Vigdis' train room
#1
This thread is about my girfriend's train room in our basement, and her D&RGW layout progress. The basement was in a rather poor condition when we bought the house and moved in last year, as these pics clearly show:

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After scrubbing and painting the walls, putting in a new ceiling, replacing the old window, laying a new floor and building new storage shelves, the room looked a lot more inviting, but the framework for the layout still remained for a long time. Today I finally got to finish this last task:

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Svein
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#2
Hi Svein, always good to see what you and your girlfriend are up to. Nice save on the basement! Thumbsup
Mike

Sent from my pocket calculator using two tin cans and a string
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#3
Very nice, looks like you have done a great job prepping the room.
Be Wise Beware Be Safe
"Mountain Goat" Greg


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#4
Cheers Very nice work!
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#5
The difference from the old to the new is like night and day. Thumbsup You did some fine carpentry work also. What are the room dimensions?
 My other car is a locomotive, ARHS restoration crew  
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#6
Always testing my eye, where "measurements" are concerned,
I am guessing that the top of the layout frame is 1320 cm above the floor ( bottom of the window "opening" at 1495 cm ). That would be about 24.5 cm below my eye level ?

I may be off more than I think I am, because I don't know the height of the ceiling, or the lumber dimensions of your shelf supports ( I am figuring them at 19cm X 50cm ). Still, I'm curious to know how close a guess it was. Smile Wink
Looks like a very nice room, now, for a layout. Thumbsup Thumbsup
We always learn far more from our own mistakes, than we will ever learn from another's advice.
The greatest place to live life, is on the sharp leading edge of a learning curve.
Lead me not into temptation.....I can find it myself!
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#7
Thanks guys! It feels really good to finally have finished the room to the point where she can actually start building her layout. To be honest, I don't know why we didn't do this a long time ago.

E-paw: The room measures roughly 290cm x 296cm. Not exactly a huge space to work with, but big enough for a small shelf layout around the walls.

Pete: This time you're a little off, probably because of the low ceiling height of only 188cm, making the framework seem higher than it actually is Wink . Top of the frame is about 116cm above the floor on average (the floor is slanted, so I had to make extensive use of the laser to keep everything level), the legs and rear posts are 36mm x 48mm, and the shelf supports and layout framing is 22mm x 48mm. I figured since the layout sections will be mostly styrofoam and very lightweight, anything bigger would just be overkill.

The shelves are spaced 32cm apart, we have just bought a bunch of plastic boxes with lids for general storage, and I built the shelves with these in mind. Also, the shelves are 50cm deep, while the layout framing on top varies from 65cm at the left and far wall, to 70cm at the right (window) wall.

Svein
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#8
Went shopping for backdrop material today. First we planned to use 1/8" huntonit (masonite in English?), but after extensive searching online, we couldn't find any nearby warehouse carrying this, so we decided to use 4mm plywood instead, with corners of sheet metal rolled to a 6" radius and 90 degree angle, made by Vigdis' father. Nice to have connections in the sheet metal business Wink

However, when I went to pick up the plywood sheets I found 2 sheets of 1/8" huntonit, at almost half the price of the plywood, right next to it! So it's going to be huntonit after all, but with the sheet metal pieces in the corners, since we already had them made.

Svein
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#9
Svein Wrote:Pete: This time you're a little off, probably because of the low ceiling height of only 188cm, making the framework seem higher than it actually is Wink . Top of the frame is about 116cm above the floor on average (the floor is slanted, so I had to make extensive use of the laser to keep everything level), the legs and rear posts are 36mm x 48mm, and the shelf supports and layout framing is 22mm x 48mm. I figured since the layout sections will be mostly styrofoam and very lightweight, anything bigger would just be overkill. Svein

Thank You Svein. That, is exactly why I ask! I would not have guessed that that ceiling was only 6'-2" !!!! A standard U.S. Door, is 6'-8" ( 203 cm ) :o

