If you keep the benchwork

If you keep the benchwork fairly simple a 15x20 foot space shouldn't be too much for a lone wolf to build. Whether you'll enjoy operating it will depend on whether you still like the same sorts of things about a layout once it's done that you liked when you started.

Might I suggest spending as much time as possible at other layouts either visiting or running trains?

If you're planning on a multiple deck layout with a helix, I'd suggest waiting until you're sure that's what you will really like (but your can build some switching or other practice layouts in the meanwhile).  Also, are you sure you'll be a lone wolf operator -- if you build something nice you might be surprised by other modelers coming out of nowhere who'd like to help build or run.

Cheers,

Charlie

Size?

Design a layout that can be expanded without major surgery. Start small and add some more as you feel comfortable with. If it starts feeling just like another job cut back some.

I have a 7X11 Shelf Layout

 I started in April of 2006. Trains were running in 3 or 4 months. In 5 years its nearly complete albeit for details and weathering. I did not rush a thing.

Here it is....

What is Your Time Horizon?

Some people need instantaneous gratification while others are satisfied with a long term vision and incremental progress towards it. Only you know which you are. Many will suggest starting small as a learning adventure and to get trains running in a relatively short time frame. This is very good advice for the vast majority of people. If, on the other hand, you can stay focused on the end result and don't lose the faith because trains aren't running then perhaps a large layout is just the thing.

I tend to be a person on this side of the fence. My layout space is 24x28. I started with an empty unfinished basement a year and a half ago. Before I built the first piece of benchwork I completely finished the entire basement including new walls, doors, sheetrock, painting, trim, lighting, plumbing, and wiring. My interest level in trains is higher now than before I started yet actual "train" work didn't start until just a few weeks ago.

I fully anticipate it will be another year, perhaps longer, before my first train moves on rails. But that is OK because I have a long term vision in mind that someday I will achieve albeit at a snail's pace. While the layout design is relatively large and I certainly qualify as a lone wolf, it will be fun to operate even if only a single train is moving. And as has been said before, when a layout appears operators tend to materialize. When that day comes I'll be ready with a layout large enough to keep several crews busy enjoying running a railroad.

Chessie_077

I work as a single operator and have for 50 years. The largest has filled a 25 X 25 foot Garage with more than 500 feet of track with a large portion of that being 3 hidden yards. This was my last DC layout and I used Cab control able to run 4 complete Trains at the same time and I had 3 other controllers for three Yards.

It was a little hectic at times but I managed to do it alone for the 8-1/2 years while the layout was still running.

Since then I started a 30 X 60 foot and realized I was way above my ability to control that large of a layout with more than 1 train. so before I had the first 10 feet of base more than just framed and road just started I decided to reduce the size,  two days later in a Thunder storm that building burned to the ground due to a lightning strike.

Now I'm in the middle of constructing a 15X22 Railroad in My basement with plans to expand into a 30X12 foot room in a few years. The area you are planning is not too large for a single operator as long as you don't have plans of running more than 2 trains and a switcher at the same time. where the two trains are on their own tracks and your switching a yard separate from the main lines.

I would just not get too far ahead of your personal abilities and the 15X20 foot area you wish to build will be a very good size for a personal Railroad.

One thing I have found is it will cost close to $800.00+ to build, scenic, wire, and paint each level with Track and turnouts will being about 45 - 60% of that cost and that's not including the time you will use to construct it nor the cost of structures and rolling stock and engines not to mention tools needed for all aspects of the hobby. In my 30 years of marriage

My wife has kept a running tab on my spending on my Railroads and tools. She told me I have spent in excess of $72,000.00 in the past 30 years we have been together and that's only what she knows about .

This is my two cents worth of what I have experienced over the past 50 years

Good luck and I feel you have a nice size area for a personal RR that you can also share with friends.

Building and running a large layout

My previous layout was in a 30’x30' L-shaped room with a 7'x30' shop/staging yard. Except for the initial benchwork, I built the whole thing myself. I did have a local "operating crew" that helped me run it though - it was designed for a crew of 10-12 people. I prefer to build by myself and host operating sessions.  I actually enjoyed rail-fanning the layout during operating sessions but would run trains if someone forgot to show up. The layout was 24 years old when it was torn down for a move.

It was not too large to build by myself but maintenance was beginning to be a chore due to its age.  Things began to wear out after awhile. I held op sessions twice a month and I found myself spending most of the time preparing for them. I used a car forwarding scheme that was "self-adjusting" so op session set-up was not a problem but cleaning wheels and track and fixing broken stuff was taking its toll. 

My new layout is in a 24'x32' building and will be partially double decked.  I am again doing all the construction myself and the layout is designed for less intensive operating sessions with a max of 5 operators once per month. It is based on a prototype short line and can be easily run alone or with up to 5 people. This one is designed to allow more time to be spent on modeling rather than operation and maintenance.

I would suggest that this is the max size you would want to do alone.  if you want something larger, make sure you have dedicated helpers or join a club. 

how big

thanks for all the input i think i was worrying about nothing.  the idea is to have 1 train running unatended whilst switching or if i want run a mainline freight with the helpers. if i do not overcomplicate the construction i will be fine. i will have potential for multiple operators but i also want to just watch my highly detailed locomotives and rolling stock negotiate their way through signature scenes. the bench work will be 30 inches deep at the deepest pont as it will be a shelf type layout so construction should go fairly well. i am a long term goal person so if it takes me 10 years to build then thats ok as i will have 10 years of enjoyable hobby time.

