Finally getting my first train room (9.7.21 update)

Great news! Please keep us updated with photos as you progress.

Steve

I like the idea of combining FL and NY into your concept. I have considered FL and PA along the idea. Philly has subways I rode all the time. I will be watching this with interest.

With this being possibly a short term layout do you already have O72 equipment you want to run?

Good Luck.

Congrats Kevin. Looks like you are off to a good start.

Bob

Kevin, it looks like some good preliminary planning to get something going in O gauge since you don’t plan to be in this home long, but long enough to want to get some trains running fro Florida to New York and back.  Since you have the Mianne benchwork that part should go quickly.  If you build on a flat table for the track, that should go quickly too both for ground level and subway.  I’ll look forward to seeing it come together.

kevin, itll be fun to follow along. looking at your layout it appears you are a let it run in circles kind of dude. me too.  i have a few switches to spice things up and move trains around.  i dont have more trains than the layout can hold..... yet haha, so i can throw switches and let other trains run in circles.  just some thoughts.  look forward to your progress

@Eddie in FL posted:

I like the idea of combining FL and NY into your concept. I have considered FL and PA along the idea. Philly has subways I rode all the time. I will be watching this with interest.

With this being possibly a short term layout do you already have O72 equipment you want to run?

Good Luck.

@C_Murley posted:

kevin, itll be fun to follow along. looking at your layout it appears you are a let it run in circles kind of dude. me too.  i have a few switches to spice things up and move trains around.  i dont have more trains than the layout can hold..... yet haha, so i can throw switches and let other trains run in circles.  just some thoughts.  look forward to your progress

Thanks to everyone who posted.

Eddie - Where in the Sunshine State are you located?  To answer your question, I moving towards more scale type equipment and O-72 is the curve that is the sweet spot.  Have to go with O-63 for any Inner Loops because I don't have the space to run O-81.   With the exception of the holiday themed trains, I've sold off all my traditional size equipment.  Currently have a MTH Tri-Rail set and am on the GGD standby list for some of their excellent equipment.

C. Murley - I like both loop running but also like some switching.  My aim has always to be to have both on the layout on the same time so that I could never get bored.  I need to come up with a plan and come up with one quick, and I've mentioned the South Florida - New York (SFLNYC) theme before so I went with this on my first go around (pun intended).  This set us is easy with basically 2-foot ground area all around.  Anything else, like a peninsula with a yard, etc. would be more complex and more expensive (benchwork) and take longer to complete.  I also would have to figure out how to coordinate it with the  SFLNYC.

But that is what makes this fun!  I'll be brainstorming and maybe have a single track O-72 continuous running loop and have the other be involved in switching and yards.

For what it's worth, here is the HO plan that I drew up on AnyRail using Kato Unitrack (31-inch radius curves aka 62 inch diameter) along with the Bachmann Reversible EZ Track to run the elevated subway train back and forth unattended.

Nice layout and idea Kevin, hope to see more pictures on your progression..

Awesome!  And congratulations.

George

I am in Jacksonville FL.

Sounds like you have some nice equipment. I cannot wait to see pics of your progress and running some trains.

Kevin.......congrats and best wishes. Looking forward to seeing your progress!

A few questions and comments.

1. I love Dennis Brenna's book. Great tips and info there.

2. What is the height of your table? It probably needs to be a little higher than 42" in order have adequate room for you to work on the subway......My table height was 42" and my subway was about 28".

It was OK when I built my layout (I was 57-58). It was awful to take it down 10 years later  (67-almost 68).

This is no fun....

3. Those switches in the back.....you may want to rethink those. Can you move then to the sides and make them more accessible? I think there must be a model railroading law that says the number of derailments is directly proportional to the difficulty in reaching the area df the derailment......

I am looking forward to seeing your progress....I am a fellow urban modeler and am always looking for new ideas.

Have fun!

Peter

One more comment: great plan for the available space.....I'm just a loop runner and I love to see the trains just go round and round!

Peter

Thank you Peter.

My Mianne stuff has been in storage so long I forgot what heights I have .  Your photos of you working under the table brings back nightmares of when I had a table top layout.  You are correct about the switches in the rear.  I'm trying to find ways around that, maybe having the express run unconnected to the local track and (1) having a L-shaped point to point for the local with the portion on the right side wall hidden from view and the express staying where it is - this will cut down a few inches on the depth or (2) running the loops as is but without the tracks connecting.

I have to have an express track I've always been obsessed with getting the vision of the express trains running past a station in the dark behind the tunnel support columns.  I loved that scene as a teenager in the Big Apple and still do now.  Here are some YouTube videos that I did in 2017 of the Astor Place Subway Rush Hour and 33rd Street Subway Rush Hour in New York. Music that is sweet to my ears.

Looks like you are on the right track, Kevin...  Remember Rule number one (1) All Ogauers must have fun and enjoyment when building their layout'.... 😃👍👌

Man I wish I would have found this site before I built my layout. I would have built a subway underneath. Oh well, maybe in the future I will redo it. 

