Using an existing room

I am in the process of designing and building a shelf railroad.  It will be in my office with bookcases and desks, computers and a big screen tv.  It is a 12x12 room with a double door.  I don't plan for the layout to weigh more than 50 to 100 pounds.

I am using foam for the benchwork supports using foam columns and solid foam for the base for the entire roadbed and scenery.

I have a 10'x2' section put together using 4 inch Woodland Scenics 1'x2' by 4' foam rectangles.  There are 10 rectangles glued together with Loctite foam adhesive.  I covered them with Woodland Scenics plaster cloth topped with dirt from Scenic Express and plan to use rocks from Arizona Rock and Mineral. 

I plan to use the columns which will allow me to use the desk space under the layout which will be about 54 inches at the top.  Then I plan to use the shelves on the bookcases to support  the notched four layers of 3/4" foam by 18" along two of the walls.  Over my computer area wall there will be an 18" shelf supported by columns again.

The only floor space I'll lose is the 12 inches or so that will extend from the bookcases.

I needed to think outside the box to model Chama to Antonito on the HOn3 Cumbres and Toltec.  Even the 4% grade to Cumbres is in the plan (to fit over the TV.)

I think it will work. I hope it is a dream and not a nightmare!  I'll keep you informed on the process.

I'm sure there are lots of bugs to work out.

We can't get rocks or foam thicker than 3/4 inch in the New Orleans area 

On the other hand...

I cannot argue with the benefits of a shelf layout but I think Joe’s points are determined by his premises - namely:

1. You are working in HO

2. You are not going to move in the next several years.

3. If you do move the next abode will have a suitable room for the shelf layout - assuming it can be disassembled and reconstructed.

I am a happy table-layout owner. Here are some of the things to consider.

1. When I built the layout I needed to plan for a change of home

2. When a move is necessary my table can be carried out of the house by two men.

3. My 3x9 table in N scale corresponds to about 5x16 in HO which offers options in layout design.

4. My layout sits against the walls in a corner. I can run the layout from one side and if necessary can reach across the three foot dimension by standing on a small stool. The layout sits on a wheeled cabinet that can be easily moved from the wall if necessary. The train room is not otherwise useless. In addition to the cabinet, which is used for storage, there are two file cabinets, two book shelves, and an attic entry.

My last point - which is inspired by Joe’s comment ”Think for a moment about real railroads. They go from point A to point B – they aren’t loops that connect back up with themselves.“

O.K. lets get proto. In John Armstrong’s book “The Railroad: What it is and what it does” 4^th edition, page 152 regarding “average freight trains” he says “the average haul is 800 miles.”

How many layouts allow an average haul of 800 miles? Mine does. Of course, at a scale 40 mph this would take 20 hours and require 615 laps of my much-maligned “roundy-round so I haven’t tried it yet. On the subject - how many layouts have yards that are one mile long?

I guess my point is that there is more to model railroading than room sized HO layouts. If you are starting to plan a layout be sure you consider all options for what you want to do. You can’t have it all.

Art Armstrong

You literally cannot 'run' a

You literally cannot 'run' a train if it's point A to point B in a 9x11 sized room - just as nearly as you get up to road speed, it's time to slow down because you're at your destination.  Throw in a continuous loop, and you get the effects of thirty or forty trains running just one train around the room for half an hour.  when that gets boring, change out the motive power, and then the cars...An hour of running and you have run enough to last a week or two without running a thing!!

A 3x9 does correspond to a 5x16 or so in HO.  Take that 5x16 up to 6 or 8 and you have a perfect case for around the walls as opposed to up the center.  Once you hit a room around 20', though, a center island becomes quite appealing!

I think a far greater call would be to remind modelers to leave room for their shops in their train rooms, unless they are so lucky to have a workshop room next door.  If the room is 20x10, it seems like it would be a great idea to leave one segment along one wall, 10' x 30" "Open' for a bench, a paint booth, a soldering station, and other such entities which allow for more modeling once the main event if finished...

Shelf Layouts

Shelf layouts ,and point to point running are fine for a switching layout.But not everybody wants just a switching layout.Some of us like to just sit back and watch our trains run,

While I am a strong advocate of this style layout I prefer mine to be set up for continuous running.This allows me the pleasure of watching my custom painted loco's do their thing,and I still can switch if I want to.

I (by the way) always reccomend shelf layouts unless the layout is in a rented house or apartment where the landlord would object to having holes in the walls.There is NO argument about the space saving with shelf layouts.

I should say to that there are plenty of very good reasons for a table top layout,but they just don't fit in my plans.

One thing I have always wondered about table top layouts is when adapting a HO plan to N scale why is the layout always reduced to N scale .Why aren't they built to the HO dimentions

                                        Johnathan (Catt) Edwards  (PS) N scale ROCKS!