Dan

Measure Your Reach

Beware of 30" depth benchwork. 24" is a popular maximum. Depending upon height you may not be able to reach the rearmost portion of it. While in the planning stage it is a good idea to do a mock-up of benchwork height and depth. Test to see if you reach over the scenery and rolling stock. Otherwise you may find yourself needing a stool to stand on which over the long term can become a pain.

If deep benchwork is needed to create a particular scene then you might consider having a lift-out area for access. I too have an area that is deep benchwork but it is scenery only, no trains at the rear. The whole back scenery area is a lift-out.

measure your reach

i have had deep scenes in the past which were a pain so i refuse to have track any more than 20 inches from the front of the layout. it is hard to handlay track that is so deep in the scene. i have a  pre set restriction of 20 inche so anything deeper than that is purely scenery. thanks for the great advice.

Dan

40 inch Table Tops for scenery view is Not for everyone

wider tops Yet all tracks are within 22 inches from the front edge. I built my last Railroad with 40 inch bases so I could get distance for rolling hills fields and cities set back away from the tracks as well as some ocean front. I wish I had some pictures to show you.

Many Model Railroaders think they need to have track running on every square inch of space on their railroad. This can be a problem if you build the shelf wide and have tracks 30 and 40 inches out of reach from the front edge of the shelf.

If you ever fly in a small private plane and follow the tracks and I mean any RR tracks. You will see miles and miles of single and sometimes double tracks running through the country, mountains and small towns with vast amounts of land around them lacking any sidings other then a passing section of track.

I know most people don't have that kind of room but, for those that do have a little extra space, adding that extra foot or 2 for scenic value can really make the railroad look more like the prototype. Placing a lift out town or part of a city that is removable for cleaning the back half of the table and to access the back portion of the table for adding details on the work bench set back farther then18 to 24 inches from the front tracks can help make for a more convincing scenic look.

If you have the room, build your shelf's 40 to 48 inches wide and at the same time keep all your tracks in the area 24 inches or less from the front edge. This way you can reach all your tracks and cars without laying your body across the front tracks and breaking things in the forward area.

Should you want to build a small lake with tracks running around the back edge of that lake farther back then the 24 inches and allowing you to get a more distant look as your trains circles around the lake then you have the area to do it. You can also use the extra rear area for constructing fields of wheat or corn. You may want a cattle ranch with the cattle spread out across a large area or pens with sheep and other live stock in your background as well as the barn, out buildings and the main ranch house back away from where the train passes through the area.

I used this method to build a part of the south western dessert on my last RR with high flat top mountains partially made of plaster and partially painted onto the back drop which a good friend of mine painted for me because frankly my mural back drop painting stinks.

I also had an area of the pacific ocean with the ocean in the foreground and the tracks set back 18 inches from the front of the table top that ran for 16 feet and a plaster Mountain behind it and the center-line backdrop helped in blocking the view from the opposite side of the Island type table section of the RR (this area was 6 feet wide with the divider down the center). Then on the opposite side was the desert and the viewer couldn't see the ocean from there.

A wider Shelf gives you a little better depth than just a back drop if that is something you may want.

As I said this type of setup isn't for everybody but it makes for different and unique type of model railroad with wider shelves and island type of RR with a more majestic look then most narrow shelf model railroads.

I wish I had that extra room now but that is for my next RR.

Now don't get me wrong!  There is nothing wrong with building your RR with narrow shelves as in the mushroom type construction and for multiple shelf type RR in small rooms to extend runs of your trains may be a much better way of building your Railroad. I'm just saying you don't have to completely rule out wider tops to build your RR on. You just need to keep the tracks in the forground in most a cases to help avoid accidents when reaching over your trains.

Track Density

One factor to consider is that track density is a big factor in how manageable your railroad is. If you are concerned about complexity, build in longer distances between towns. It takes a lot less effort to build, operate, and maintain a single track moving through, say, 12" wide scenery then to build a complex town with lots of structures and complicated track work. Use your space to make a more open layout with larger aisles. Have long runs between towns. It will make for a very satisfying layout that gives you a stronger sense of going from "here" to "there".

Another factor to consider is that very often once a layout gets built, people will somehow make themselves available to help you operate it :0.

Chris

Here is what I would do: Phases

 I have a space a little smaller than that. Because it is my bedroom, I do not want to have 65 sq. feet of unfinished and inoperable layout sitting around, so I have gone modular. My theory is to build a bit of the railroad at a time, and build sections so that the first section I build (Phase 1) is operable on it's own, the first and second sections (Phase 2) complement each other, and that all three sections (Phase 3) make up the whole railroad.

One benefit to the modular method is that you can learn as you go along. For example, for me, it will likely be the case that I completely redo section 1 in an unofficial Phase 4 to higher standards that I learned when building sections 2 and 3, so if something goes wrong, all you must do is redo it.

Hope this helps!

Dan makes a good point that is sometimes overlooked.

When you are checking for how far you can reach comfortably to determine how far back your farthest rrack should be placed, put something such as a shoe box or such in the front of the benchwork and reach over it.  If you bump it when reaching over, you would also damage any detailed structure, tree, or what ever you might place in the foreground.  Using a step stool to reach over an obstruction to rerail a piece of rolling stock occasionally might not be an issue.  Having to carry one around the layout in order to uncouple cars without damage to scenery & structures would be a huge pain.