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Has anyone on this forum built a ceiling layout of the type that goes around the walls about a foot below the ceiling?  We moved into a smaller house, and until our 2 daughters finish college and move out on their own, I do not have space that is appropriate for a layout, not even a shelf for back and forth running.  My wife suggested I put one up by the ceiling like we have seen in restaurants.  They have never appealed to me, but given that I can't run my MTH Hudson and SD70ACE and my On30 2-6-0, I have decided, why not.  I have looked at a few of these on YouTube and searched the Web for ideas.  I just wanted to get some first hand observations from anyone who has done this.  My thoughts are to do this in a basement family room that is 12' x 11'.  Thank you.
Happy Model Railroading,
Mark Boyce
Butler, Pennsylvania
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Hi Mark,

I have attic ceiling layout I put up 6 years ago. It was made by a company called inter rail and it arrived in kit form. I purchased it through a hobby shop at the time. The size of the layout is 6' at the narrowest and 10' at the widest by 22' long. I have gargraves O on the inside loop and G scale aristo craft track on the outer loop.

Attic ceiling layout

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  • Attic ceiling layout

George, It looks really nice.  As I see it there are two ways to mount it; hang it from the ceiling like yours or from the wall on high shelves.  For my thinking, I would rather buy a kit to try to hang from the ceiling, where I could do the shelves on the wall without a kit and save some money.  However, doing it by hand may look a little tacky.  My woodworking skills aren't the neatest.  On a regular layout I can cover up messy benchwork with scenery.  Thank you very much for the idea.

Mark

Alex, Yes I definatly have a tight budget.  Two girls in college and a fixed income for the last 4 years has put the crimps on model railroad spending.  Your photos look very good, and I like the price.  Are the L-brackets the metal kind you can buy in the hardware store, or did you make them out of wood?  I haven't been able to pick them out in the photos.  Actually that is a good thing.  Thank you for the idea.

Mark

Originally Posted by Mark Boyce:

Alex, Yes I definatly have a tight budget.  Two girls in college and a fixed income for the last 4 years has put the crimps on model railroad spending.  Your photos look very good, and I like the price.  Are the L-brackets the metal kind you can buy in the hardware store, or did you make them out of wood?  I haven't been able to pick them out in the photos.  Actually that is a good thing.  Thank you for the idea.

Mark

Hi Mark the brackets all 5 inch metal from Home depot,If you want more info or photo's I will be glad to post them. Just let me know.

 

Alex

Alex,

Thank you.  Yes, I think something like yours will work nicely.  I will have to think what color to paint it.  Two walls are dark paneling, one wall is tan brick, and the fourth is the heating duct bulkhead painted white to match the ceiling.  I would like some more photos if you have them.  It will be in a 12 x 11 section of family room right off the room that will eventually be my layout room when my one daughter finally moves out.  Right now she is using the layout room for her art studio.

 

Happy Model Railroading,

Mark Boyce,

Butler, Pennsylvania

wmshays@yahoo.com

Hi Mark here's some close up photos. I used 1/2 MDF for the bottom base, for the backing I used 1/4 inch MDF with 4 inch brackets I thought they where 5 inch at first.

I also glued everything with carpenters glue it makes it very strong. Those are G gauge trains I have so they are much heaver than O gauge and it doesn't even budge

 Also each bracket is lined up with a stud in the wall and there's 3 inch screws going into the stud. Very solid, it is a must to use carpenters glue.If you need any other info just let me know.

 

Alex

 

 

trains 1960

trains 1961

trains 1962

trains 1963

trains 1964

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Last edited by Alex M

If you're able to reverse the metal brackets and install them above the shelf instead of below it, you will likely not see them at all. I screw (or bolt) from above down through the bracket into a 3/4" shelf. Then run shim strips along the length of the shelf between the brackets to elevate the track enough to clear each bracket. No bracket shows under the shelf and, if you bolt, only carriage bolt heads will show.

Stu 

I built a ceiling layout in my basement. I used .75" width pine boards 8" wide & 10' long. I screwed them to metal shelf brackets just like the fellas in the previous post. I used no MDF boards, and there was very very little noise. The shelving was very strong, and I put some building flats against the wall behind the train for scenery. I purchased 3" trim head screws, (very tiny square drive head), and screwed them every 12" then strung florist wire around the top of each one for a guard rail. The screws were black as well as the wire & you couldn't see them at all. You could glue a piece of trim to the edge of your shelf to dress it up a little if you like- but my kids loved the "high train" just the same. I even put a wireless camera on the train pointing down into the room, and hooked it up to a TV upstairs. During parties, people upstairs would comment on the downstairs activities, everyone had a great time. I purchesd clear christmas light & stapled them to the subfloor above the train between the floor joists. This casted a super soft illumination down on the track, looked great at night.

I did mine with 3/4" MDF, 6" for the single track, 12" for the passing siding, and painted black to match the ceiling and crown moulding. Standard metal shelf brackets that match the room decor in the bar & gameroom, MDF brackets were made for the section that is suspended from the ceiling, and Gargraves track with Ross #6 switches for the siding. The only thing I didn't do, which I am going to add in this new year, is some black foam roadbed. It's pretty loud running around above your head.