@FECRailroaddog posted:

Man I wish I would have found this site before I built my layout. I would have built a subway underneath. Oh well, maybe in the future I will redo it.

There are some great subway & elevated builds right here on OGR with some of the members, and also on YouTube.

Some of them are so realistic, you feel as though you're standing on the platform getting ready to board the train.

One thing that I will need to have in my subway is a cat-sized rat running next to the tracks. 🤣

Don't forget Pizza Rat

@Quarter Gauger 48 posted:

Looks like you are on the right track, Kevin...  Remember Rule number one (1) All Ogauers must have fun and enjoyment when building their layout'.... 😃👍👌

Ted, your absolutely correct on Rule #1!!

Hi Kevin

Checking in to see how you are progressing. Hope all is going well.

Eddie

@Eddie in FL posted:

Hi Kevin

Checking in to see how you are progressing. Hope all is going well.

Eddie

Good morning Eddie.

It is coming along, so to speak.  I’m helping my son move out this weekend and then the work begins, including ordering more Mianne Benchwork.  The ordeal the past month has been waffling back and forth on whether it will be O based or HO based, and to run the scale that was not chosen at my train clubs.  Both have their benefits and drawbacks, one day I will be 100% O and how could I think of anything else, and then the next day I will be 100% HO and how could I think of anything else.  Rinse, wash, repeat.

The only thing that is certain is that the subway level is very likely not to happen, no matter which scale.  Too complex to do in the manner in which I want it done in the short period of time I have. The possibility of having a raised second level so that I have both scales has been thought of, but the second level would have to be a point-to-point as I’m not going to have two sets of bridges of different elevations by the entrance door.  Would have to determine which scale I would want to do switching with as I don’t have any freight rolling stock.  My passenger equipment - both what I have in stock and in the soon to be purchased timeline – are best meant for continuous loop running.  Shuttling a 4-car subway unit (54-63” O or 28” HO) back on forth on 30± feet of track would work, but an 8+ foot long commuter or Amtrak passenger consists would not be ideal.

P.S.  My Mianne Benchwork legs are 34 inches in height.

Good luck with it Kevin. Please keep us posted on your choices and progress.

My son and I really like what you did with the ceiling layout and your Tri-Rail train. I am sure you will come up with something great with all that space.

And the winner is, envelope please… to go with O as the main base and run my HO at the club (along with the ceiling route).

The MTA transit trains were the determining factor and what clinched it was the R40 Slant F train cars that I just scored today on FeeBay.

Here’s a rough draft of what I just drew up.  Stopped for the night because I’m tired.

The New York City area now encompasses 2 sides and the elevated expressway (I-95/BQE) in the upper right now becomes the separation from South Florida.

Subway concept has been replaced by a point to point L-shaped 2-track elevated line with a view block for the trains to disappear before they return.  The view block may stay or may go.  I had it there until half an hour ago when the right hand side of the layout was still part of South Florida.  One of the guys in my club has both of the trains on his Christmas layout come to dead stops at 2 parts of his layout and then move on a minute later.  I’ll ask him to show me how he does it.  I’ll be using BridgeBoss to set up my elevated line.  Station platform is 65 inches long so that it can fit any 4-car subway set.

You’ll notice that the left hand side of the layout has been replaced by an area in homage to where I grew up in Jamaica (the island, not the neighborhood in Queens 😊) with the train lines running through a tunnel underneath. I think I will have some fun building a mountain with a narrow road capturing the typical rural scene in Jamaica, and because its not underneath the table, my back and knees will appreciate it while its being worked on.

Looking forward to working w you.

Your approach to buildings/scenery seems to make the layout more interesting than its modest size and simple track plan would otherwise suggest!

Looks good Kevin. All these years living on Lawn-guy-land and  I never new that Florida was a short hop over the BQE!

Bob

PS- the DCS commander works great!

@Bridgeboss Jim posted:

Looking forward to working w you.

Looking forward to working with you too on the design

@KarlDL posted:

Your approach to buildings/scenery seems to make the layout more interesting than its modest size and simple track plan would otherwise suggest!

Thanks for the compliment

@RSJB18 posted:

Looks good Kevin. All these years living on Lawn-guy-land and  I never new that Florida was a short hop over the BQE!

Bob

PS- the DCS commander works great!

Yup, a lot closer.  Crossing under the BQE saves a bundle on cost and time for the trip .  You're welcome on the DCS Commander remote.

[UPDATE 7.9.21]

Did some repainting of the room last weekend and things are progressing.  They've also changed as certain things that were not considered before are now in play.  First off, the closet space in the upper left corner cannot be closed off, so all previous benchwork ideas in that corner have been thrown out the window, so to speak. Maybe I'll have a very narrow stretch of benchwork along the closet which will lead to the 5+ foot long bridge to the other side of the room.

