Benchwork - Laying Track

I agree, I don’t want a backdrop down the middle either, but a lot of folks make good use of it.

Dave is very knowledgeable and is not pushy for sure.  It is great you are so close.  After a while you will run into other modelers not far away.

Great Day today! I'd like to thank you for the invite and I had a wonderful time meeting new people and making new friends. Throw in trains and the day could not have gotten better!

Thanks Mark

also Thanks to Mike who hosted and all that attended.

John,

I am glad you were able to go with me!  It was good to get to know you better, since we only live an hour's drive apart!  Thank you for driving from your house to to The Nifty Fiftys Diner, Mike Wyatt's house to see his neat layout, and on to Corner Field Museum to see the Elesh's wonderful, huge layout!  It was good to see Paul, Bryan, Nick, Dennis, and all who I apologize I'm forgetting names.

Dave (DoubleDAZ),

I saw the room John is planning to build the layout in!  A smidgen wider and a few feet longer than mine!  It will be a great room for a layout once John gets the walls and electric finished!  Yes we got the creative juices flowing!  Too bad our bodies aren't as young as our aspirations!!  

Mark, sounds like you all had a good time. 

We did, Dave!   Thanks!

Well after crunching through the honey do list and getting caught up with maintenance around the house, finally got time and energy to put up the sheet rock on the train side of the basement. Still need to tape seams (UGH!) However it gives me final dimensions and a better feel for the space. Thinking about trying to bump out sections around/near ends of layout. Also I have been going over the general theme and what to plan for industries, towns, cities etc. Now, if I could think in 3d and use tracks at different heights for crossings and or loops. Mark I am admiring your layout and love the grades and elevation changes. So back to scarm and tighten up the room dimensions.

John, I’m glad you are making progress on the room.  The grades are a little tricky especially at the top getting a smooth transition to level. I can see why many folks lay track on the level only.  Please keep us posted!

Looks good and lots of info.

Hello All,

Have been busy with finishing up the train room walls and lots of stuff outside as it is summer time. I have been blessed with many great ideas for track layouts and ALL are appreciated. Once I move some of the boxes out of the train area I maybe able to draw out bench work and aisles. Before doing that, is the possibility of taking the 12 foot width dimension of the room (which can go 25' to 30' long ) and splitting it up to three four foot sections? Having a 4' by 25' track layout section, then 4' by 25' walking area and then a last 4' by 25' track layout area. These four foot sections of layout would have one side against the wall and only be accessible from center aisle. Thinking of using top creeper to make the four foot reach. Is this doable? pros/cons

btw I switched to a mac laptop so scarm is on other laptop or I would have posted the scarm layout anyone using mac os with a track program? I believe scarm is windows only which I will stay with if I have to and adjust to using two laptops.

Thanks in advance

John

here is a pic

Even a hand drawn sketch would be helpful to see what you're planning.

John, I'm glad you are getting to the point of thinking about the track plan again.  I remember from our personal messages you were making good headway on your wife's room first. 

So it looks like the last plan (which was last August) had an aisle between the wall and one side of the layout.  I have seen photographs of lots of modelers using topside creepers to access parts of layouts that are farther than arm's reach.  I have also read where modelers say they use them and like them.  I have never used one myself.  It is certainly better than the idea of climbing up and crawling around on a layout for guys our age and older.  The idea never appealed to me when I was younger, perhaps because I had to do too much crawling on the floor at work to access electronic equipment and wiring.  Looking at the drawing you just posted, I'm thinking you would need narrower table top for the alcove in the upper right so you can have an aisle wider than what looks like 2 feet.  Otherwise It sounds like a good idea.

If you don't get some feedback here from some modelers who have used topside creepers, I would suggest starting another topic with topside creeper pros and cons as the subject title.

I am certainly glad to see you ready to get back at it.

Hi John, welcome back.

I'm a little confused because I thought the width was around 13', not 12'. Has it changed? Either way, here's the earlier design squeezed down a bit with 4' top and bottom bench work. As you can see, there's no real need to extend the nook to 4' and make reaching into the corners more difficult. If you want more scenery, you can easily put that on a removable platform. I also didn't do much with the turntable area or the bridge other than to make things connect for a new starting point.

@Richie C. posted:

Even a hand drawn sketch would be helpful to see what you're planning.

You are so right, that is why I posted a jpeg after that post without a scarm drawing.

Mark thanks for the sound advice as always. I will start another topic for the creeper/4 foot reach question. Looks like you are doing great with your layout! Great job and keep up the good work.

DoubbleDaz, Sorry for the confusion with dimensions, in the future it will be exact measurements as the room width is 12' 5" overall. Your drawing and advice are always Fantastic. I like the big sweeping curves for sure! Also the room length is more dictated by the furnace location and having my work benches fit in somewhere near the area. So length can be 25' to 30' max at this point.

Again thanks everyone!

John, I think the separate topic on the creeper will get some responses.  I see you posted it.  I hope you get the information you need to make the best decision!

Thanks Mark for the separate topic on creeper idea. Lots of solid advice and experiences from members.

Here is the room dimensions that are final with the yellow area available for train layout. This is what I will be working with and need to maximize train/scenery area. I am inclined to follow your advice on doing track layout first and seeing where I will need to put decking. Sorry for the inaccurate measurements prior, as things were in a state of flux. 

John,

That's okay about needing to correct the dimensions.  I know you were working on how to divide the basement and with putting in new wall board, etc things changed.  I gave erroneous measurements to those who were looking at my layout planning topic too.  But I had no excuse.  I just measured wrong when our daughter still had some of her things in the room.     The saying 'measure twice, cut once' doesn't work for me.  I have to 'measure at least thrice, and maybe I'll get it right on the first cut'.  

John, something still seems to be off. When I enter the coordinates for the baseboard using those dimensions, I get the result shown in the 1st photo. As you can see, the width does not match the yellow area. However, if I change the 12'8" dimension along the top wall to 18'8", I get the result shown in the 2nd photo and it pretty well matches the yellow area. Perhaps you transposed some numbers and it should be 18'2"?

Dave,

Thanks for picking up on that gross error. The total dimension should have been 25' for the top and 30'  for the bottom dimension. Those are self imposed limits to accommodate a three foot furnace service area at top and work bench and other furniture at the bottom. I could get away with a couple feet either way, however this is a present goal/limitation I and more importantly my wife would like to keep.

Not sure we're that 12' 8" came from? Too many revisions without triple checking changes I would imagine

 again Thanks!

John

John, you just gained some space; well not really, but will help on design!