 

 

 

Mark,

I have two ceiling tracks in two separate rooms (yea, being a bachelor has its perks!).  My first was built with the help of an employee at a local train shop.  It is essentially cut plywood about 4" wide suspended from the ceiling about 8"-9" by threaded rods and angle irons.  The second room's ceiling track is from a kit from a vendor.  Both are really nice.  The one draw back I have is that what you can do with scenery is limited as an O scale building looks cramped up there.  I do have track signal lights, portals, a bridge, Miller Engineering signs, and street lights on either side of the bridge.  My dream was to have double tracks in the larger room but the budget could not swing it.  I must say, the ceiling tracks draw alot of interest and are unique.  One of mine goes in and out of a closet.  I say go for it, life is short.  The tracks can be removed if you choose to later.  It is a nice touch to a home and to have your favorite diesel, electric or steam engine (or trolley) chugging around.  BTW, both are powered by MTH's DCS.  All my wires and DCS brains are hidden in a closet and all I do is flip on the remote at my desk to see a bit of magic.   

 

We built a ceiling layout with relatively inexpensive materials at our old house out in Colorado.  Here we have a more traditional benchwork layout in the garage, but I'm finding I REALLY miss that shelf layout.  The kids and I used to read books with the train running or just sit there and watch it.

 

Anyway... Here are a few pics of ours and some notes, if useful: 

-Room is approx 10x12 

-Brackets (triangular support pieces) and rear support pieces were made using pine 1x4s.  I built those in 3 to 8 ft sections with brackets spaced every 18" or so, then attached the sections to the wall one at a time (at the studs), then added the shelf on top.  I countersunk all the mounting screws and filled/painted over the holes for aesthetics. 

-The shelf itself is made of MDF.  Multiple sections were cut from a large 4x8 sheet. Used a router to do the corner pieces and all ends are biscuit jointed together.

-The bridge (necessary to clear the alcove for the door) is an O-72 curved truss bridge from Bridge Boss, attached to a ceiling joist at the center (via the threaded rod contraption shown below) for additional support.  Only downside to using the bridge is certain locos with large overhang (such as a RK Allegheny) hit the sides and can't clear the bridge.

-We did corners that were approx O-42.  That left a decent sized area for adding scenery in the extra space, which we built up on layers of foam insulation to make it visible.

-We used cork roadbed to keep the noise down, and mounted the train controls in the closet to keep them out of the way.

 

 

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I like the white shelves in the bright room.  My room is in the basement and has dark paneling with little light.  I got started last winter and pulled off for the summer.  One thing after another came up, and I haven't been able to return to the project.  The shelves I did put up, have made a good place for static display of my equipment. Not what I intended.  I still have the rest of the material to finish the project, but spring will be here before I know it.

Since I started this thread, it is about time I show some photos of what I have done so far.  The photos aren't the greatest, since the only digital camera I have is on my phone, but here they are.  The first three show what has been built.  The fourth shows the corner where the brick wall is where I am changing methods.  I actually got some anchors in the ceiling today, and cut some all thread to hang these shelves by.  I'm no carpenter, but it is not bad.  The area is about 12' by 11'.

 

 

 

 

 

MTH Hudson with Passenger Cars

MTH Hudson with Passenger Cars at Station

Lionel and MTH Freight

Brick Wall

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  • MTH Hudson with Passenger Cars: MTH Hudson with Passenger Cars
  • MTH Hudson with Passenger Cars at Station: MTH Hudson with Passenger Cars at Station
  • Lionel and MTH Freight: Lionel and MTH Freight
  • Brick Wall: Brick Wall
Last edited by Mark Boyce
Originally Posted by Mark Boyce:
Has anyone on this forum built a ceiling layout of the type that goes around the walls about a foot below the ceiling?  We moved into a smaller house, and until our 2 daughters finish college and move out on their own, I do not have space that is appropriate for a layout, not even a shelf for back and forth running.  My wife suggested I put one up by the ceiling like we have seen in restaurants.  They have never appealed to me, but given that I can't run my MTH Hudson and SD70ACE and my On30 2-6-0, I have decided, why not.  I have looked at a few of these on YouTube and searched the Web for ideas.  I just wanted to get some first hand observations from anyone who has done this.  My thoughts are to do this in a basement family room that is 12' x 11'.  Thank you.
Happy Model Railroading,
Mark Boyce
Butler, Pennsylvania

Hi Mark, I run two lines of standard ga. at about 14 inches from my basement ceiling. I have no picture to offer. The track is based on melamine ? , a plastic coated particle board. It is white. I have very small Christmas lights behind the 3/4 inch foam board road bed that the track rides on, and  against the wall. It lights the basement room nicely. Very nice pictures, GOOD LUCK.

I spent the past 2 days pulling all my track loose to install the WS foam track bed under my overhead layout. I regretted not having some type of roadbed (sound deadener) after running trains in there with the noise level so high, having wood flooring in the bar and game rooms. It's soooo much better now. I also redid a couple of the curves that were a little tight for body mounted Kadees on 21" passenger cars. After learning quite about about the DCS system since being on this forum, I also split my loop into 2 blocks to stop the double signals I got with my MTH engines. After putting up the foam track bed, I now know that I have 73' of mainline and a 24' siding.

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