Help with my First N Scale Layout.

[k0ncept]

Well the bug is back, after having sold off most of my HO stuff I have started with N..

I have a small office in the back, it's where I used to do all my IT work,

It measures 9x11, with there being 5ft 8" from the wall to the doorjam where the desk is located. with that wall being 11ft 4" long or wide however you look at it..


None of the furniture has to stay BUT I want to still be able to keep my computer and TV in here and was thinking of a way to incorporate both and still have a kick ass railroad..

My thought was to build benchwork where I could put the TV Below as well as the DVR, but the other problem I have is my computer, I want to keep the computer in the same room, my hobby room.. Maybe I could build the benchwork to incorporate a desk/ workstation.....


What im looking for in my RR is to model a logging industry, with mountain scenery, Im thinking of some switching, as well as the ability to run 2 or more trains at the same time via my DCC setup.. I could go around the walls or with N scale I might be able to do a dogbone of sorts??, again none of the furniture in this room has to stay, it used to house an old HO Scale around the walls layout that just didnt work as I didnt have the size to do what I wanted..

Now im thinking I can get what I want in N, now im just going crazy as I have built and torn down many a layout in my day, and I want this one to be special and look to be incorporated into the room... This will now be my Model RR room..

I will be using all Kato track as well to eliminate any track issues and same me some time.

Here is looking into the messy ass room as of now. Futon will go for sure lol.



Here is looking out.



One thing for SURE, you need a GOOD pair of these to be working in N Scale lol


any tips/plans/advice would be MOST Welcomed

Thank You...

Dan

 

[beyerswede]

I will take your word for it that the room is 9 X 11, You need to be able to work in a U shaped plan that does nto interfere with the door and you need to remove the wall cabinets. This is the first. The base cabinets and the desk can stay, you can build the layout over the top of them leaving room to work. If you want mountain logging you are talking something such as Oregon. One end could be the loading and one end say a waterfront.

 

[k0ncept]

I will take your word for it that the room is 9 X 11, You need to be able to work in a U shaped plan that does nto interfere with the door and you need to remove the wall cabinets. This is the first. The base cabinets and the desk can stay, you can build the layout over the top of them leaving room to work. If you want mountain logging you are talking something such as Oregon. One end could be the loading and one end say a waterfront.

Well I was thinking more of incorporating the RR as part of the furniture, and having the layout height at approx 34" roughly the same height as the top of the cabinets now.. I want the ability to work out of my task chair and enjoy the trains from my desk.. I was even thinking of incorporating a couple of the cabinet bases for part of the benchwork.. The desk shown in the picture I plan to cut down, that thing is huge, over 32" deep and over 5ft wide. I just dont need a desk this big anymore...

Here is a layout that I like, I believe I could even expand on this given the measurments and open of the curves a bit and maybe even add a little more action?

I pulled this out of 101 track plans.. Im not set on modeling a particular RR, more intrested in freelancing my own creation, mixed with the Sierra Mountains, heading to Oregon, with some logging, fruit, adn who knows what else, maybe even model Jerry Browns empty ass bullet train to nowhere hehehe...

Here let me know what you think of this... I think this would fit where my desk and cabinets are located now, I would remove them, cut the desk down flip it around to the other side of the wall, remove that hated futon, drop the TV, DVR down under the layout in the corner perhaps, then I think I could even expand on this one and maybe even add a staging yard on the other side of the room near my desk, and I could dispatch the trains from there...





and here are hopefully better pics w dimensions.

this is 11ft 4" from wall to wall



and below its 5ft 8" from the wall to the door






This wall below 11ft 4" from end to end with that back wall at 9ft wide to the other side of the room..

 

[joed2323]

I would get the room cleaned up fast. More room the better... N scale you can do alot with that size room

 

[k0ncept]

Thats what is going on right now, the room has not really been used for anything in a long time and became a storage room after the HO Layout was removed, I have been out of IT for over 10 years... The futon is heading out the door here in a second, and those base cabinets are already empty...

