12-24-2009, 01:51 PM
Hey, Gary, the old hands always know the best way is the only way - since they know only one way,it must be the best one! 
The interest in trains has been with me at least back to when I was three years old. The real ones, steam at first, were right across the street from our front door.
When I designed the house, I had a train layout in mind, but not one in particular, which was probably a good thing, as I "lost" large parts of the layout room (which was supposed to be the entire basement - about 1200 sq. ft.) to "other uses". I'd prefer to have the layout in a separate building, as then I could have visitors whenever I wanted, since, as it stands now, the powers-that-be have nixed visits from all but long-standing personal acquaintances. In reality, a separate structure for the layout (even if we go ahead and build another house) is impractical, cost-wise, as it would require both heating and cooling, neither of which are needed in the basement.
I had a rough sketch (no dimensions other than the room size) of a trackplan, of which I managed to save only a few elements when the room size got "adjusted", so the current layout was built-to-fit, with the "trackplan"
evolving as I worked my way around the room and through a pile of lumber. I know what I want to include if I ever get around to building the long-delayed second level, but if I ever build a totally new layout, it will be an example of "less is more", with less track (figuratively speaking) but longer runs between towns, and fewer towns.
Wayne
Gary S Wrote:When you built your house, did you already have your layout in mind and fashion the basement accordingly? Or did your interest in trains come later?
The interest in trains has been with me at least back to when I was three years old. The real ones, steam at first, were right across the street from our front door.
When I designed the house, I had a train layout in mind, but not one in particular, which was probably a good thing, as I "lost" large parts of the layout room (which was supposed to be the entire basement - about 1200 sq. ft.) to "other uses". I'd prefer to have the layout in a separate building, as then I could have visitors whenever I wanted, since, as it stands now, the powers-that-be have nixed visits from all but long-standing personal acquaintances. In reality, a separate structure for the layout (even if we go ahead and build another house) is impractical, cost-wise, as it would require both heating and cooling, neither of which are needed in the basement.
I had a rough sketch (no dimensions other than the room size) of a trackplan, of which I managed to save only a few elements when the room size got "adjusted", so the current layout was built-to-fit, with the "trackplan"
evolving as I worked my way around the room and through a pile of lumber. I know what I want to include if I ever get around to building the long-delayed second level, but if I ever build a totally new layout, it will be an example of "less is more", with less track (figuratively speaking) but longer runs between towns, and fewer towns.Wayne