Surprise, surprise... here I am in the HO Scale forum. (It's a surprise to me too.) I am not converting from N Scale to HO, but, I bought a few HO locomotives and some rolling stock back in the mid-1990s which I still have packed in a box. Surprisingly, my wife commented that it might be neat to have a train run around the edge of the room about 8 inches below the ceiling in our den (which right now is a bedroom) and I showed her an HO locomotive and asked if she thought that would be an appropriate size, and she agreed that was a good scale. I could actually build this in fairly short order I think but I have questions, and I know nothing about HO. So, some questions please; Anyone with an HO layout running around the perimeter of a room below the ceiling, please post pictures to help me, or to at least get ideas! I am thinking of a double-track with a siding on one wall. I would like to be able to alternate the trains or run two at once if the mood strikes. I would like the siding on one wall just for looks so another train or some rolling stock could sit on the siding. Question: How wide do the boards need to be for a double track, and then the one with the siding? What kind of radius will I need in the corners, or what size will I need to cut the corner pieces of wood? What is the best kind of track (and roadbed) to use for this purpose? I don't want this to get too complicated (or expensive) but I would like to be able to use whatever is best to dampen the sound as much as possible so that a train running around the perimeter of the room will not distract one from watching TV, etc. My wife wears hearing aids in both ears and things that make small amounts of noise are amplified by her hearing aids and bother her in ways that it would not other people. It seems like this would not be too hard to get going but I need some advice in regard to those questions, and anything else people can think of that will help me. Thanks, Charlie
Other thoughts- How high is your ceiling? Eight feet? More? Less? What I am wondering, is how well will you be able to see these trains, up that high? I'm guessing you will be seated most of the time? At that low position, your viewing angle might be a sharp one, and you could see only the top part of any engine and cars. Any shelf then is going be as narrow as possible. Also, what will the lighting be like up there? Would it possibly be a bit shadowy? Perhaps you could dummy up something to temporarily place at a couple of different heights, as a test?
Ken, Ceiling in room is low... just over 7 feet since we live in what some people would describe as a cabin. I'm thinking it should be good. Charlie
Sounds like great fun, Charlie. Sorry I can't help much with construction - not my strong suit at all. On a par with electrics. Just a thought here - I've always used Peco switches and Atlas and Peco track. Code 100 because I'm unrefined. I do have some code 83 made by GT [Italy] and marketed these days by Model Power, although they didn't make the stuff. It's nice track. For double track I'm pretty sure 2" centre to centre is the accepted distance, so your board won't need to be very wide there. Not about to advise you on the curves though! Mike
Thanks Mike. I am making some headway on my own using AnyRail and the Kato Unitrack library. I still don't know what I am doing but I am making small steps. Charlie
If you have the time, try searching the old Atlasrr.com forum. I bet there are a ton of entries. There was a guy who built his layout in his kitchen as I recall.
Charlie - your curves are dependent on what you are planning to run. Of course having an around the ceiling setup may make that a little less important visually, as you're not looking down on your trains. I'd go no less then 18" radius no matter what. If you have any passenger equipment and 6-axle diesels, 22".
Thanks Jerry. I'll try to post something I have been working on in AnyRail tonight and see what you folks have to say. Charlie
Come to the dark side and do a HO scale garden layout. he he he [video=youtube;nqzw8D_b27M]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nqzw8D_b27M[/video]
Charlie, You might consider elevating the back track by 2" so you can see both trains easier. If you want to be able to switch from inside to outside (or out to in), you should have plenty of distance to elevate the inside track to meet the height of the outside and back down. What are the room dimensions?
Paul, Great idea! I need to measure the room but I'm going say it's about 13' X 11'. I measured it when we remodeled but that's been a couple of years so I need to measure again. Charlie
That was an interesting video... different than anything I've seen. It must be a lot of work to keep all of that track clean.
what sort of stock will you be running and how long will the trains be? btw I assume they will be Burlington Northern?
BTW, the garden railway shown was OO, not HO. He has a variety of models running - GWR, LMS, SR and BR diesels! But as it was opening day, visitors may have brought some along.
I like the idea Charlie, especially the suggestion to raise the outer track for better visibility. Some sort of underlay for the track to deaden the sound would be a good idea, not sure what is available these days, but I will be using cork under my track.
