What is the largest layout you think one person can take care of?

Problem is, it is all relative.  I'm not sure you can get a true answer.  Many factors from time, age, mobility, and talent weigh into this.

I think you will get a variety of answers without one correct one.  I suppose you might see a trend.

Lee:

I think the single most important factor in determining the answer to your question is how much time one has (or is willing) to devote to the layout.  Surely many other factors affect the answer, but time is the big one.

The size of a layout also has a lot to do with whether it ever gets "finished" too.  Many folks undertake to build a huge "dream" layout only to become discouraged by the overwhelming size of the project. 

My layout is similar in size to yours and I find it about right in terms of my ability to maintain and upgrade it.  Although I am retired, I have other hobbies and interests that limit the amount of time I can spend on the layout.  I also believe that the ideal size layout is just a little bit more than one can handle.  This allows there to always be something that "needs" to be done, thereby keeping one interested and involved, but not overwhelmed.

I guess I'm at least partially responsible for you posing this question Lee.

Right now DO takes priority over re-do as things are still under construction. I have identified a few flaws that will need to be corrected. I don't expect many changes to the track plan, unless there are operational problems.

Repairs and general maintenance are more important. Track cleaning is a full time job with all the construction dust, but that is simply a matter of running the car around the layout. I have a couple of switches that need fixing. One has a broken point, and the other has a bad frog. Both are 20+ year old Right of Way switches that were salvaged from the mall. They weren't the greatest when they were new.

Wheel and roller cleaning will also be an on going process. At some point there will have to be a log kept. Couplers will be another thing that will need constant attention. Eventually, I will be hosting operating sessions, so I will have help identifying things that need repair.

I work a 40 hr week job. I have a 23' long X 10.75 wide platform, operating two separate main lines. Winter time in Abington Pa allows me a good amount of time to devote to the layout. Spring, summer, & fall is somewhat less time devoted to layout because I spend a lot of time outdoors keeping up with my chores. Therefore I would say I can maintain this size layout easily by myself. If I was retired I would go for a much larger layout.

Bob 

My view of this translates into how much maintenance I want to do versus how much I could do at maximum. Dusting, cleaning track, this or that within reach versus a stretch..I don't want to spend an inordinate amount of time doing chores as model railroading indoors is only one of several activities I engage in, especially in warmer, summer months. Also..having disassembled large layouts, and that mess..I built the table with folding tables so no unscrewing, scrap lumber etc will result when I inevitably need to take it down.No plaster mess etc. My layout is about 12 X 6 and suits the spare bedroom its in.

The garden railroad is another story..that is the alpha and omega of maintenance. Enjoyable but prone to nature's messing with it as well as critters.

188 sq. ft.  Slow morning.

12' X 12'6"  = 150 square feet  Cut for none track enclosed area  40 square feet.   110sq ft.

First addition  Count the blocks adds 27 sq. ft.

Final additions   Count the blocks again 51 sq. ft.

Total 188 sq. ft. 
Camera walk around.  Click on the underlined phrase to access.

I would stress one's health. Even a small layout poses problems when arthritis and other health problems surface. Crawling under a layout becomes virtually impossible so mounting wiring and switch machines on top is very important. When a derailment occurs on the far side of the layout you grab the mailman or delivery guy and give him a few bucks to rerail. And as an older friend told me, it just gets worse.

Depends more on the person and the amount of trackage, particularly turnouts, than the size.  I'm pretty casual, so the largest I would care to be responsible for would be 5x12 or thereabouts.

Pete

"Everywhere is within walking distance if you have the time."  Steven Wright

Depends on how old you are, or how young you are.  I don't want to dust my layout anymore.

Steve, Lady and Tex

Your layout is bigger than my house.  I'm trying to plan a layout for a room that is just over 200 sq ft.  But some of that will be shared with our computer desk and the cat's climbing tree.  Once I can get a plan and fund it and build it, I don't see it an issue for me to keep it up.  I do have a small one about the size of a twin mattress, as it fits under my son's bed, that has needed about zero upkeep over the years (About 6).  I've vacuumed it twice and cleaned the track once and that's it.  But it is near it's end.  Works well for short wheel base RTR stuff, but not longer things.  The 3/8" plywood (1st layout so I have hence learned that you need thicker boards for these heavy trains.  What can I say, I was coming from N.) I used as a base is bowed downward and my son is now asking for a layout that is "his" for his room.  So I may take it apart and work with him to design one that he likes for his trains.

