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Has anyone done a set of tracks that circle the wall near the ceiling? If so could you post pictures if you have them? I have a small house and I don't have the room for even a 4x8 layout to just play with. So I am thinking of doing a pair of tracks that circle the ceiling of what will be my small computer room. Any ideas? any suggestions?
I did a set-up in G scale for a guy about 10 years ago. The turns were real sharp & the train didn't like the sharp turns. So, we had to remove the flanges on the middle wheels.
Also, it was a helava job & very hard to do any scenery. all the layouts I know about are usually in Car Dealerships, restaurants, large lofts, etc.
Also, it's very expensive to build all of the shelves & make them strong enough to hold about any scale. The biggest problem is when the train falls to the floor.
This is just my opinion. A shelf layout would be a lot more practical & a lot safer.
In about a week I'm going to Avon Park,Fl. to look at some train stuff for sale & I'll take pictures of a Chrysler dealership that has them all over his building. If that dealer is still in business by then. It's a father & son business.
If you check on this forum in the search mode you will probably find a few.
Also, there's tons of books & mags that cover the subject & I'm sure you will get a lot of that question answered here shortly.
I just tried a search but it pulled up EVERY post with shelf layout. But none of them were about a shelf layout. I also tried "shelf layout" but got the same results.
I have included a couple of photos of my shelf that is just getting started. I am using 18inch hollow birch bi-fold doors from Home Depot. I took off the hinges and hung them at about 48 inches off the floor using HD brackets. My layout is not going to be set up in an oval, but is a point to point switching layout.
Great photos thanks for sharing. You mentioned your layout was going to be a switching layout. Dosent that get boring after a while? What do you do to keep it interesting?
I have a giant rail yard on my layout, which is the same thing as a switching layout to some degree. I enjoy just switching trains for hours sometimes. My yard is 20ft long & 2 ft wide & 7 tracks. I have a lot of fun w/an MP15DC trying to figure out where to send over 200 freight cars around a yard.
I also have a lot of mainline, but, that gets boring too.
The switching spur actually exists south of Hialeah, FL. and includes about four different large businesses. Using switching sheets, I can pretty much mimic actual operations. The sizes of the structures had to be compressed but the switching will be the same. I have included a link to the spur and the businesses that are in the pictures I am modeling. The birdseye photo shows Seaboard Storage/Archive Americas complex. If you follow the spur north from this point, it curves to the left and merges into the north/south main. Larry- you probably know this area. The street bordering the Seaboard complex is 54th street.
I initially tried to construct a layout based on coal driven electrical powerplants but without a point of reference, to me it was boring. I have actually seen these locals out of Hialeah yard work this spur and several others.
Also, my attention span for doing any railroading is probably no more than an hour.
Please keep us updated on your layout progress. It's almost exactly what I'm looking toward, and it looks great so far. So any tips, tricks, things to avoid would help at least one other modeler out.
Here are a few photos of the second wing of the Seaboard/Archive Americas building. I am waiting on additional plastic stock to complete the loading dock at left. In the bottom photo, there is a covered breezeway at the far end of of both buildings that link both buildings. There will be one more section of warehouse that fits into the top photo along with addtional detailing.
I have two shelf layouts. One is G-Scale, and the other my work in progress HO scale layout.
The G-Scale is made of 1x6 treated shelf board. They are on 6" shelf brackets. The wood is actually 5 1/2" wide, and I needed a 7" clearance to the outer rail. I made a 1" gap on the wall side to eliminate the speaker box effect that ceiling layouts get.
My HO layout is made of 1x4 pine supported on 24" tall dual rail shelf brackets. The lower two spaces are for my brackets, the upper two will hold my lighting rig and upper fascia. I have 1x2" ledgers attached to the top of the 1x4's every 12". The track is supported by 1x2's four inches tall, and the sub roadbed is make of 3/8" plywood. I would recommend something a little thicker to prevent minimal sagging. I also have two lift out bridges across doorways. These could also be duck unders as they lowest point on my benchwork is 53". I still had to use this room as an office, so I have high clearances, as well as only having the layout be 16" wide. This allows for a lot of scenery, while still retaining the room space I need.
Let me know if you have any questions. If I don't respond to the post here, just send me a message.
Larry- you probably know this area. The street bordering the Seaboard complex is 54th street.
I haven't been in that area of Hialeah for at least 38 yrs. I'm sure it has changed since then. There use to be a giant yard under the overpass on 49th st. & E.10th Ave. In May of 2007 I spent a lot of time at the old Hialeah train station & at the Tri-Rail station over by Home Depot. Dangerous place.
Adam, those are two nice layouts. The HO layout is a great exapmle of how to use L girder construction on a shelf. Your G scale ceiling layout is neat too but I'd sure be nervous running that train without a plexiglass barrier of some kind to prevent a plunge to the floor. I know my train would take a dive after about the third time around.
I worry about it falling every time it runs, but to tell you the truth, I don't think it will. The track is all screwed together with smooth joints. My trains don't even do so much as wobble when they are rolling. Even the section of track that is suspended across the doorway hold together. I thought about building a bridge, but I wasn't sure how long I was going to be keeping the track up there (It's just winter time, trains belong outside).
The HO scale layout is the one I have to worry about. If the bridge isn't near perfect alignment, the cars might derail. They almost never do, but I do have to be careful with such a big plunge. I have dumped a few cars off, fortunately no damage.
Additional photos of the additional work to the Seaboard/Archive Americas portion of the shelf layout. I have completed the breezeway attaching both buildings. The open portion next to the barbed wire security fence will be 54 street.
