're doing a GREAT job.
2. You're a much better carpenter than you're letting on.
3. Your photos are VERY helpful to others who are building layouts.

Because I am at the benchwork-building stage myself, I am benefiting greatly just from what you've posted so far.

 

The major difference between us that I can see is that I didn't trust myself not to ding up the freshly painted walls while carrying around 2x4's and sheets of plywood/homasote.  I decided to build out all the benchwork, take it back down, finish the paint, and then screw it all into place.  I like your approach, however, because it gives you a nicer place to work.

 

All in all, a great job so far.  Please keep us up to date.

 

Steven J. Serenska

 

I appreciate all of the positive comments.

 

Picked up my plywood this morning.  Got some real nice 3/4" AC grade 7 ply material.

 

 

 

You definitely have a great foundation for the layout....room and all. Excellent job and choice of materials!

I've always said these are the best threads, to watch the building of a layout coming alive.

 

 

Alex

Charlie,

 

I cannot wait to see the next update.  What leveling-aid did you use on the bottom of each leg?

 

Thanks,

Joe

Joe,

 

Good to hear from you.  I used these available from Woodcraft.

 

 

 

Nice work. I wish I had a room for a layout.

Don

I've been at it 12 hours today.  I have a few more screws to drive and some fine tuning of the curves with the belt sander but I about have this layout decked.

 

 

NICE! Those rounded corners are looking real sharp!

 

Thanks for the tip on what you used for leveling the legs. Looks like a good option for the next layout here.

 

You'll have the trains running in no time now!!

Excellent you were a busy boy today.

 

Looking most excellent Charlie.  You may want to paint / seal the plywood before putting down roadbed and track.

Let's see how many things I can remind you of to delay laying track.

Dan

It's all for your good.

Charlie - Really looking good so far.  Very exciting phase in the building of a layout.

 

Art

Nice clean work, Charlie. This has, and will continue to be a fun build. I always look forward to your layout progress reports.

Coming along very nicely my friend!!  I should have had you building my benchwork!!

 

I am with Alex on this...I always enjoy these threads when one can see the creation of what will be a first class layout...

 

Alan

Charlie,

 

As stated above, beautiful clean work. Very nicely done !!!!

 

 

Thanks,

Alex

Looking very nice, I hope mine comes out 1/2 as good. Hopefully starting next month.

Great room prep and woodworking Charlie. I look forward to future steps because now it will get really interesting.

Beautiful work, Charlie. Your benchwork is superb.

Looking fantastic.

Coming along nicely!  

 

Peter

Charlie,

Great room, and the benchwork really looks nice.  I really like the curves.  Curves help make the layout flow naturally and the keep dummies like me from getting hurt on corners.  

I'm looking forward to seeing more photos and descriptions as you proceed.

Charlie:

 

Out of curiosity, what is your plan for the front facing of the layout under the tables?  Will it be open so viewers can look underneath the tables?  Will you hang a curtain or install something like luan board or bead board to the front?  If it's not going to be open, what are your thoughts for how you will hang/affix these?

 

Really nice work so far.

 

SJS

Good morning Charlie

 

Good choice getting a better grade of plywood

 

Clem k

It's awesome...makes me want to start over.

 

George (G3)

If you are going to do anything else to your backdrop, now is the perfect time. You can sit or stand on it for easy access.

Regarding the fascia of the layout.. still kicking around a few options.  Obviously I need something that will wrap the curves.

 

The backdrop is kind of an interesting question.  I had a painted blue sky back drop with clouds and a mountain and industrial applique on my last layout.  After a while the clouds really started to bother me.  Not sure I want any this time. I may just go with abutting landforms and building fronts this time around.

 Whoa. Fast is right!

I just looked and the walls were painted. Maybe tomorrow the trains will be running??

Great job!

I agree, this is a fun post to follow!   That plywood must have been heavy, how many sheets did you use?  I got one sheet of 3/4 inch plywood when I remodeled a bathroom.  I got sticker shock, but it's worth the added cost since you minimize the warping, which is not going to be a problem with your benchwork.

Charlie that is very robust! 2X4's with 3/4 inch plywood? Are you parking a car on top of it as well?

Looking good.

What color do you think you will go with on the fascia boards?

 

John, He built it for the dancing girls he is having for the June meet at his house.  LOL

I'm still undecided on the fascia John.  Dave I used 13 sheets of plywood   Dan you got the right idea

Wow! Just read this thread from the beginning....i am inspired as I am in the process of getting started on my new layout....thanks Charlie!

I love the space and workmanship looks spectacular....you're one speedy guy.  Keep us posted with your progress.  Great job!

Holy cow, fast is right.  Are you trying to finish it before deer hunting season?

.....

Dennis

The train room is well done . The carpet is comfortable and the aesthetics are great. This is going to be a showcase layout.  

Things in the train room tend to slow down for me from October through November as I spend time deer hunting.  This year that time was extended a bit due to the unexpected passing of my father and also my wife's grandfather who died 3 days apart.  The past 2 weeks have been a difficult time for us.

 

I'm back at it though.  Hope to have all this roadbed down by end of day tomorrow.

 

 

 

 Charlie very sorry for your loss, I also have spent the last4 days working on the layout every little bit counts.

 

Sorry to learn of your family's losses, Charlie. Please accept our condolences.

Just finished reading and viewing this thread from page 1 to here, Charlie, and top marks all around--prep, paint, bench framework, plywood deck, etc.!!!  Moving/handling that many 2x4's and ditto the 4x8 3/4" plywood wore me out just thinking about it--who needs a weight room--just build a layout.

