Ocalicreek's Garage Layout Planning Thread

[TrainNut]

Galen! That plan is great as well as your accompanying description! It might need some tweeking here and there but for the most part, I say go with it. It makes my quicky look like dog food!

[ocalicreek]

I' m home so give me a call if you need help with XTRk. I'm not an expert, but I've used it enough lately to get around fairly good.
That plan looks good. Are you still going to build a small layout for now ?

Loren

Yes, I plan on building the small layout while I set aside some hobby money for the layout. Iain Rice has some very good things to say about managing a mid-sized layout project from the perspectives of time, family involvement, and of course, money. Being in a new house with so many other projects competing for time, especially during the summer (read: a chicken coop to build!) I think it best to scrimp and save while working on smaller modeling projects until the Fall.

I may be calling on you for XtrkCad advice, so thanks for your offer!

Galen

[ocalicreek]

Galen! That plan is great as well as your accompanying description! It might need some tweeking here and there but for the most part, I say go with it. It makes my quicky look like dog food!

Thanks, TN! It will most certainly need tweeking since it's only at the mainline/passing siding/grade check stage. I may be able to widen the front curves, and sidings need to be planned. I have already shown one possible spot for a diorama to be included...but there are a couple more to fit on there as well. (PLUS the summer kitbash project may need a home too!).

The Yard may cause me fits, however. I sketched out a very functional basic yard on 24" width, so shifting all the blobs over a bit and shrinking aisles may be in order, along with narrowing the yard down to 18" width (excepting the remaining 2' over the freezer, of course).

Thanks again for your input and suggestions. Please don't stray too far as this plan develops.

Galen

[ocalicreek]

Just an update to let folks know where I'm at with the planning. I have been working my way, slowly but surely, through learning XtrkCad. I think it's time I took my planning skill to the next level, or at least added another tool to the planning toolkit.

The garage space is continuing to progress toward a functional room for model trains & family outdoor stuff. One factor in planning a garage layout is how many neighborhood kids are likely to wander in and look at the trains/workbench/etc. Dr. Wayne's suggestion of walling off a portion of the room would solve most of that issue.

Another planning issue is support and encouragement. I am glad to have a family that supports my hobby interests and is willing to make concessions of time and storage space in order for that to happen. I am also very grateful to this online community for the inspiration provided through your projects as well as the encouragement I have received for my own projects. With limited time and energy to devote to a long, multi-stage project such as a mid-sized train layout in a multipurpose room, staying energized and focused on a goal is very important.

Galen