Basement Buster or Not?

It depends on the size of the upstairs area. I have a 3100 square foot house for just my wife and I + two cats. The entire basement is mine so I have a 25 x 33 layout. No room for furniture but I have stools, TV and a refrigerator. Wood shop is in the furnace room. Wish I had a bathroom but that would be an expensive project.

 

Good luck in your new home.

Pete:

 

This is a question only you can answer. I will add that many who took the "less is more" wish that in the long run they went the other direction. It seems that most of us want to grow our layouts, not shrink them as we add new equipment.

 

If your family is OK with you taking over the basement, then if I were in your shoes I would jump at the chance NOW to take advantage of this.

DMASSO, with those 2 cats that doesn't leave much room for anyone or anything else, does it?

 

Yeah, a bathroom would make it a complete man cave.  You wouldn't have to go upstairs for anything.  MAN!!! you got it made.

 

The main reason I moved to our new house, 23 years ago, was so I could put up the trains in the basement.  Soon as we moved in the wife started about what she was going to do to the basement.   Now all I have are some shelves under the garage area.  But some day I am going to squeeze a layout in somewhere.

 

Rick

If cost is a factor, I would go to the around the wall option.

Plus superdetailing and prototypical operation sounds like a lot of fun.

 

Good luck

If it were me, that basement would be toast!!  Like others have said, it is up to you...and....it sounds like from your last sentence that you already have your mind made up.....but, this is your chance and if the family doesn't have a problem with you taking the entire basement....well?????

 

Alan

basement busters are wonderful if you can devote the time and $$ to the effort.  I am amazed at some of the efforts member of this forum have put forth.  I on the other hand would either lose interest, stop devoting the time and $$ to the large effort or never complete the dream.  Less is more in my case

Very  subjective,

 

I purchased a long ranch to let lengthy passenger trains stretch their legs only to become dissilusioned when mocking up my first full length passenger train and front end cars along a 60'  wall.  The train shrank the room terribly! 

 

I switched to small powered peddler freights and still have a huge project ahead of me.  I vote smaller is better. 

 

Also, figure in your age,  cost, demise of physical ability,  and the inevitable.

 

You project, sounds very interesting.  More details?  What year modeled?   How many of the four rail lines serving OC will you be modeling?

 

Will you be doing either of the two OC traction lines?

 

Buzz did a real nice PRSL at the junction club several years ago.  See O Scale Trains article.

 

Do you need reference material? tt

If it was me, I'd start out with the "less is more" strategy. If you decide later that "more is more" you can always expand into the empty space in the middle of the basement.

 

Cheers,

Ken

Ken

You are being entirely too logical.

Starting out around the walls with an option for a peninsula or three later seems like a good option.  That way, you can apply your lessons learned to the expansions.  More importantly, you'll be running trains sooner.

 

Personally, I would vote for option 3.

 

What..there is no option 3?

 

What about maybe around the room, but greater than 16" wide?  24" or so might allow for the inclusion of more sidings that might offer additional operating capabilities, but still leave room for some other stuff. 

 

Jim

I would do less if more.  You can always expand that later if you want.  Meanwhile, you have not committed yourself entirely nor built a layout so big your later wish you had not bitten off so much. 

Thanks to all. Tom T, I'm looking at 1955 do that eliminates the traction and all but the remaining PRSL trackage, which is plenty to keep me busy. The real question is whether to model Tuckahoe too or just Peetersburg to the Gardens. I also think I have most of the available reference info and every piece of motive power and rolling stock I need. Now, of I could free up 40 hours a week to get moving

I think Passenger Train Collector said it best. 

 

--Greg

I agree with the "less is more" option at least to get going.  Have you ever built a large layout and saw it to completion?   If not the fantasy may be greater than the reality.  You can design it to enlarge it later if you still are that interested in the project.  When I see some of these 20x35 or larger layouts I realize I would never finish it even if I had the money.  You seem like you have a pretty good tight focus on the project so far just don't let your dreams carry you away.  

I believe the Gardens and the wye are a necessity plus the diamond off in the weeds at 11th st.

 

Both the town and the interurban trolleys were gone by '55.  Some of the town trolley routes were still visable in paired paths of asphalt patching.

 

It would be neat to do West Ave in smoked glass with the old buried tracks barely visable.  tt