Hello, My father was a very active model railroader with a large S scale layout in his basement. He passed away over five years ago, and I now have a number of his S scale trains and equipment. I would like to set up a small layout to be able to actually run some of them. Unfortunately, I have very little space in my house for it. The only room where I can put the layout is in a finished 13x20 foot basement room. No, I can't set up benchwork all over the room, but I can get creative with a main level hanging from the ceiling and a lower level attached to the wall. At the moment I am considering hanging open splined roadbed from the ceiling with the track attached directly, so that the trains can be seen from below. Has anyone tried hanging splined roadbed from the ceiling? Anyone using track attached directly to an open splined roadbed without a cork/homasote layer in between? Does this seem like a good idea for a limited space, or is this a disaster waiting to happen? Thanks. ---Hillel
Hi, I have to say up front that I have not done any of what you are thinking about. I have thought about putting a shelf layout about 12 to 18 inches from the ceiling and run the trains through the walls into the other rooms. Wife suggested it a long time ago. I have a couple questions Are you wanting to suspend the upper level so that you can get it closer ceiling? Are you planning to scenic the upper level? How are you planning to get between levels? Have you thought about using shelf brackets to support the upper level? Done with the questions. Now some thoughts. The wood with the track directly on it could act as sounding board. You could put a narrow strip of cork roadbed between the two, trimmed so that it can’t be seen very much. You should probably put up some sides on the upper level in the event something goes wrong. You don’t want anything falling to the floor. Plexiglass would do the job. With the suspended track, remember that on curves things could hang over the rails so there will need to be some extra clearance. Your plan sounds intriguing; post some photos during the construction phase and after. Good luck,
The ceiling is lower than a normal room. I would like to suspend the upper level with threaded rod to put the track real close to the plaster ceiling. The kids love the idea of hanging it from the ceiling. I am afraid that with them involved the upper level may end up looking like something from Dr. Seuss. The current plan is for an outer track attached to the walls to act as a ramp down to the lower level. The lower level would include a staging yard held up by heavy duty shelf brackets. The lower level may get more normal scenery. Yes, sound seems like it would be an issue, especially with the trains so close to the plaster ceiling. I want to use an open spline so that the trains can be viewed from directly below, and cork would block that. The commercially available means of suspending the track from the ceiling with the view visible from underneath seem to be expensive and designed for a much more solid track than S scale (like G, Lionel, or AF). For the safety net, I wonder if there is some type of foam or material to put around the track that would act as a safety net and give an impression of the train riding through the clouds. (It would also serve to stop tall heads from colliding with the roadbed before doing real damage.) Thanks for the suggestions. I will try to keep a log of progress. ---Hillel
I have seen several ceiling mounted railroads and when it works smoothly it is certainly something to see. When it don't work smoothly it is certainly something to drive you loco! As Max mentioned you would be limited to 12 ~ 18 inches from the bottom surface of the ceiling. Anything longer than that the greater the 'domino effect' theory comes into play. Even with half inch threaded rod with PVC tube as a stiffener is going to give you some headaches. Maintenance is going to be another issue, how often will you be able to run the train? Clean your rails? etc. Is your set AC or DC powered? How old are the children? Will they be able to climb up in case of a derail? How high is this ceiling? Information is not given? "High Trains = Fall Hazards for both Trains, Children, Spectators. You should seriously reconsider Max's suggestion of plexiglass supported railbed wide enough to directly insert the threaded rod into and fasten underneath. From any given position you should have three unobstructed vantage points which will be plenty of view without having to track. This would be the same circumstance where the railbed was mounted table top level. As far as the noise level goes, well isn't that part of the fun in running trains? Mike
