Right of Way Negotiations

Ahh, Right-of-Way negotiations, the trickiest part of planning. When we moved last summer I was allotted the entire 24'X22' garage. Then came the chest freezer, shop tools, and the furniture that could not find a home in the home. The railway now occupies 12'X2' and I can build/operate for 2 months, in the winter. In HO scale, it's not a lot of room. I should have hired a lawyer. Stand your ground. We've moved twice and now have a five-year-old. Each time the train area decreased. Next time I'm instituting Eminent Domain.

I would try to bargain for a shelf loop off the upper deck and around the "NO TRAINS" area if the entire region cannot be obtained. This could be a family room/part-time crew lounge if things go well. Good Luck.

bcarhoff

Can you post a floor plan?

Your electrical panel and furnace need to be kept clear of obstructions.  If you post a floor plan showing where the railroad can go and all of the obstructions in the area including the furnace and the electrical panel, folks here can probably help you with a foot print for your layout that will not block things.

Basic Dimensions

Should have taken these dimensions down a long, long time ago.  As you can see, there are several inconveniences in my soon-to-be layout room.  Taking some quick measurements, I determined the height from the slab to the bottom of the joists to be 6'9".  This is even less when the carrier beam is factored in: 6'5".  Although these are hardly limitations, the base of each window sits at 60" about the slab, making a double-deck layout near impossible without interfering with window operation. 

I also have considerably less room than anticipated between the furnace and the foundation: 8'7".  My objective is to have an around-the-wall, point-to-point layout with a central peninsula.  This will be possible to accomplish, but I will have to either sacrifice aisle width or mainline run to maintain full access (and airflow) to the furnace.

The last, and most severe, impediments on my layout are the two utilities.  The gas meter sits about 54" from the slab and 43" from the corner.  This doesn't take into account the delivery pipe protruding through the foundation about 2' from the slab.  The electrical box is in an even worse location, sitting 46" from the slab and, since the foundation is bare, protrudes a good 5" into the room.

I haven't attempted negotiations with the boss as of yet but, if possible, I may be able to utilize some of the remaining half of the basement.  The only reason I didn't choose the "right" side over the "left" is because our washer/drier will be moved to the basement and all the plumbing is on the "right" side.

With 1' Grid

To assist others in visualizing your space to scale:

Show off!

Ha! Well that looks a lot better!

Thanks!

Is the area under the stairs open?

The answer could factor in to how to access the furnace for maintenance.  I'm also presuming that the plumbing for the gas and water meters are inside the room but not enclosed in the wall?  We don't have basements here in Cali, so I'm not sure how everything is done in basements.  Looking at it, I think the electrical panel, the furnace, and the drain clean out are where they have to stay, and need to be left in the clear, but could the gas meter be moved down the wall to a spot nearer the water meter?  The pipe could be covered by bench work without a problem, but the actual meter needs to have access.  If the meter could be moved down the wall, that would open up that side of the room considerably. 

Thought of that but...

...all the utilities - including gas and water - sit where they sit.  The cost of moving either would be overwhelming (especially the gas meter). The water meter isn't so much in the way and, looking at what I have to work with, I just might have to "file a petition" to build near there - even if it's just a staging yard (I'm running point-to-point). It would've been nice for the original builders to consider grouping these things in one location but, here in New England, the dollar speaks first and final over the needs of the customer.

Under the stairs is "open" but unworkable due to the low ceilings which do not allow a man of my stature (6'2") to access this area freely.  When we get around to replacing the carrier beam (main beam supporting the house), this area will harbor the only two supporting columns (right now, there are about a dozen haphazardly strewn lolly columns which act as nothing more than a band-aid to the bigger issue which is two sagging joists that are causing a 3" dip in my floor).  The furnace also partially occupies this area.

Moving Utilities

I hear you on the cost of moving utilities, thou some have said it is money well spent so I'll ask, have you priced moving the Gas meter.

And you said you were switching to natural gas, does that involve a new heater, and is it in already? You might consider rotating it 90 degrees from where it shows on the plan so it runs from a bit under the stairs out toward the sewer clean out. It would open up the train side of the space a lot. I bet moving a furnace, even one just recently installed would not be as costly as moving the electrical panel or gas meter.

And speaking of Gas meter, consider flanking it on both sides with large view blocks and just passing one or two tracks behind or in front of it. Or cover it with a removable 'structure' (three walls of a large factory) that the tracks pass behind, or even jog in front of.  

If out could move rotate the furnace it might make enough room to do a Z shaped plan where the main yard was one side of the diagonal instead of on one of the (obstructed) walls.

Good Luck,

Bob Courtney

To be honest, I didn't even

To be honest, I didn't even consider repositioning the furnace.  We haven't done the conversion yet so I could essentially place the furnace wherever I wish (so long as it is to code).  The new furnace will be significantly smaller and all of the basement's ductwork is being redone to allow for more headroom clearance and overall efficiency.

I spent some time last night in the basement playing with some measurements and have come to terms with the gas meter.  It is in the way but I can hide it behind the backdrop.  I hadn't considered running a line behind the meter so I'll check the clearances tonight - thanks for the idea!  Unless an emergency (like a gas leak) comes up, I can't see the need to have open access to the meter so a proprietary "Emergency Drop Out Panel" will be installed with magnets so that I can literally punch the panel out of the way - allowing it to fall to the floor - in case of a major gas emergency. 

The electrical panel is of greater concern because 1) it will need to be instantly accessible, 2) it sits a mere 54" off the slab, in the way of everything, 3) it would bankrupt me to relocate!  My initial thoughts are to have a sliding panel built into my backdrop that I can "flick" open.  Once again, I'll be forced to jog around the front of it, although it won't be nearly as drastic (or noticeable) as the gas meter.

Right now I'm working on a rough draft of the track plan and basic benchwork positioning.  I probably won't get this completed (well, it'll be done but the first 50 drafts will wind up in the trash ) for at least a week, so keep your eyes open!

Thanks for all the comments so far!