I am planning on moving and need to downsize my layout. I have 4 4x8 boards and some connective boards that are 2 feet wide and 10 feet long. I am interested to know how other HO scale people maximize their space and layout. I am thinking about a two story layout. Since a picture is worth a thousand words, I would appreciate any photos or images of layouts so as i can apply to my situation.
Layout downsizing
- Thread starter illyad2
- Start date
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JeffH
Well-Known Member
Sounds like you have plenty of wood 
The issue is reach. If you can reach in from all 4 sides, a 4'x8' sheet of plywood, then perfect. But if one edge is up against a wall, you will have a hard time reaching all the way to the wall.
If you have a bunch of 2' wide boards that are 10' long, they would be great to use up against a wall, as you could easily reach everything on the "shelf"
Often times, by going "around the room" along walls, you end up with a lot more track than you could fit onto tables that are floated in a room.
I was given a BUNCH of wood, and I have a large area, so I ended up with a Big U shape that floats in the middle of the room. And in my instance, I didn't really have walls I could easily use for an "around the room" type layout.
So if you want to float, I would say a big inverted U that is 16 feet wide by 12 feet long
But if you must end up with one edge along a wall, then your best option may be a "shelf" style layout with 2 or 3 foot wide boards along the wall so you can reach to the wall if necessary.
The issue is reach. If you can reach in from all 4 sides, a 4'x8' sheet of plywood, then perfect. But if one edge is up against a wall, you will have a hard time reaching all the way to the wall.
If you have a bunch of 2' wide boards that are 10' long, they would be great to use up against a wall, as you could easily reach everything on the "shelf"
Often times, by going "around the room" along walls, you end up with a lot more track than you could fit onto tables that are floated in a room.
I was given a BUNCH of wood, and I have a large area, so I ended up with a Big U shape that floats in the middle of the room. And in my instance, I didn't really have walls I could easily use for an "around the room" type layout.
So if you want to float, I would say a big inverted U that is 16 feet wide by 12 feet long
But if you must end up with one edge along a wall, then your best option may be a "shelf" style layout with 2 or 3 foot wide boards along the wall so you can reach to the wall if necessary.
Selector
Well-Known Member
You can get a lot of track by running around the perimeter of a room if the room must be shared. Above shoulder height, you can run a single track on a foot-deep shelf supported by brackets. Maybe in one corner, something more substantial that has the around-the-room tracks meeting it on either end. On the main body, a deeper shelf of maybe 3', you can have a small yard and passenger station.
As stated by JeffH, reach is always a big problem. The deeper the shelf or benchwork surface, the more you'll need to drag stools or something so that a reach to the back doesn't have your belly or an elbow sweeping nicely situated and expensive items off of their moorings, or breaking them altogether. That is why people change scales as they reduce, or they learn to live with switching layouts...which can be quite clever and involved, and offer many hours of satisfying playing.
If you're really sweet on two layers, will be they access the other layer? This invites complication, expense, and will require ramps. Model trains don't appreciate ramps any more than their prototype counterparts do. It takes power, and weight (tractive effort) to pull trailing tonnages up against gravity. If you opt for grades between two layers, you'll either need to make them very steep (good luck!) or accept that they should be gradual and functional. Gradual and functional, say at about 3% or less, means running around the room....no matter how you look at it in that confined space you seem to be contemplating.
As stated by JeffH, reach is always a big problem. The deeper the shelf or benchwork surface, the more you'll need to drag stools or something so that a reach to the back doesn't have your belly or an elbow sweeping nicely situated and expensive items off of their moorings, or breaking them altogether. That is why people change scales as they reduce, or they learn to live with switching layouts...which can be quite clever and involved, and offer many hours of satisfying playing.
If you're really sweet on two layers, will be they access the other layer? This invites complication, expense, and will require ramps. Model trains don't appreciate ramps any more than their prototype counterparts do. It takes power, and weight (tractive effort) to pull trailing tonnages up against gravity. If you opt for grades between two layers, you'll either need to make them very steep (good luck!) or accept that they should be gradual and functional. Gradual and functional, say at about 3% or less, means running around the room....no matter how you look at it in that confined space you seem to be contemplating.
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