Show me your small layouts

My signature below has a link to a few pics of our now, dismantled 6x10 layout. 

It was twin, interconnected loops of gargraves track on a plywood/homasote tabletop.

We had 2 stub sidings on each loop for industry and interchange.

Always ran short trains, scale 40' long cars were the max and small scale steam and shorter 1st gen diesels.

Usually only 4-6 cars max per train.

Mountains were plaster cloth over crumpled newspaper with Scenic Express Supertrees.

Here are pictures of the small layout that I have taken to a few train shows. At 4' X 5 1/2' it is significantly smaller than the space you have, but it might give you some ideas. The main, lower loop is mostly O-36 with a couple of O-31 pieces and has three sidings. The upper section has a point-to-point 'Streets line. As you can see, the scenery is still unfinished.

Good luck with your layout!

Derek

No images!  Please try again.

Here is a good resource with examples....

http://www.thortrains.net/oldlay.htm

Peter

Just for grins and giggles, here's a project i plan to build some day if I ever come across a ping-pong table to build it on. This is a "Super O" layout on a 5' X 9" area. Standard SuperO 36" diameter curves (18" radius).

This will be for my Non-scale trains to run on...

My temporary layout is on a 4'x8' table with one loop and two sidings. The curves are only O-31, so I can't run my big trains, but it holds me over until I start building my semi-permanent layout. I already planned the layout, but I can't do anything until I clean out my basement, which won't be for a while. I don't have any pictures, and I won't until I get more storage on my computer.

My layout is only 8x12 and has served me well for the last 11 plus years....its more than I thought I would ever have back when I was setting up temporary floor layouts on my mothers cold linoleum floor in the family's rec room as a kid.

I know you do not have the 8 feet to work with ...but if you could just figure out a way to get your width to 7.5 feet you can go with wide radius curves.

Here's a 4'x12' I built some years ago...

This is my small layout that is being built on a hollow core door. I'm replacing the track with new track but the Marx switch will stay The marx switch  is so I can run Marx locomotives on the layout besides Lionel.

Inspired by Atlas Plan O-27 Gateway Central and MTH ScaleTrax Plan 45-1107 Main Street. An adaption for you... Berra Run Now in MTH RealTrax

Here's mine. It's 39 x 80, inches, not feet!!! Where there is a will, there is a way, even if you want to run O gauge trains! 

My layout is 5.5' x 11' with O-48 curves and switches. I would have loved to go with larger diameter curves but just didn't have the room. We still have great fun though and can run several scale locomotives as large as 4-8-4s without problem.

5' x 9' table plus a single track around the top of the 11' x 11' room. Not really into the diorama aspects - just want max density to display and run trains. All I can devote to trains is this 11' x 11' room, and want to still use it as a spare bedroom, so this is it for now. I had an elevated loop on the table directly above the inner loop but it hid from view quite a bit the engines in the yard so down it came.

Nice!

I tried to get the Land Grant Manager to let me have a second ping pong table in the Family Room, one which would be my 5x9 train table in the corner.

The motion never made it onto the agenda .  Even if it did, the motion would have died for lack of a second 

My very much in-progress 8x12. Still undergoing changes so no real scenery as yet. Heck, even these yucky photos are obsoleted.

.

Original layout  12' 6" X 11' 8"

First remodel

Coal Tipple addition.

Camera walk-around.  Click on the underlined phrase to access a slideshow.

I tore down my old layout in the Fall of 2013 and quickly built a new one using Atlas track. Had so many issues, I tore it out and replaced it with tubular. A few months later, Spring 2014, I removed the scenery and went with indoor/outdoor carpet. See below. 

Old Layout, 8x8 "L"

4x8 with Atlas Track. 

4x8 with Tubular track. 

Current 4x8 layout. Only difference is I added another siding last week. 

My layout is 6x9 with a 30"x30" piece off one corner. The track is FasTrack with O36 curves on the inside loop and O48 on the outside loop.

This is beautiful work.

try again after an evening out...you know, grease the wheels!

Had a complaint about no images for my post yesterday. Here's another attempt. Pictures for my small layout should be attached.

looks pretty good!

Thank you - much appreciated!

Well, Berra, these may help (?)

The first photo is circa 1940's of our family layout which managed to inspire me for the rest of my life to love trains. I am the boy in the corner, refusing (see indignant expression) to get out of the way for the taking of the layout's photo).

This second photo was taken of the Lionel layout @F.A.O. Schwarz , NYC, which stood for the past three years, though changed often, now gone. A whole lot of children much enjoyed the layout, evidenced by the store selling-out of every Lionel item last year, just after Thanksgiving Day.

Still playing with trains,

FrankM.

Wow. This is a beautiful place.

FrankM.

Interesting twist there using the Gray Indoor/Outdoor carpet.  Puts ideas in my head.

60" X 115" Fastrack layout currently in work (benchwork complete - wiring started)...36" and 48" curves.

All the space available.

Here is my temporary 4' 4" by 8' layout.  O48 loop and O36 loop with a two siding yard.

My table is 4'4" x 10'.  Atlas 045 outer loop with 036 inner. White squares are placeholders for buildings.

Some nice looking layouts, but am I missing something? Or is it me? Small layout to me, and many others are what will fit on a 4' X 8' or 5'X10' Ping Pong Table, anything bigger would be medium or larger size. Some I am seeing if I was a first timer to "O" and didn't have the room except for "small layout", I would be discouraged from some of the sizes shown in the asking of "small".

Again, some nice layouts, but some don't appear small to my eyes.

I might have started the confusion As I asked for small layouts and stated 5 1/2' X 12' as my maximum. As we have seen here many interesting layouts have been built on less than  4' X 8'. But if you look in OGR and "the other magazine" most layouts seems to be at least 14' X 20' which I consider Large. I think that most layouts in less than 8' X 12' or thereabouts have solutions both trackwise and in scenery to be of help to others trying to build a smaller layout.

And yes, the answers I have had has been inspiring and helpful

Thanks. I enjoy seeing the innovations built into small layouts by different modelers, and how they use that small given area and run trains, and build layouts to look so much bigger.

As to a 14X20, how many have that much room? Here in Florida, there are no basements, and many homes I've seen in those we are interested in moving to, also have few basements.

Here was my last apartment layout  4' X 10' with a 2 x 3 ft kickout.  The layout would function without the 2 x 3 addition

Here's my old one - 11x6

Mine is On30 in a 10X11 room. Here is most of the layout overall, as seen from above when you enter the door. Normally you'd bee looking at it from a much lower angle as I held the camera up. Missing is the back corner to the left as well as the interchange and turntable to the far right. But for the most part, this is it. Two large guys can easily stand in the main aisle to the right and another to the section on the left.

0n30 is my other one of my other vices I have planned 0n30 layouts for the available space also. I have Mal Ferrells book on the Tweetsie. This, Nevada County, Milwaukee narrow gauge and the Bridgeton and Harrison are narrow gauge favourites.

Thanks Kevin. I went with gray as the only green carpet readily available in my local Home Depot/Lowes stores is the Brady Bunch astroturf that flakes everywhere and I was NOT going to use that! I like the gray - looks brighter and cleaner (well, when it is clean!). 

My former National Capital Tracker module also had gray carpet. (See below). My new one will have scenery, (eventually!)