Not to mention that my "sense of size" measured in mm's is more than slightly off, from "lack of continued use" 357
I'm learning, slowly, but I am learning. 357
We always learn far more from our own mistakes, than we will ever learn from another's advice.
The greatest place to live life, is on the sharp leading edge of a learning curve.
Lead me not into temptation.....I can find it myself!
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#10
Yeah, the basement ceiling is really low, in fact it's too low to be included in the square footage of the house (must be 190 cm at a minimum, normal ceiling height is 240 cm). How ever, if we can make the area useful, that's all that matters. I'm just under 6 feet, and Vigdis is about 5' 6", so it works just fine for us. I have to bend down a little through the doorways though, and I can't remember how many times I've bumped my head, Vigdis has suggested that we put some reflective warning tape on top of the doorframes! Icon_lol

Svein
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#11
Svein Wrote:.... put some reflective warning tape on top of the doorframes! Icon_lol
It is a hardhat area 357
Lots of basements of older houses are that low. A model layout is a perfect use of it.
Reinhard
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#12
The backdrop is in place. The corners are just put there temporary for the pics, when they are glued in place all joints will be spackled and sanded before painting:

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We've also built the swing gate crossing the entrance to the room. Here there will be a curved trestle crossing a gorge, hence the "Y"-shaped construction:

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To secure the gate in its closed position, I wanted to try out a so called ball catch or snap lock. It's very nice and tight, with no play at all in any direction:

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I haven't seen anyone else using this, maybe they know something I don't..?

Svein
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#13
Svein Wrote:...
We've also built the swing gate crossing the entrance to the room. Here there will be a curved trestle crossing a gorge, hence the "Y"-shaped construction:
[Image: 2891_w1200.jpg]
...
That looks good and the lock on the other side is a clever solution. But to be frankly I do not trust the Y shape. there is very little wood that has to sustain changing temperature and changing humidity. 1mm is a lot of gap in the rails and it will become easy 2mm and more when the weather changes. If you want to go with that rather fragile construction I suggest to do it with none wood. Steal or even better aluminum might be better in that position.
I have a solid hatch (15mm quality plywood) covering my door with simple hinges at one side. I do "feel" daily when closing and opening how it becomes longer and shorter.
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However, may be you do a temporary track very soon without any scenery over the gate and live with it for some month (this winter, spring and a hopeful hot summer 2013). That way you can change the construction easy if my pessimistic outlook becomes true.
Reinhard
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#14
If worst comes to worst, and you need to strengthen the "gate" - - -
1/4" plywood, with the exposed wood grain in the same direction as the extended arm, on both faces of it. You could also cut the "cross section" of the gorge, out of the plywood pieces that fill the top of the "Y", to help give it a more "natural" look.
Just a thought.

" Vigdis has suggested that we put some reflective warning tape on top of the doorframes! Icon_lol "

Big Grin or, a sign that reads " So, How many bumps are on your head now ? " Big Grin Big Grin Big Grin
We always learn far more from our own mistakes, than we will ever learn from another's advice.
The greatest place to live life, is on the sharp leading edge of a learning curve.
Lead me not into temptation.....I can find it myself!
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#15
Reinhard: I appreciate your concern, and I have had the same thoughts myself. There will be little or no changes in temperature, albeit some humidity changes may occur. I realize the gate may seem very fragile in the pics, but it's no way near finished yet. All the scenery will be built with styrofoam and spray foam, which is lightweight and (IIRC) "dead" materials. No wood at all in the layout construction itself, only for the support structure below.

Anyway, we're probably going to build just a temporary bridge for now, and see how well the gate performs during the winter. If your worst predictions indeed come true, then we'll just have to deal with it and come up with another solution.

Pete: If you mean covering both sides of the gate with some sort of fascia, that's exactly what we plan to to; huntonit or plywood sheets following the legs of the Y with the top shaped after the scenery.

Svein
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