I know what some are saying >> go with a switching layout, but I need must have a continuous run somewhere to have trains run loops while I'm learning how to do operations.  In years past when I did temporary layouts... wait a minute, all my layouts have been temporary ) I threw in an Inglenook Sidings with a loop of track so that I could do both.  The one time that I did have a switching layout only (it was HO and I think it was 2x8) in the downtown apartment I could count on both hands the amount of times that I used it.

Also, my glass display shelf (the one that I'm supposed to place those model planes and submarines once I take them out of the box and build them ) is now in the mix.  Thought is to have one of the middle 2 glass shelves removed and have that area serve as a "bridge connection" between the benchwork on either side for the trains.

Also the realization that no layout is going to get fully scenicked in 6 months and that I may very well be running a Plywood Pacific (or is it an Ash Atlantic? as I'm by the Atlantic Ocean) regardless of the ongoing struggle of whether I go with O or HO.  Most important thing to me right now is just be able to run trains from a helicopter point of view, and place a structure on the table here or there as time goes by.  My ceiling layout is awesome, but it got old real quick having to move furniture and go up and down a ladder everytime that I want to do something, change trains, etc.  Not to mention the craning of the neck during that process.  I guess its the same when folks say that having to do a "duck under" to get in/out of a standard layout gets old real quick, regardless of one's physical ability.

Somebody asked me if I wanted to do round the room shelf layout with HO on one shelf and O on the other so I get both, but I've no desire to figure out the complexities to two 5+ foot long bridges separated by 18 inches.  Also, a good adage is to learn to walk before you run.

Kevin, The Ash Atlantic sounds good!  I agree, the ceiling level layout loses appeal having to get out the ladder every time you need to do something.  I haven't run mine since before my back surgery in case something derails.  I don't want to level it sitting there whopperjawed on the track.

😁 Kevin, you have been busy'.. You have a decent sized room there and should be able to build a nice layout...  Sometimes we forget, "less is and can be more".....  We all want it all'.. but most have to settle for less'.. I agree'.  A continuous run is  most definitely required'...

Good luck with your final decision on a design.. Even though it is subject to change'....🙄

Thats a nice space to put a layout in Kevin. I'm sure envious of those windows too. There are only 2 small windows in my basement, neither one ended up in my train room .

I'll be looking forward to seeing the construction progress!

I recall working into the wee hours of the morning on mine, good times!

Kevin, this is an exciting project. I really like your track plan. I hope you keep the updates coming and we eventually see the trains running. Thanks for posting your new layout build.

Tom

Way to go Kevin you on our way with a nice size room, can't wait for update photos.

Nice Kevin! Don’t forget to make sure you have good hurricane shutters/hurricane glass for all windows in that room. As you build the layout and expand your collection, it will give you just a little extra piece of mind during hurricane season.

@Strap Hanger posted:

Nice Kevin! Don’t forget to make sure you have good hurricane shutters/hurricane glass for all windows in that room. As you build the layout and expand your collection, it will give you just a little extra piece of mind during hurricane season.

Wow!  That something a Northwest Pennsylvanian like me wouldn’t think of for you!

Yep, Mark, these are the things one must consider down here in the land of sun, fun, and no basements.  I had my second story built with concrete block and extra hurricane roof straps to better withstand a storm. Of course, that had nothing to do with the fact that I wanted the option of building a layout in one of those spare second floor rooms.  Nah. Nothing at all, LOL!

@Strap Hanger posted:

Yep, Mark, these are the things one must consider down here in the land of sun, fun, and no basements.  I had my second story built with concrete block and extra hurricane roof straps to better withstand a storm. Of course, that had nothing to do with the fact that I wanted the option of building a layout in one of those spare second floor rooms.  Nah. Nothing at all, LOL!

Strap Hanger, The closest I came to a Hurricane was in 2008 I think, the company sent two of us to the northern Houston suburbs for a week.  The hurricane that hit Houston was on its way.  We got a flight out a day earlier than planned, one of the last flights out.  One of the Texans we met with left a day earlier than us to board up his and two elderly relatives and then drove to Austin.  I’ll take the blizzards here with temperatures occasionally below zero.

Thanks for the compliments folks.

Hurricanes and windows... what, me worry? 🤣

@Mark Boyce posted

…..I’ll take the blizzards here with temperatures occasionally below zero.

I can understand that, Mark. Living in a place where the weather can take away almost all of your possessions in a single day is not for everyone. In the past 20 years, we’ve had about three storms on forecast track for South Florida that required me to pack up my entire collection in waterproof Tupperware bins and move them to a safe room on my first floor. These were category 4-5 storms, which could easily render shutters and heightened construction techniques useless. We were fortunate that they ultimately missed our area or blew though at “just” a category 2.  It takes some getting used to, but hey, the trade off is we get to live in the beautiful tropics, where I can fish, bike, golf and enjoy the outdoors almost all year when I rotate away from the trains.  If it wasn’t for those  darn killer storms and lack of basements to build train layouts in, this place would be paradise, LOL.

I hear ya Strap Hanger, I dread this time of year..