Floor plan?

Can you give us an actual floor plan of the Bonus Room?

Bonus Room Floor Plan

I will have to measure it out in detail.  I will see what I can come up with.  It may not be pretty.

Den

semi-accurate sketch?

A good sketch with overall dimensions will do

What do you like?

Part of the decision may hinge on what sort of layout and operation you like.  It sounds like you're leaning toward some sort of continuous running, rather than a point to point operation.  Also, what are your tolerances for heat and cold?  I have a woodworking shop in my garage, and for about 6 months out of the year it's miserable to try to spend any length of time out there.  A big fan and a lot of iced tea helps.

Is there any chance of getting heat and air in the garage at some point?  Would you be able to take over the garage completely, or would you have to share it with other family needs?

"a 10x6 foot layout island table top style in the room "

If a 10 X 6 layout plus room to walk around it will fit in the room then you could probably build a better around the wall layout in there because you wouldn't need to waste space to walk around the outside of it. ...DaveB

Here is a rough sketch of the Bonus Room.

I did a rough sketch.  It is not to scale. If someone wants to draw it to scale in a CAD program I would appreciate it.  As you can see the room has some drawbacks.

I'm considering the area from the hallway door over to the window.  That window is 26 inches from the floor.  The door to the deck is the only door out to the back yard.  That door is used often.  I don't need a complicated layout. Just a little operation with continuous running with vignettes for photography.

I have even considered doing the San Juan Central in the space with modifications to the yard,  Make the yard larger and to place a wye coming out of the yard so a train could depart in two directions.

Then there is a plan that Chris Comport sent me that is a 10x6 island layout.  He said it was one that was never built.  However, it has no yard for cars.  However, that could be resolved by adding a shelf to the layout on the engine terminal side .  I will ask him if I can share it here.

I don't want to use up the entire room as I need my space for a workbench and tools for modeling.  The wife states the room is all mine.

Den

The Bonus Room!

"take the bonus room despite the various drawbacks"

for sure, It's bigger than the room I'm building a layout  in now.  Two short lift-outs across those doors and it would be a nice long run around the walls. .DaveB

I'd go bonus room as well.

Bonus room

I think the comfort considerations far outweigh any of the drawbacks.

Michael

"the comfort considerations far outweigh any of the drawbacks"

and the older you get the more you'll feel that way :> ) ......DaveB

The bonus room for three reasons:

Spare room or Garage?

I can see your dilemma, each room has its own pros and cons. My first choice would be the spare room. I see the somewhat irregular space as a challenge rather than a problem, no the biggest drawback here is that there is a frequently used passage way diagonally across the room to get to the back door. Is there any chance of shifting the exterior door to the other end of the same wall. This would divert the through traffic to across the end of the room and open up the opportunity of a semi around the walls type oval layout.

My own layout is in a basement garage and to be honest the only worse room I can think of is an uninsulated attic. Though we live in a temperate climate the room is cool in summer and freezing in winter. It is impossible to keep out wind blown dirt when the door is open and the humidity goes to extreme when a wet car is parked up. I also have a battle worthy of a Hitchcock film with spiders. Still in the absence of another suitable room the space works for me.

Moving the door.