Finally got a train room, It has begun... (11 Mar 24 update)

Good luck.

Mike D.

Your wife is a keeper ... for encouraging a permanent train room in the house!  If she's a negotiator, she may soon want a crafts room for herself. My advice ... endorse her request.

Mike M.

Enjoy your new home first and then you’ll really enjoy the train room.  Hope you get started on the layout soon.

Looks like a nice room, have fun!

My wife and I believe the secret to our 45 years together is that we stay one floor apart.

Congrats on the nice space.  Hopefully, you can find a forum someplace where people will be willing to offer suggestions on how you should use it.

Congrats!

Peter

You can do something special with that space. Keep us posted.

Dave

Congrats on the new train room! The new house is a bonus!

Keep us posted on the layout.

@Mike H Mottler posted:

Mike D.

Your wife is a keeper ... for encouraging a permanent train room in the house!  If she's a negotiator, she may soon want a crafts room for herself. My advice ... endorse her request.

Mike M.

LOL, she didn't encourage it, it was a requirement. She is getting an office/library/craft room with a half bath in it upstairs when I get a chance to finish it.

Great news, I remember the joy when I moved into this house and discovered that I would have a nice big fully finished basement all for me and the trains!

We look forward to progress reports.

Mike, that's great news! My wife has the same problem, as mine is out in the detached garage!

Best of luck with the train room! I got the basement in my new house but we are so busy with all of the stuff that makes a house livable that I haven't really gotten started on a layout yet.

When the grandkids visited, I threw a Lionel starter set down for them to play. Funny thing is, they were just as happy!

@Sean007 posted:

I got the basement in my new house but we are so busy with all of the stuff that makes a house livable that I haven't really gotten started on a layout yet.

That's where I am right now. I still have lots of trim work to do, some closet stuff and the entire upstairs to finish. I will be bouncing between the house and the layout. We still have lots to move from the sheds and the old house as well so all of that cuts into hobby time. It will probably be a few years before the layout gets completely finished and sceniced.

@Mallard4468 posted:

Congrats on the nice space.  Hopefully, you can find a forum someplace where people will be willing to offer suggestions on how you should use it.

😂😂😂

Mike,

Very nice! I understand where you are coming from. My wife and I are contemplating moving after we retire, and space for a train room is on the list of must haves. (Plenty of other requirements too!) You should be able to do quite a bit with that space.  I'll be really curious to see what you come up with.

BTW, in your avatar, is that a paint exposure station behind you?

Chris

LVHR

@Mike D posted:

Hi All,

After two and a half years the house is done enough to move in. My wife insisted I have a dedicated train room in the house because she is convinced that if I built a small out building for my trains (my original plan) that she would never see me again. So when it was time to design the house I gave myself a 16'X21' for all of my stuff. I started clearing all of the tools out and moving the trains in this past weekend. I still have plenty to move and the layout probably won't get started for a few more months because I still have a lot to do on the house. At least I have plenty of room to set up some track and run my trains. The great thing is that I can leave it all out, which I couldn't do before. It is nice just to walk out and close the door and not have to put it all away after running trains.

That looks like a great space!

It looks like a good possibility for an around the ceiling track.  Do that first while you have easy access .

Congratulations! I remember when we moved into our new home 5 years ago and I had a dedicated train room. It was so exciting and full of possibilities. Have fun and enjoy!!!

@lehighline posted:

BTW, in your avatar, is that a paint exposure station behind you?

Those are the seats in the New Orleans Superdome. This was right after a playoff game when the Saints played, and won, a wild card against the Lions.

@boomer0622 posted:

It looks like a good possibility for an around the ceiling track.  Do that first while you have easy access .

I am doing an around the walls table top style layout. It will be three feet deep and maybe four in some places and about 30" high, though these dimension are in stone yet as I have a lot of planning to do before I start the build. I have been working on plans to try to get an overall feel for what I want to accomplish for several years. Now that I am actually in the space I can get down to getting an actual table plan together. After I get the table plan done and they are built I will get down to refining my track plan.

The middle of the room will be open for my N scale layout, which is 3'X7'. This should still leave plenty of room for moving around. I will be putting shelves on the walls to display the rest of my toys, i.e. planes, ships, Star Wars, diecast, etc.

HI Mike, congratulations. Might I suggest that you build a 'quick and dirty' table (possibly with coasters) that you can put an oval or two of track to run on during this transition. It could easily be moved aside or around against the wall as needed and you wouldn't have to constantly bend down to 'play' on the floor.  Just an idea...

I'm happy for you Michael. Have fun and enjoy.

Congratulations. Your train room looks a lot like the third bay of my garage. Now that I have all my trains in the new place, I'm trying to reorganize everything so I can start building the back section of bench work.

@AGHRMatt posted:

Congratulations. Your train room looks a lot like the third bay of my garage. Now that I have all my trains in the new place, I'm trying to reorganize everything so I can start building the back section of bench work.

That's where I am at with my stuff. I have been going through the boxes just to try to figure out exactly what I have. I have a good inventory of my train collection, but not much has been done to track my structure and accessory acquisitions over the years. I still have most of my freight cars in the shed and I probably won't move them until I get some benchwork up so I can get it all organized underneath.