I have done a few layouts and will say that a 12 ft. by 14ft. layout would be the largest I would want to take of. Another thing to consider is the track and transformers that you will need for any layout.

With a larger layout you will need a multiple train transformer, wether a two train or four train transformer is your choice. Otherwise with smaller transformers you will have a transformer bank area.

Lee Fritz

Lee

Age and health issues have been the key factors in my dismantling['08 &'09] large layouts at two separate locations in favor of a comparatively a small 9x16 round-the-wall attic layout of recycled components. Fortunately I got the attic layout wired for railpower and turnout operation in Feb '10 prior to developing disabling health problems. 

One objective was to simplify by discontinuing electronic modules for switch operation from a hand held remote in favor of direct toggle control from a fixed location. I also recycled my hinged drop section from one of the other layouts to avoid ducking under. I am whittling down from about 50 engines to 6-8 favorites[if a units electronics fritz up its back to the shelf to become a book end].

Additionally I have plain old dual mainlines for round and round operation which I have always favored. A Service Yard on one side of the layout and a Village[planned] on the other with only one short spur. Denim Mill in one far corner and Sawmill/Lumber yard in the other. Dust will probably be more prevalent than groundscaping/scenicking. No smoke and chuff #or sound at all, is irrelevant for me

I still have TMCC/Conventional capability but I expect there will increasingly be a majority of static scenarios as compared to an all active operation. Although there is an accessory & lighting Bus, I doubt that I will ever light my Yard and Village structures which are all held in place with Velcro. However I will get a son to crawl under and connect my Switchstand Light drops to the previously wired T-strips[I can get down but back up is iffy].

As regards work on the layout, pain is certainly an issue at times but far more of a handicap is loss of strength and stamina. But I can't complain, at 82 I am still "vertical" and navigating about, albeit with several aids including a stairlift. As regards layouts, in particular "senior citizen" operations, I now rationalize and advocate that "small is beautiful" and "unfinished" is simply a constant indicator of ones layout progress. 

Now on to establishing a Village, more or less, after I rest awhile.

Low tech control center pictured, power center under layout mounted on wall.

My layout is 24'x42' with about 1900 ' of track.  after 18 years the maintance is becoming overwhelming.

Glad you're still going strong, Dewey!

Oh, yes, the pain-to-gain ratio, applicable in terms of both layout construction and maintenance. I consider > 200 sq. ft. 'large.' My previous layout was 35 ft. long by about 6 ft. deep, with 4 levels of track in front and back, and winding throughout, in a relative clean/dry but with some dust basement. It became a chore to keep clean, dust on track becomes grime over short periods of time as wheels compress and mix with oils because much of the track was difficult to reach/access.

New layout is 15 ft. by 9 ft oval-shaped island style layout in basement with less dust and equally dry as previous and most track is easy to reach, and is much more comfortable.  If I expand to a perimeter layout, all track will be easy to reach as well.

I thought my layout was "big."  After seeing this post I feel better.  Even though my wife helps with scenery--a ton of it--the vast majority--I'm the sole one who is maintaining.  Mine is in a 1300 square foot basement, but not double decked....I love the space but the trade off is that you do have to clean it.  Anyone want to come over and grab a bright boy?

At the rate my layout construction is going, I should have just done a 4' x 8'.

My standard: four trains running at the same time. Beyond that, it is over-stimulating. I have a small basement, 20 x 20 feet with a shelf layout all around plus a peninsula with D-223 Super "O" display layout. Two at-a-time on the shelf and two on the peninsula. You have to watch out for derailments, magna-traction picking up the Super "O" bus  bars on occasion and uncouplings. These issues are rare, but they do happen. Our trains are mechanical and not perfect.

This is something I thought about extensively before beginning construction, as I didn't want a layout I constantly had to work on and fix.  I wanted to invest several months in the design and construction, and then be done, period.  I also wanted nearly zero maintenance--so whether I chose to spend an hour a day or an hour a week on the hobby, getting started would be as simple as flipping a switch and railing a locomotive.  

So far so good... I've been doing 0% construction and 100% running trains for more than four years.  To clean the rails, I just have a locomotive drag around a piece of felt with a weight on it--so even the occasional cleaning is still just running trains. 

