The Pink Elephant in the Basement

Hmmmmm.......dark damp basement with cement block walls or a bright finished room with floor to ceiling windows......

you made the right choice.

Bob

@Mikki posted:

Two years ago today, we emptied a 16 ft rental truck of its contents, MOSTLY train layout items, into our new home in WNC.

Prior to that, I had this unfinished layout in my unfinished NJ basement. It had basically been in this stage for about 12 years! The basement had a very low ceiling and duct work which made parts even lower. It was dark and dingy and even though I had many lights installed there were still shadows. No one really wanted to go down and watch my progress, but I would still entertain myself on occasion as long as the floor didn't have water on it which happened after heavy rains. I just wasn't 100% satisfied with my track plan and therefore never moved ahead not even painting all of that pink! When getting ready to buy a new home and sell NJ, family members would ask "what about the basement" to which I would respond "you mean the pink elephant?"

Once I found my new home in Sept of '22 and saw the size and shape of the new train room, I started to dismantle the pink elephant all by myself getting it ready to move. I knew that I needed to clear it out before showing the house and make room for filled boxes of belongings as I decluttered.

The new train room was finished, had a nice normal ceiling height, a walk out to a small deck (perfect for soldering and cutting foamboard), an attached unfinished area for storage, an adjacent room for my studio/workshop AND a full bathroom! All it needed was proper lighting. The only negative was the doors and windows being spaced in such a way that I couldn't really make the layout quite as large as I wanted unless I had it in the middle of the room but that wasn't what I wanted (I might be regretting that).

I have been putting off sharing with you because I wanted to have more done on it first. I started it in July of last year and really thought that I would be further along, HA! I will be adding posts showing my progress and my not so conventional way of doing things. I say that but it probably IS more conventional in the old way of doing things.

Stay Tuned!

Mikki (of the so far unnamed rr)

Not sure I understand your problem with the windows.  Couldn’t you cover them with a thin panel and then a backdrop?

@pennsyfan, I like the natural light especially when working or just hanging out. I also like to open the windows when working on certain things like using a hot wire cutter with the foam. I presently have a table with the transformer in front of the window BUT I am planning for the future to add a narrow section there with a yard or small steel mill as per my prototype.  When I do that, I will figure something for the windows like you suggested even if it just room darkening shades with a blue cloth or panel in front. (I would still like the option of having them open)

Mikki

Mikki...looks lite the makings of a super train room...look forward to seeing the progress...

@RSJB18 posted:

Hmmmmm.......dark damp basement with cement block walls or a bright finished room with floor to ceiling windows......

you made the right choice.

Bob

Bob, we realize that this home was the right choice when we came through Hurricane Helene unscathed. It wasn't what I originally look for, but it was the right choice in so many ways. We are very fortunate.

Mikki

@Capetrainman, I will post a few pics at a time to show what I did over the past year. My main goal was to not have all of that pink so even though it is far from done, I keep painting it brown as I go but I can't wait to "landscape" and populate it!

Mikki

I wonder what the Brotherhood of the Crappy Basement Layout might say about your room?   Maybe, "Don't call us, we'll call you."?

@Mikki posted:

@pennsyfan, I like the natural light especially when working or just hanging out. I also like to open the windows when working on certain things like using a hot wire cutter with the foam. I presently have a table with the transformer in front of the window BUT I am planning for the future to add a narrow section there with a yard or small steel mill as per my prototype.  When I do that, I will figure something for the windows like you suggested even if it just room darkening shades with a blue cloth or panel in front. (I would still like the option of having them open)

Mikki

@Mikki I have windows at both ends of the loft ( one end is the BR). I wanted a backdrop that included the Empire State Building behind my Penn Station. I chose to make it the window width which gave me 3’ of shelves on both sides. It covers the pair of windows but I can still open them.

The second picture shows the space between the tables. This shot was with black foam board. I’ve since attached backgrounds to the  foam board.

Here is how I secure it. You can see the access to the window. There is also a night scene behind this one.


About 2 years ago I executed emanate domain on the BR and made a tin plate room. You can see that the view isn’t very attractive out those windows.
When the construction was completed I chose to keep the blind down. I’m trying to come up with another backdrop.

@pennsyfan, Thanks, Bob, that empire State building backdrop looks awesome there. This motivates me to think more about the window area but at this point it will still be a future addition. It can't be very deep because I need room for an aisle. One of the issues that I had with the Pink Elephant was that I kept adding on real estate but never had any area completed. I really want to get further along with what I have done so far and then add on. Thanks again, it looks great.

Mikki

Mikki, I guess I had a "pink elephant" too...but didn't realize it at the time!  At times, I thought the project was not coming along as hoped, but with a little yellow spray foam here and there for shaping and rounding, along with lots of plaster cloth, the finished product came out okay.  The area has a name now..."The Village at South Main...lol...

After dismantling the NJ Pink Elephant, the basement became an area to put boxes of STUFF, I have too much STUFF! In the first photo, you can see just how depressing this space was even though I spent a lot of time down there. Notice the shelf unit in the corner. I had a few of these to store items off of the damp floor and it was natural to place my first two 4x8 panels on top of them. As the layout grew, I purchased more. They aren't cheap, so when I moved, I took them apart and brought them down in the truck and installed them in the new train room. I saved everything to avoid buying all new but when I think of what I paid for the truck, maybe I wasn't so smart after all. Either way I needed a truck to declutter and get a head start.

The new room is painted a very dark grayish purple, in the photo it looks gray. I painted the layout area with a lighter, slightly bluer version of that color. I am modeling the industrial northeast, so I wanted the sky to be grayish blue. Again, the pics aren't showing the true color. Next, I put together the shelves which was harder than the first time around and placed them on the foam tiles which also came out of the NJ basement. This was all done October of '22. Meanwhile I sat in front of graph paper with my colored pencils, scale ruler, and curve/circle templates and played around while I also played with tracks on the floor. I am old school!

Mikki

Congratulations on the new home and train room, Mikki. I happen to like a walk-around train table. In the past, I had a 12x8 table and then changed it to a 6x16, and the ability to walk around it was so convenient. Today, I am down to a simple 4x8 as I gave much of my gear and tables to my son and grandson for their home. Have fun building your new layout in your beautiful home.

Congratulations on the new house and train room.  Going from a dark unfinished basement to a finished above ground room with windows is, almost literally, like night vs. day.  Good luck with your new venture.

@Mikki , thanks for posting this evolution of your train passion! While I would have liked to have an around the room layout, I never really did because of those pesky windows and doors that filled my home, LOL! I managed to build four (so far) layouts of the mostly walk around design which does have the advantage of being able to reach most all parts of the layout somewhat easily.

I look forward to seeing your progress. Enjoy the new home and the fun of designing and building a new railroad!

Stan

@stangtrain, Yes, those pesky windows! I am so happy to have them even though they limit the plan.

@mike.caruso, thank you for your kind words. I don't miss that dank basement even though I did spend quite a bit of time in it. We work with what we have.

@Plankowner110, Thanks for commenting and bringing my post back up. I have been away from home and the layout for almost a month but am looking forward to working on it again soon, real soon as we drive back tomorrow. I will be posting some updated photos of the steps it took to get where I am now, not as far as I would have wished, unfortunately, but I DO have trains running! I just need to get them to run more smoothly and then I can get down to finishing some scenery. Your 6x16 layout sounds like a good size. Mine is an L shape with 12' along the wall turning out for another 16' with about a 6' depth. I can't reach everything and will have access hatches which will keep me in shape, lol.

Mikki

Looks great and I look forward to more pics as you go along.

Peter