 

Looking forward to future updates, and thank you for taking the time to share with us your progress thusfar.  And condolences to you and yours on your losses.

Charlie, 

 

Very sorry for your loss, the layout is coming along nicely 

 

Alex

Hi Charlie,

Very sorry to hear of your loss, I hope some layout work will help fill some of the recent emptiness. 

Charlie.....so sorry for your loss.....

Peter

Charlie,

   Congrats, Can't wait to see the final layout!

PCRR/Dave

I wish u good luck on your new layout I have a new lionel o27 scale its a new bnsf maxi stack train I just love it it has the cw 80 power pack I just love it I had no promblems with it

Roadbed is in.  Time to lay track!

 

charlie  the whole package is looking great . and thanks for sharing the color blue you used. i have half the layout room ceiling painted flat black and put a sample of the blue you suggested. can't wait to get going on the benchwork. hope mine goes as quickly as yours!!!

how big will be your layout??? it looks nice

Keith, dimensions are 17 X 34.

wow that is a big layout my is 4x8 I have a new lionel bnsf maxi stack so I'm doing work on it now

My last layout was 6 x 12.  You can do alot in a small space.  Most importantly have some fun.

Looking very good!  Thanks, again, for the photos and updates.

Looks great

What kind of roadbed are you installing?

 

 

Woodland Scenics foam.

Coming along nicely Charlie!

Charlie - Sorry for your losses.  Great job on the layout, looking good.

 

Art

Coming along!

 

Peter

Charlie,

It is looking good.  Large space or small space, one can do a lot with O Gauge trains!!

Thank you for keeping us posted.

The layout & room are looking fantastic.

You are making good progress.  I agree with many comments above, this is a great thread, either to follow or just to scan through as I did now to see review all the progress all along up to now.  Good luck as you go along.  It is looking fantastic.

Looking great CHARLIE!!!  Sorry for your loss.

 

I see a future trip to the Detroit area in the making. Beautiful work. 

Charlie,

 

Sorry about the loss of your family members.  That is great with what you have and what it will become.  I sure wish I had that amount of space to build.  

 

Good luck with the rest of the build.

 

David

I managed to get started laying down track today.  With some hands on guidance from Jim1939 and Trainwreck Bob I was able to get started, learn the pitfalls and found out how to do it right.  My son enjoyed the lesson too!

Congratulations!!  I'm glad your son is learning with you!

nice looking layout I have been working on my new lionel train layout so
keep up the good work on your layout is that a lionel track?? or ia that
mike train house track???

On Sun, Dec 7, 2014 at 9:40 PM, O Gauge Railroading On Line Forum <
alerts@hoop.la> wrote:

nice looking layout

nice layout how big is it???

On Sun, Dec 7, 2014 at 9:40 PM, O Gauge Railroading On Line Forum <
alerts@hoop.la> wrote:

Charlie looks great, keep it up.... My only concern is you had "Train Wreck Bob" help you lay your track? I hope Jim straightens things out over there.

 

 

Hi CHARLIE,

  With SIR JAMES working with you, what can go wrong?  Better have plenty of binnella ice cream or is it lemon?  Looks great and hope your son will enjoy the lessons. Keep up the good work.

Charlie was an easy student to work with. His preplanning and a track bending lesson in the Gargraves booth at York had him on the right path long before we showed up to help him.

Jim

No mention of all the photos and instructions I sent Charlie about laying Gargraves Track some time back.

.....

Dennis

Dennis, I surely appreciated the instructions and information you emailed me.  Was much appreciated.  Like so many that share their knowledge here.  That's what makes this hobby so much fun!

yes I will have fun but I'm intermediate this is a fun hobby but it can be $$$$$$ so all model trains are spendy so it does not make no difference on what scale of model train u buy today there model railroader people

Charlie....I am doing some catching up and read your post about your loss....My wife and I offer our condolences...  Bless all of you...

 

Alan

Have spent many hours in the train room.    Outer loop is down and I will be wiring tomorrow.

 

Wow!  You are a busy boy!   Good work, you'll be driving the golden spike soon.

hey nice progress on your new layout how many trains will u be running ????

This is going to be very special, Charlie.

 

Merry Christmas to you and your family.

AWESOMESAUCE, CHARLIE.  ENJOY!!

Charlie,

 

I don't like it, I LOVE IT !!!!!!!!!!!!! WOW that's looking great. Soon you'll be running some trains

 

Alex

Charlie

Really nice and great to see the steps and progress

 

Sorry for your losses but during similar times I found working on the layout provided me time to reflect as well (so yes men can multi-task)

Cant wait to see the first run video

Steve

How long have you been waiting to say that?  

Charlie said he'd have a loop running by Christmas, looks like he's gonna make it.

It is looking very nice, Charlie!!

Merry Christmas!!

Pulled my wire and roughed in my transformer stand/control panel.  Will be making connections tomorrow.

 

First run coming soon!  Do you have a special engine to do it with?

Yes sir.  I'll be running my Dad's PW 2056 Hudson freight set.  That one will get the first lap.  Just feels like the right thing to do.  My plan right now is to do that Christmas morning.

Good choice Charlie!!!  Be sure to video it.  

Very nice work, Charlie; should be a great moment to see your Dad's LIONEL PW steamer rolling on your layout.

 

Suggestion:  Add a photo from the first post in this thread showing the train room sans any benchwork, and one from where you are now in a single post.  I just looked back at that first post and those pictures and with the photos you posted today and the difference is extraordinary.  Putting them together in a single post would be very impactful IMHO.

 

Thanks, again, for the photos; looking forward to seeing more.