Ideas for wall surround

[dstern350]

I am new to HO and modelling.

My space is width-limited and I am looking at running a 2foot wide table around the room in a "J" shape - 14' straight, right turn, 8' straight, right turn, 4' straight. At the top of the 14' I can envision a thinner run, maybe another 4' to stage trains. I like the idea of having a larger yard on one end, a smaller yard on the other, and a long run for passing through residential, industrial, and a rise through a mountain. Am I being overly ambitious for this square footage?

Thanks.

 

[IronBeltKen]

If I had that size & shape of space, I would focus first on locating some lineside industries (in order to be able to do switching operations), a paved highway that reaches them, and perhaps a depot if I wanted to to run passenger trains. Then I'd find whatever space I had left for residential structures. As for the mountain - I'd maybe put that in a corner with a tunnel as a camouflaged scene divider; I'd avoid having an unnecessary grade since it would limit the length of my trains.

But that's just me - your mrr dreams and desires may be totally different. Have you read John Armstrong's Track Planning book? If not, I'd strongly recommend doing that before laying any permanent trackwork.

 

[Pacodutaco]

That size will make a nice point to point layout. There are lots of ideas for this kind of layout in books like 101 Layouts or 101 More Layouts and of course you can find many ideas on the internet.

 

[Railrunner130]

Personally, I'd make sure to loop the ends so that you can have continuous operation. That'll take about four feet square. If you've got more space for it, that would work great.

Here's what I've got going on. It's long-term, temporary, but it has a good run.

 

[montanan]

Here's a cheap, strong and quick way to mount the benchwork to the wall. I use half inch rigid electrical conduit. Flatten the ends, drill a couple of holes in each end and screw one end to the inside of the facia and the lower end to the studs in the wall. I have had 200 plus poud people put their entire weight on the outside edge and the benchwork didn't budge. The benchwork is made from 1 x 4s screwed together. This is an old cabinet makers trick and works extremely well.

If you enjoy switching, this would be a great platform for a layout.