 

[joed2323]

just one question! Why did you rip down your old ho layout and sell everything off?

 

[Freighttrain]

Where does the wall that the AC is on go? Outside ?
And what is the height of that from floor ? It may pose a problem for you later on.But the base cabinets i would diffently use as part of the bench if you could alot of storage there.

 

[Freighttrain]

Other then that I see alot of potential and alot of beautiful mountains going up have fun keep us posted

 

[k0ncept]

just one question! Why did you rip down your old ho layout and sell everything off?

I was just frustrated with the lack of room for what I wanted to do, and with N coming so far and variety increasing and the DCC's catching up to what HO has to offer "almost".

I also love to do scenery, and with N I can have longer trains, and more scenery too ...

 

[k0ncept]

Where does the wall that the AC is on go? Outside ?
And what is the height of that from floor ? It may pose a problem for you later on.But the base cabinets i would diffently use as part of the bench if you could alot of storage there.

That wall leads to the outside, this room is just a single room built in the backyard off the Patio, Its like a custom shed, it is insulated, drywalled, stuccoed with a 40 year roof .....

The Height to the bottom of that window "now removed due to 100+ degree heat" is 51 inches, that AC can be moved and is temporary, I could install it somewhere else by cutting a hole in the little house and get it up out of the way.. Then I can either put the window back in or wall it up.

In case you needed the height from the floor to the bottom of the upper wall cabinets, that measures 64 1/2" I was thinking of using the underside of the upper cabinets to house lighting for the layout underneath.

Also thanks for the support, I have been getting ALOT done today, I am hoping to have everything cleared out by tomorrow so I can start some benchwork, I just want to get it right the first time... Been a really long time since I built a layout, over 10 years as a matter of fact....

 

[k0ncept]

some progress on the cleaning as promised


Now I just need to get the Desk Cut down and turned around and place it where that window is on the left, then that will allow me to move those base cabinets to where they fit best and still allow me to build a shelf between them to house the TV and DVR.. Then I should be all set, im thinking of building the layout as a U, as suggested, and place it where the desk and base cabinets are located now in the picture, that would give me 11ft 4" Wide and 5ft 8 deep on the right hand side where the door is, and give me the full 9 ft on the left hand side with the possiblity of branching off and creating a yard on the other side where my desk would be, coming down the left hand side toward the door, OR even a drawbridge to place for a complete around the walls connection.. The possibilities are driving me mad.









http://ddanford.smugmug.com/Other/For-Sale/24449585_WZj5Hn#!i=2103565248&k=vF4FhP5&lb=1&s=A

 

[joed2323]

I still think you should remove those cabinets. That way you can put up a nice backdrop, the cabinets will obstruct the backdrop.

You may still want to remove the desk area, how big is the desk?

Good job on cleaning up the storage unit so far

 

[k0ncept]

that desk is over 5ft wide and 31" deep without pulling out the keyboard, the KB drawer is 16" when it's fully pulled out.. after looking I also agree, I should remove the upper cabinets if I can find a good spot to mount them in maybe my other shed, or garage, or maybe some of them can be incorporated under the layout for storage too....

 

[joed2323]

Thats a good idea, if you put them under your layout you would have good storage...

Get-er-done lets go, cant wait to see some benchwork going up

 

[railfan]

Where are the trains? This is already taking too long!!!




Mike

 

[k0ncept]

Where are the trains? This is already taking too long!!!




Mike

im sweating my old ass off hehe dang hot today! Ok I just got the desk moved and flipped around not cut down, I can do that later.

What I am wondering now is, how wide to make the benchwork? and I am still not dead set on any track plan, and this is REALLY Slowing me down, I am thinking of going with the plan I posted on page 1 with a few changes, but now im thinking if I added a helix or 2 I could really shake things up for some REALLY long running trains... I will be shooting up to home depot and picking up a bunch of 1x4's to get started here in a bit...