@c.sam posted:

HI Mike, congratulations. Might I suggest that you build a 'quick and dirty' table (possibly with coasters) that you can put an oval or two of track to run on during this transition. It could easily be moved aside or around against the wall as needed and you wouldn't have to constantly bend down to 'play' on the floor.  Just an idea...

I considered it at one point. I have lots to build on the house and layout right now, so building a temp layout would just add to my long list of stuff I have to do. The floor is working out okay for now. At least I can run some trains and test some of my recent acquisitions that haven't been test run yet.

@jim sutter posted:

I'm happy for you Michael. Have fun and enjoy.

Thanks Jim, I was just thinking about you last night when I was going through some of my stuff and I saw a box with "Jim's Train Shop" on the shipping label.

@Mike D posted:

I considered it at one point. I have lots to build on the house and layout right now, so building a temp layout would just add to my long list of stuff I have to do. The floor is working out okay for now. At least I can run some trains and test some of my recent acquisitions that haven't been test run yet.

Mike- pick up a couple of cheap long folding tables and some grass mat. Presto- instant bench work!

Still jealous........

@RSJB18 posted:

Still jealous........

Looks like you have a nice yourself. I'm the one that needs to be jealous.

@Mike D posted:

Looks like you have a nice yourself. I'm the one that needs to be jealous.

Thanks.

It's a make the best of what you have layout.

Very nice advice so far. Go buy a 4x8 sheet of plywood, put 4 legs on and put down some track. You’ll be working very hard on the house but when you need to relax there’s nothing better than running an engine or two on that flat board. It won’t be in the way and will be you escape.

Well I finally got started on my O-gauge layout. About a quarter of the benchwork is built and installed. I have a few center legs to install for this part to be done. Hopefully it won't be two plus years before I get around to building a few more sections. My wife has encouraged me to build more of it now that it is started. Maybe she will keep me motivated to get it done soon.

Looking great so far. By the way, is that an N-Scale or HO-Scale layout on the table in the middle?

I'm starting to build a new layout, too. I've gotten a lot done so far. My backdrop is done, and I have benchwork on the way later this week. It's exciting, isn't it, getting things started on a new layout?

I'm looking forward to future updates. Good luck with the layout build, Mike, and have fun!

Michael,

Very neat work so far. I would agree that two more years to build a new section would be a bit much. However, taking your time to do this step will prove to be very beneficial with the future of running your trains. This is great to see. It's doubly awesome to see the acting coach and CEO's encouragement.

Dave

Just found this thread. Congratulations on getting a very nice space for a layout. The first thing I (and Mr. Muffin) would ask is will it be an island layout or around the room layout? But I see you already made that choice and in my opinion you made the right choice.

It does not say in this thread what you decided on the height of the layout. 30” is, IMHO, too short because it will be rough working under it and also rough on your back working on it from the top. My layout and my former club layout is 43”. I think that’s the perfect height give or take an inch. If you are worried about small children being able to see you can easily make some steps for them. I once built a layout for kids at 24” high and it killed my back. I said never again!

Best of luck. You are doing great so far. Please keep us posted.

@Dylan the Train Man posted:

Looking great so far. By the way, is that an N-Scale or HO-Scale layout on the table in the middle?

N-scale. I started that one several years ago. The way things are going, it will be a while before it is complete. The track work is done. I do run trains on it.

I'm starting to build a new layout, too. I've gotten a lot done so far. My backdrop is done, and I have benchwork on the way later this week. It's exciting, isn't it, getting things started on a new layout?

Good luck with yours. It is somewhat exciting but with all I have going on right now it is more of a chore. I am sure it will be more exciting once I get caught up with other things and get down to laying track. Once the first train takes a lap it will be great.

I'm looking forward to future updates. Good luck with the layout build, Mike, and have fun!

Thanks.

Nice! Enjoy your new home and train room. My biggest joy when I bought this house was finishing my train room over the garage. Good luck with your endeavor.

@Hudson J1e posted:

Just found this thread. Congratulations on getting a very nice space for a layout. The first thing I (and Mr. Muffin) would ask is will it be an island layout or around the room layout? But I see you already made that choice and in my opinion you made the right choice.

It does not say in this thread what you decided on the height of the layout. 30” is, IMHO, too short because it will be rough working under it and also rough on your back working on it from the top. My layout and my former club layout is 43”. I think that’s the perfect height give or take an inch. If you are worried about small children being able to see you can easily make some steps for them. I once built a layout for kids at 24” high and it killed my back. I said never again!

Best of luck. You are doing great so far. Please keep us posted.

I decided on 40" at the plywood top. That allows for a good view, makes it easy to work on and reach stuff and leaves plenty of room underneath for wiring and storing all of my boxes. I will be adding sheet foam and covering with plaster cloth so it will be slightly higher when all said and done. I actually decided on the height just before I made the trip to Lowes Saturday morning. I figured out the structural details when I started building it. Now that I have the details of the benchwork construction worked out, the rest should go fairly easily and quickly. I have tons of other stuff to get done around here not layout related and have taken two weeks off from work to get stuff done. I am hoping to get some more of the benchwork done in a few weeks.

Thanks.