Hi everyone, you can guess where this is going!

I am currently in discussions with the bureau of local land management (also known on the forums as the FD!), and I may be able to grab a dream layout space in the coming year or two.

Speaking to that space: one dimension is fixed by the existing walls/room, and a very exciting 18' 1" (550cm)

However, the second dimension is the subject of a new partition wall that will divide the attic. The organic proposed dimension is 10' 10" (330cm).

- For a few structural reasons this cannot go any smaller (which is great!). Nor would I want it to, of course.
- It can become a little larger (which is also great!), but only if I can justify it: it would have to unlock a major breakthrough in layout planning. We are talking a max of maybe one foot/30cm without too much stress. Extending 1-2 feet/30-60cm is very difficult, but I don't want to rule that out.

I am curious what all of your thoughts are? Of course bigger is better, but there are sacrifices up to that additional 1 foot, and major cost implications if going between 1-2 feet (related to construction)

I think it all comes down to layout curves. There is no track plan, but a "U" shaped design is likely the direction I'm headed in. C track, wide radius is the plan.

Thoughts? I know this seems like an odd question, but somewhere is a person who has lived through this and can give a valuable insight. to give an example: If this were a DC layout in US prototype, the magic number is 11.5 feet. (a pair of 24" radius curves with trim, and 3 feet to walk in between...)

Edited by user 09 March 2023 06:48:32(UTC)  | Reason: Not specified

John-my layout is 22' x 12.5'. It is a walk in U shape with R3 (single track) helix's on each side. My room was 12.5' wide, but you could get away with 10' 10" as that would give you a 2'10" opening between each side of the layout (4' each). I would try to get an extra foot, if possible, but you could make it work. PM me if you want more details or maybe even a quick Zoom or WhatsApp video tour.

mark

Thanks guys! All excellent points. Keep the ideas and inputs coming!

Miguel- exactly what I was thinking.

Mark- I'd love to see your progress! I'll get in touch offline

rbw993- indeed I might need to do that to accomodate the entry doorway anyhow

Thanks all! Keep the suggestions coming!

Adjusting for a few "dreams" (or "worst case scenarios") All three of you have contributed to my most realistic case: Miguel and Mark's math adjusted for the fact I'm not a big guy, but want an r3/4 mainline needing a little more diameter. This meets RBw's staggered approach and there is a solution in there somewhere!

Very interesting topic! Looking at my own layout room, I decided to optimise layout size. The need of free space for visitors or assisting workers ranked 3rd, as I’m alone in the room 99.9 % of the time. 2nd though, came my need of ”work and control” space. I decided to have a small desk for computer control with two flat screens, the desk could also be used for small soldering tasks etc. This desk is actually located under a part of the layout. Larger tasks like sawing and milling boards, I have mainly done outside in the garden. The winter season have sometimes caused temperature and/or snow constraints here in Sweden, which I guess the California sun doesn’t…

The layout itself is restricted to 6 x 2 meters, and resulted in a very narrow U shape; approx. 70 cm layout + 60 cm space + 70 cm layout, at the ”waist”. Building the layout, I was very happy I spend some time securing layout access during the planning phase. There are some areas with reversing loops and helixes, where the 70 cm ”rule” is N/A, this has been solved with two ”manholes”.

If I could have expanded the 2 meter dimension, I would probably have expanded the free space between the U legs a little. I’m very satisfied with the dogbone track topology. Trains seems to run point-to-point, I never get the feeling of trains running round-and-round (as they actually do). Having even more space, I would therefore have expanded the layout towards a G-shape, rather than a W-shape. (However, a W-shape could be very useful if you are interested in having a roundhouse and loco yard, placing it in the wider, reachable, mid leg.)

Can a private layout be too large? Well, it’s a hobby, it should take some time to build, without deadlines. For me, it has been important to build section by section, making it possible to have some nice running of trains from time to type. A plywood landscape is also a landscape!

Great thread! Some very helpful information has already been posted.

I will have a new house with a new train room this summer and I have not yet started layout planning. I will take a look at the house plans and see what my available space might be. The room is not huge and it will have some other uses beyond trains, so I am concerned about having enough train "room" as it were.

This thread is going to be a big help as I start my planning.

One thing that you might also want to consider is, what if you ever want to move house? Will the layout have to be demolished or will you build it in such a way that the parts can fit through the door and be reconstructed at another location?

Carim

You mean this bible?

Found my copy as I was cleaning out preparing for the upcoming move. This copy is 50 years old (at least)!

Never without my Armstrong reference book! I am the proud owner of a 1998 edition.

It has been my experience that anything you do has to have a plan before building, whether it be a house or a model railroad. I know not everyone has the ability to draw to scale, but that is what is needed. In my case, I have been using Autocad software that enables me to produce a scale drawing of the layout. before the first piece of framework is ever cut. Doing it without a scale plan, is almost impossible to do. It can be done, but not without a lot of mid course changes. The plan will not turn out the way you imagine without a detailed plan. I suggest that you familiarize yourself with some basic drawing tools and create what you want to scale on paper before trying to build. If this is to be a fixed layout, one that will always occupy your available space or a layout that needs to be broken down into convenient sizes for moving will require software (scale drawing). That will always be the first step in any building project.

A German saying to be heeded (replace house by MRR layout):

"You’re building your first house for your enemy, your second one for your friend and your third one for yourself."