Models for shelf layouts

Another out of date concept is the "3 ft" model. Shallow depth shelf layouts rarely place track even as deep as 2 ft from the front edge hence we need to realize models on such layouts are going to be viewed from a closer distance and IMO need to be detailed as such. The ease of access for photography (and increasing trend to do so in the digital age) is another good reason for the increase in detail.

I love the "modern" concept of such layouts as it tends to have us focus on a scene at a time increasing the realism and perceived notion of being something bigger than what it is.

Cal

Table vs shelf

I am just in the final planning stages of an On30 layout. Space restrictions are a little severe so I have been considering a small table as the solution. This article is causing me to rethink my problems and look more seriously at locations available for a shelf. Since I am also building a 2x4 ft module that will enable me to participate with the local group, I likely will use this as a starting point and expand it in the future.

Thank  you for this, and all the informative articles.

Jim Noel

A shelf layout does not have to be wall mounted!

I would be very surprised if most shelf layouts were not book shelf mounted rather than wall mounted.  If a future move is a consideration, the shelf layout can be planned as 2x4 or 2x3 sections on bookshelves.  It could be a point to point design, with either a drop in section or some sort of gate designed to bridge a doorway for continuous running.  Relatively narrow shelf layouts lend themselves to a higher view level to get closer to the trains and avoid the "helicopter" view of the layout.  As such, a sit down, pull out desk will function very well for a work space.  The situation in snow country creates more problems than living in the sun belt, but I would never put a paint booth in any living area that was shared by other family members.  My paint booth is portable and in my driveway outdoors.  In snow country, with the need to put the paint booth indoors for winter use, I would build a room sealed off from the rest of the house when the door is closed with some sort of exhaust fan to take all of the fumes out of the room.  If I can't paint indoors and within five minutes after painting have all traces of paint smell evacuated from the room, I won't paint indoors.

Operator Girth

Another consideration in the shelf vs. table discussion is operator size.  I always laugh at the old plans which allowed for an 18-24" access aisle down one side.  Can you say claustrophobia?  Same goes for access hatches.  If you're a beanpole that's fine.  If you have a spare tire or a beer gut it may not be as easy.

I recently read a post on a forum somewhere talking about operators wiping out whole towns with their gut in an effort to reach over the layout to rerail a car or work on scenery, etc.  Consider how many of us, especially Americans, are overweight and 'super-sized', and couple that thought with how many table top layouts (or even deeper walk-in designs) are built between 36-48 inches high.

If a shelf layout is built at the suggested armpit height, there's no danger of operator girth stomping the scenery like Godzilla.  And another pet peeve - leaning on the layout - is harder to do when the layout is closer to eye level for viewing.

I do appreciate and agree with the points raised about tabletop portability and the assumptions of scale.  Even so, when planning my current shelf layout I tried to plan into the design appropriate gaps that could be 'stretched' or widened if necessary when a move to a new home occurs.  I'll take down the layout, remove the wall brackets, fill the holes and touch up the paint.  I'd have to do the same touch-ups for all the train pictures I'd hang if the layout werent there!

Galen

Another way to get a bigger layout...

AND another GREAT idea for a future "reverse running" article:

"The Wonder Diet that will slim inches off your waistline and add them to your mainline!"

 Course, that would mean we need an MRH reader who is a dietician or nutritionist or physical fitness trainer to submit an article...perhaps for the April First Issue?

Still, let's face it. An

Still, let's face it. An absolute newcomer to the hobby is just wondering if this is something they want to get into. Hence the infamous 36" diameter layout in a kit, at Christmas usually. So Christmas was fun, let's make it bigger, a 4X8 sheet of plywood is pretty easy to assemble, even on an old kitchen table. Well this is pretty cool too but I am getting bored running around a circle. BINGO! A model railroader may be born, and henceforth he/she will discover and search out new ways to get more satisfaction from the hobby. Isn't  this a normal process to learn, expand your skills and even decide if this is want you want to do? A lot of talk has been made about chainsaw layouts. I never understood this as a new concept. Build something knowing I will tear it down. Isn't every layout built this way? Even the Mega level around the house umpteen times my "final dream layout"? In saying this, a 36" circle, leading to a 4X8 are merely what you now call chainsaw layouts. I think the bottom line is that to show a shelf layout to a new comer means the room is a railroad room, when all he/she wants is somewhere to see a train move on some tracks. This can be intimidating. If you profess the chain saw layout then you support the 4X8.  Give em time, they will realize the shelf is the way to go, but not right away. If they do, bonus!

Steve           

I would disagree a bit Steve.

I think the bottom line is that to show a shelf layout to a new comer means the room is a railroad room, when all he/she wants is somewhere to see a train move on some tracks.

If we presume that the beginner is going to put his/her 4x8 in a spare bedroom, the space taken up by the 4x8 table makes the room a dedicated train room because virtually nothing else will fit in with that big table in the center of the room.  A layout made up of small shelves on top of a set of bookcases and perhaps including an entertainment center under one section allows for a model railroad in a multipurpose space.  It could even be a small layout in an office on a book shelf in a corner.