Returning from a 4 year layoff from trains. Having twice in 2 years hopefully for the last time I now have a basement for a layout. The room I have is 20 x 14 in a unfinished basement only studs on the walls. Looking for ideas. So what would you do with this space? Still unsure of which scale had both N and HO. Liked N for the fact you could do more with less space, but with a room all to myself HO might be better as the old eyes are not getting any better. I like scenery, bridges, tunnels, and water. Paul
Hi I'm in columbia mo....... if you have a basement with studs on the walls.... buy some sheet rock and put up some walls....you'll need something for your background scenery to have support....you may want to put some of that on the ceiling as well..to support lighting later...sounds like you have a nice space for a layout....if its gonna be permanent, make it worthwhile... caboose 1
I agree with Caboose 1, other then I'm in Columbia, KY, and since I am up to my eyebrows in N-Scale at this time, N-Scale is what I would do. If I was starting over and everything was going to be new, I would have a hard choice, N-Scale because of the reason you stated, HO because there is more items available. N-Scale is gaining on HO everyday. Having a 14 X 20 space (a little bit more then 2 X bigger then I have) would make a great along the wall N-Scale layout. You could have some run time between customers. I guess I would go with N-Scale. I'm the same age as you. For the detail parts I use flip down magnifiers. Good luck with what ever scale you go with.
I agree also, a comfortable train room would be my first priority. While the work was going on I'd start a list of Givens and Druthers, that is, what era, prototype, freelance, both, freight, passenger, both, .... you get the idea. As the list becomes firmer the answer will start to come together. I wish I had that kind of space to work with, whatever you choose there's enough real estate to work with. Keep us posted, and Have Fun! Bobby.
Nice to have choices! More than enough real estate for a sizeable HO layout. Sounds like you already have a list of wants started. What would you like to see running on the rails? HO or N scale ... either is a great choice Consider HO first and then if your wants / needs exceed your space available, N scale remains an excellent option. Preparing your walls and ceiling for the type of layout you're going to build is a major part of the decision making process. Electrical, lighting, storage and work area are just a few details to consider. Best of luck on getting started. Jerry
Everything you list is why I picked N scale. Scenery - can have more of it. Tunnels - I wanted mountains and tunnels. Bridges - a must. Water - I wanted room for a lake.
I find that often I go to this forum for advice. Most of the time I already know what I should do. But I come here anyway, just to be sure. It just really depends on what you want from a layout. Tell us more about what you plan to run where it will be. What time period. Scenery ideas. As a predominantly N scale modeller, I probably would not model N scale in that space. I would think about going to something larger and do floor to ceiling mountains. Maybe O scale or on30. It all depends on what you want. I do think many people bite off more than they can handle when they get larger spaces.
14x20 is a lot of space for N scale, not so much for HO, and it is fun to have a lot of space. I am in N scale with a room about 14x10, and I am a tad cramped. It isn't just the layout, it is storage and room for me to move around. I agree with the idea of finishing the walls and ceiling first. If you are going to spend a lot of time in a train room finished walls are very nice. Just because you have 14x20 doesn't mean that you need to start with a big layout. With N, it is easier to start with a smaller size layout and add to it when you feel like it.
The kind of heavy mainline action I want would be hard to get in that space in HO. Drawing up plans, I found that there were certain break points in room size which suddenly made more possible. This was, naturally, due to aisle widths and benchwork configurations. 14x20 is just above one of those break points (for N scale).
Based on what you stated, I'll give a vote for N scale. My layout room is just a bit smaller than yours, 12x18.5, and I had to double deck my N scale railroad to get what I wanted out of it. If I had your size, I would just make my benchwork and isles a bit wider. Personally, I like long trains and mainline running just as much as switching, but it sure doesn't take many 30 car trains to fill up a room of our size. This is very true! My layout is almost double the size I've ever had, and alot of the time it is overwhelming. So much to do. But I keep telling myself that the satisfaction I'll get from it when (mostly) done will more than offset the frustrations and time I've put into it. Although, sometimes I envy those who have hollow core doors! :tb-rolleyes: -Mike
