Negotiations were successful. I have been able to re-acquire the 5' x 13' room (currently a storage room) in the basement. Originally, I eyeballed it as my layout room when we first moved in. It has since turned into storage. As long as I can find room for those items currently in the room to other "spots", the room is MINE! 5 feet wide? Is this legitimate for an around the wall layout? How much room for an aisle? I am thinking 30" - 36" that leaves 12" - 18" on each side for the layout, then benchwork.... This will "hopefully" be in N scale, I am having doubt about N now. I was at the LHS last weekend and lem'me tell ya, the accessories and people and other scenicking items are TINY! I may swing over to HO just to be able to see what I am working with and not feel like I am going to crush them. I guess a one foot wide layout around the walls would be reasonable to have something to start out. All this back and forth with finding space for the layout and deciding what type? HCD, 2'x4' around the room! Time to go ride a train and think this all over! 8-D :tb-biggrin: Found my old schematic! 8-D http://www.trainboard.com/grapevine/showthread.php?t=93349
Good luck re-locating the contents of that room. I've tried before, and run into the famous "no, I don't want that there" routine, when trying to move an item. You could keep the HCD as well. Have two layouts.... Boxcab E50
I am sooo looking forward to that! You know, I have seriously considered that. Make a nice little roundy round in N scale on the HCD. That way I can watch it go around when I just want to sit back and watch trains run. I do not want to get too greedy.... Honestly, I am seriously considering doing an HO scale layout on the left side of the room. Left of the window, to the left. Seems like the best thing to do. That should be 5'x7' when the room is framed. Can do a continuous mainline with some switching on a surround layout or a nice C shaped switching layout.
N Scale will suprize you, your turns will look more realistic as the same radius as an HO layout, I have a F7 operating manual printed in June, 1947 (2nd edition) and it clearly says that the minimum radius for a F7 is 274', which scales out to 37.75"...many O scalers use that as their minimum, and the O Scale minimum radius for the same F7 would be 68.5"....my 13 year old is about that radius in height. I guess that the minimum radius for a F7 is a great arguement for N Scale, since we are talking about a 20.55 inch radius. Imagine taking a 4x8 HO scale track plan that calls for 18" radius turns and building it in N Scale, it would be not only longer in scale miles, but would have almost scale radius turns!
Not what I thought.... It looked a ton better on paper! Well, here is my plan. Mainly 15" radius and snap switches. Seems that is the best I can do. You will see a grey block, 1'x3' on the plan. This is part of the structure of the house. I call it a 5' x 13' room. But I will gain and extra 1' of layout space in this room when I go past three feet from the outer wall. Please feel free to load the guns and fire away at the plan!
I am not looking to do N scale. I was originally thinking about it, but I am not sure if that is the best way. All I see is little parts and pieces is when I look at N scale. I am in my mid 30's, still young in the sense, but I am looking long term. Here is my latest rendition. I feel it is much better than the last one.
Bremner, Other than maximizing the the space available, what incentive do I have to go N? My vision is so-so. Not entirely bad, but I need glasses at all times. The parts in N scale is so small, I feel like I am always going to break them. Not to mention that the selection is much more diverse in HO. My layout is not set in stone. It is up to how I feel I can utilize this space. If I can be shown a better plan in N scale, I may consider it as the main layout. I do have some rolling stock in both scales, so the odd scale out will have a small layout itself.
I am a newbie here, but will throw my .02 in. I was an HO guy, well when i got married and had my own house, I tried to set up an HO layout in the basement. I(my wife) couldn't give up that much space, I gave up and put everything in boxes again. Well went to the trainshow and really got excited over the N scale layouts. well I figured the space needed to set up a nice simple N scale layout, I took out my computer/printer stand built a new computer bench/ N scale layout. Yes N scale is small, but I like that I can put so much more into it than HO. I am in my early 30's and when I get to the point that I can't see anything, than I will ask my kids to help their aging dad... (that is when we have kids)
Go N You ain't got enough room for HO. Don't be so scared of N , its not that small. You will get a decent layout in N scale. If you go HO , you will be dissapointed how fast it eats space.
5 x 13 would be okay I think (not great) for a round the walls/ duck under (quack!) layout in either N or HO. Allows continuous operation when desired, avoids roundy-round appearance. 12" deep shelf can be interesting if you use LOTS of imagination. design sense, ingenuity, willingness to modify kits, custom-fit stuff. This N scale shrimpboat harbor, for instance, is 7 inches deep from the track to the background. With a 12" shelf around a room, HALF a hollow-core door could be a carry-around layout. Here is a 2 x 3 foot self-contained N layout. Lots of switching fun, and some roundy-round when wanted. TRICK: the continuous run is not a "mainline" but a switching "circulation loop." Loco runs around entire loop to get to other end of cars. Performs the function of a runaround track without using track switches!
Hi StrasburgNut, First let me say that I favor N Scale. That being out of the way, you need to use whatever scale YOU feel comfortable with. You have stated your reasons for using HO and they are valid ones for you, and that is all that matters. Of the two track plans that you have shown, I (for what it is worth) like this one better. It looks like it will provide a lot of switching opportunities, but then I like switching layouts. Furthermore with the very top track and the center track at the bottom you can have two links to the outside world (read staging/interchange). Gary
Gary (And everyone else too!), Thanks for the encouraging words. I like this layout too. It is in HO, but I will convert it to N as the arguements for N is way too compelling to not go with it! I am just unsure as to when I will get to building it, so I have a 2' x 4' oval and switching I will be building soon. Hopefully sooner than later, but the "Honey-Do List" is nine times out of ten Non-Negotiable!!!! I will keep reviewing the Givens & Druthers and working away to get closer to building something. Thanks again all!
I began building a layout in a similar space in N-scale some years ago. I got to track laying stage with it and then had to move. I think you can have a quite nice layout with the 12-18" widths. I wouldn't fret about the parts in N, and I think you'll find it will provide great enjoyment.
