200 pop rivets later I have finished installing the ceiling grid over the layout. The upper valance is now solid as a rock. Check out the curved and corner areas. PIA to measure and layout but results are well worth it. I am happy. For more pics and details of the installation: http://www.lkorailroad.com/lighting-panel-grid/

Up next - install the party lights strings.

Now that's grid-tacular.

To help make some sense of the progress to follow...

Very nice, Alan- looks like museum quality design and craftsmanship. I am anxious to see the lighting installation. Quick question- what did you use to draw the profile picture that you used in your "Coming Soon" post?

And sorry about the subject line- I couldn't resist picking up on Rob's play on words...

Tom Patterson 

Absolutely love this work.   I am curious as to the length from the floor to the bottom of the joist's in this basement?

My basement is 7 feet from floor to joist bottom and I'm 6'-2" tall....I dont know what they were thinking when they built my house!

Quick question- what did you use to draw the profile picture that you used in your "Coming Soon" post?

Adobe Illustrator CS4

I am curious as to the length from the floor to the bottom of the joist's in this basement?

92-5/8"

My basement is 7 feet from floor to joist bottom and I'm 6'-2" tall....I dont know what they were thinking when they built my house!

A lot of older homes, pre 60's had short basements.  In those days they were mechanical, storage and food cellars.  It wasn't until the last 30 years or so did people found they need more space.  Both for living and recreation,  In fact my earliest memories of basements (I lived in SoCal) with living space was the "Brady Bunch".  In movie culture basements are still portrayed something other than living space.  "Home Alone" showed the space as a dark cluttered area that presented fear to young children, "Signs" showed a similar space.  The only other movie I can think of off top of my head is "Cats & Dogs" and the basement in this case was a laboratory.  Of course in TV culture "Home Improvement" had a few episodes that showed what the basement was and became over the course of family life.

The list is not intended to be inclusive, just demonstrate that as a society, the basement is thought of first as a dreary place vs a warm living space.  Which is why many a model railroader has access to a basement.  If you look at homes pre 30's, you will even find earth floors and stone walls.  I myself re-built my home which originally had a basement ceiling height of 84" which now has a ceiling height of 97" from concrete to bottom of floor truss.

Back to the subject at hand.  Alan you project is coming along very nicely!  Have fun cutting all those tiles...LOL
 

Our house, built in 2003, has a PWF. We spec'ed this type of basement construction method because we intended from the get-go for the basement to be just another floor of the house. Hence the standard ceiling height. It was a way to effectively double the living space square footage of the house without doubling the price tag. This is also the reason why we placed all of the house mechanicals together at one end of the basement. It made for some long plumbing runs and necessitated a couple instant water heaters in the master bath but well worth it because it made the basement free and clear of any usual basement stuff.

Once the train room is complete it will look and feel like any other room in the house.

I'm still not sold on Permanent Wood Foundations.  They are still relatively new to the world of construction and it hasn't been proven how long they will actually last.  After the flood here in Minot, I'm not as standoffish as I once was but I'm still not sold.  Of all the basement failures in the city not one was a PWF.  IMHO ICF's are still the best solution for basements. 

You also have to keep in mind building codes only allow for PWF up to a depth of 48".

Again Alan, your doing a great job.

You also have to keep in mind building codes only allow for PWF up to a depth of 48".

In Michigan we are permitted up to 120" depth (2x8's) or 96" depth (2x6's) minus appearance board height minus 6". Backfill is limited to 86" not to exceed bottom of appearance board minus 2". For backfill depths over 48" the pea stone depth spec is different and framing anchors (hurricane straps) are required but otherwise same same. Even though they knew exactly why, still the framers found it fun to joke about hurricane straps on a house in Michigan.

The bottom of the windows you see in my train room are 14" above grade on the outside which makes the backfill roughly 60-70% depth on these walls.