I agree with those who have posted that this question has a lot to do with your available time and how important it is in your personal life to have (x) size layout. Easy access to all parts of the layout has a lot to do with how much time is needed to maintain your layout.

Better materials and planning made a great difference.  Today we have a layout over twice the size of the one when I was a child but with less than half the maintenance. 

Nathan

24' X 8' keeps me busy - if I let it. 

What an interesting thread. I wanted the biggest possible layout I could get in the basement but the size has waxed and waned over the years. For me, it is now 24' by 14'. 
The biggest variable for me is how easy / difficult it is to reach in to fix something.

Too big of a layout and it would be a job to keep up with it. Hobbies are for fun when time permits. As much as I like my trains, I would not want to become controlled by them. I'm happy with my 39" x 80" two loop layout. A little more length might be nice, but from past experience a 4' wide table would be too big to easily reach across to work on and maintain.  Geez, I guess that makes me quite the slacker compared to a lot of you guys. But it is just a hobby right? LOL

45' X 16'4 X 61".  Good enough for me.  Could have been bigger but the wallet wasn't large enough.  

Great question Lee!

My "medium" size layout is 22' x 14' in a G shape, with about 400' of track and 30 switches, give or take.

Though it often seems like it would be nice if it was bigger, in reality its a comfortable size. There is as much maintenance work as you could care to want, or as little as required.

I think some folks (who have the space) bite off maybe more than necessary by jumping into a huge layout, without considering the time that will be needed to do all the scenicing and work that is needed to adequately "finish" it. Then reality sets in and the layout gets put on hold for extended periods of time as the other pressures of life interfere. That wouldn't happen to anyone on this forum I'm sure.........

In the end there is a happy medium for layout size, just not sure what it is!

 More research needed I guess.

Rod

I agree with Pat Marinari in several counts.  My half a basement layout has been in progress for 13 years (when I retired) and will likely never be done.  I also get really nervous when I have three trains running at once.  I spend half the year in Florida (particularly good choice this year), I do my own yard work, and I play golf.  Precious little time for the train layout construction because I also like to run them.  I'll be down there to work on my yard, for example, and default to playing with my trains.

.....

Dennis

Upkeep is a breeze, its getting there is the huge undertaking. I started my layout in 07, and still the upper deck remains just circle loops on plywood.

I'm having too much fun running trains!

The old adage "my eyes are bigger than my stomach" may be at work here.  I always want a larger layout, more space (you have to have somewhere to put the new Woodland Scenics buildings), more track (you have to have somewhere to put all your trains), and just more.  Why is it we are never satisfied?  I'm the same way, just a rhetorical question.

Art

Judging from some of the videos and photo galleries I've seen on this forum, I suspect there are some folks here who are retired and now have taken up second careers maintaining their layouts on a daily basis. That's great if you're having fun doing it, but it's simply not possible for other people to spend that much time fixing and tweaking their railroads. Life gets in the way. I think a layout that occupies a substantial portion of, say, a family room is about as big as you want to go to keep things manageable; 250-300 square feet and not all of that being taken up by layout footprint. 

That's how I look at it.  Frankly my train layout is fun to look at and operate but its mainly an excuse (and a dang good one!) for the various projects and things I build/try to build.  "Maintenance" time gets in the way of both those projects and other things I like to do.  I am convinced that, at least for me, my current layout - just a bit over 300 sq ft of benchtop, is about perfect in size. 

When I first started to build my current layout which is 288 sq. ft. of table top, I had visions of an electrical masterpiece. My layout is 36" high, so there was a lot of crawling underneath to run the wires. After finishing the layout and all its wiring, I planned on relaxing and run the trains. Well...as I assume many of you have experienced also, glitches from the electrical components or wiring started to crop up!

After many hours locating and fixing problems, I decided to start removing a lot of the electrical items on the layout. I removed 4 switches, I still have nine. I disconnected my Atlas turntable. It is just for looks now and I am happy with that. The wiring for the 3 insulated tracks for my 3 stall roundhouse were removed along with 4 more that were sidings feeding off of the turntable. Quite a few buildings that I had installed interior lighting to were also disconnected. I'm sure I forgot some other fixes but the bottom line is that I can go down to the basement, turn on the power, and run my trains. Maintaining my layout now is easy and I am enjoying my trains again. So, after all is said and done, it isn't so much the size, it is what needs to be done that doesn't sour you on this hobby. 

too many variables , age health working, retired etc..