 

[joed2323]

I would try and build your bench work to 24 inches wide with your 1x4s.
You could always lay down some plywood over the 24inch wide bench to make it up to 30 inches wide, since you are alittle uncertain. 30 inches is about the max you want to go so you do not have reach issues.

Im not sure if what type of bench work you are wanting to build? The plywood may not work for you if you decide to go L-girder.

I think you should stay 24-30 inch wide range anything else and it will be to wide for your room plus it will be too wide for your arms. If you ended up going bigger then this you could always make access hatches.

Adding a helix or 2 really expands your horizons. You could have staging on the lowest level, staging is a must.

Btw- does that door swing into the inside of the room? If so this may be a issue.

 

[k0ncept]

I would try and build your bench work to 24 inches wide with your 1x4s.
You could always lay down some plywood over the 24inch wide bench to make it up to 30 inches wide, since you are alittle uncertain. 30 inches is about the max you want to go so you do not have reach issues.

Im not sure if what type of bench work you are wanting to build? The plywood may not work for you if you decide to go L-girder.

I think you should stay 24-30 inch wide range anything else and it will be to wide for your room plus it will be too wide for your arms. If you ended up going bigger then this you could always make access hatches.

Adding a helix or 2 really expands your horizons. You could have staging on the lowest level, staging is a must.

Btw- does that door swing into the inside of the room? If so this may be a issue.

Yes that damn door does swing to the inside... Here are some updated pics to get a better idea..

This is when you first enter the room looking to the right



Looking at that same corner from the far corner of the room, from that back wall to the door jamb is 5ft 8"



This is the area to the left of that corner all the way to the left back corner, 11ft 4" in total width.. and that back wall running left to right would be 9ft total...




For the benchwork, I am thinking it will be a combo of 1x4's and playwood, im thinking of using 3/4 ply to run across the cabinets and use them as bases, then in hte areas where I dont have bases, I can use tradional framing, I am worried by just slapping ply on top of the cabinets that wiring might be a problem, but I will come to that when I get there, I am using unitrack, as I cant get any flex track to save my life in N scale and I have to say I am impressed with the way unitrack works, I just dont like it's pre-fabbed look, so I was hoping to maybe use some flextrack here and there where needed, I am pretty good at laying track but uni-track is a no brainer and really easy to work with lol, it either fits or it dont..

What I am hoping to get out of this layout is some decent staging, switching, long running trains, lots of scenery with elevation, mountains..
I want to be able to work in a little logging operation, as well as tie some other industries into the mix even as far down to the Hardware store.. I want to have some breathtaking scenery with the trains flowing I know I want too much, I just need to find a happy medium.. I just need to figure on a good trackplan that I can complete.... With the way the windows are laid out in this room, it seems all the mountains will have to be along the big wall, and any helix's would have to be at either end.. I can actually go wider as well, and leave access underneath if need be in some places, esp the helix areas...

 

[railfan]

For my N scale...I use cheapest ($12 per 4'x8' sheet) one quarter inch panel plywood from lowes.....on top of light benchwork frame made of economy 1"x3" pine sticks....and screw the frame together with fancy 1-1/4" self tapping wood screws.....no pre-drilling needed in soft pine.....goes together quick. Comes out quite strong for N scale. I made this frame to put a door on top of.....but for 1/4" plywood I will add more cross pieces of 1"x3" to screw the thin plywood down to. For me this makes real nice strong super affordable benchwork......but some folks won't trust this lightweight of material. This frame is for a 36" x 80" platform.


Mike

 

[k0ncept]

Nice!! I just got back from HD, nabbed a bunch of 1x4's and some 2x2's and all the playwood I will need.. For the Ply I ended up with 5/8 Fir, it was the best deal they had... I was looking for the correct foam for the top of the plywood, but I didnt see it... I think it's extruded foam correct?

Last time I did a layout we were still using hermosite on top of the ply, I really like the ide of a foam layer to carve as I wish....

Back to HD/Lowes in the AM..