I voted for "somewhere in between". My layout to be will be located in my shop (the unfinished area of the basement), but my shop has many uses (furnace, hot water heater, 2nd fridge, sump pump, shop table, storage, etc). Therefore while the room may be good sized, I really only have room to build a U shaped layout that will be about 12 feet long, and 5 feet deep on the ends (2 feet deep in the middle).
Mike
"Trust everyone, and always cut the cards".
W.C. Fields
Go Big1 Wrote:I voted for "somewhere in between". My layout to be will be located in my shop (the unfinished area of the basement), but my shop has many uses (furnace, hot water heater, 2nd fridge, sump pump, shop table, storage, etc). Therefore while the room may be good sized, I really only have room to build a U shaped layout that will be about 12 feet long, and 5 feet deep on the ends (2 feet deep in the middle).
Mike, those "other uses" can really play havoc with layout plans. I built my own house, and designed it with all services on the ground floor - the basement was mine, all 1100-or-so square feet. Then my wife decided that she preferred the laundry room to be in the basement. Of course, I also needed a small area for a shop for working on and painting trains. When I had the appropriate partitions in place, I built the benchwork for an around-the-room layout in what was still a pretty good-sized space. Before I could get any roadbed in place, though, it was decided that the kids needed a rec room, shrinking layout space to what it is currently.
I'm reasonably happy with the layout as it is, but were I to build another, I think that I'd simplify it somewhat. If I ever get that second level done, it should be interesting to operate, although it would have looked better with longer runs between towns and less severe grades.
I myself reside with the basement spiders with a 13x17 layout
Harry Check out my blog at <!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://newyorkontariowestern.blogspot.com/">http://newyorkontariowestern.blogspot.com/</a><!-- m -->
Current layout is in a 17X12 foot basement room. I will soon be tearing the walls down and redoing the entire basement to include a family room, bedroom, bath, and the train room. This will cost me some space but I should still end up with about a 12X12.
Mine is roughly 13 x 14 ft (388 cm X 427 cm) - so I voted for 12x14.
The layout shares the room with my workbench and a big cupboard at right and my racing car collection & librrary along the left wall. Therefore it's quite crowded in there - not quite ideal for an open house event!
Ron
PS: The squares in the pic are 10x10 cm - the drawing was made with 3rdPlanIt
Edit: PPS: Got a PM asking me for more details about the track plan. Look at http://www.geocities.com/baumgaron/TCWaPlan.html on my site and also the preview pictures of a virtual run from Marian City up to Trim Creek (also done with 3rdPlanIt). Have fun! :mrgreen:
Boss of the Trim Creek & Western RR (H0 & H0n3)
Running through the hard-shell mountains, not around them!
12 X 12......but the true answer would be, never big enough!
Or, maybe, the dream is never small enough.
We always learn far more from our own mistakes, than we will ever learn from another's advice.
The greatest place to live life, is on the sharp leading edge of a learning curve.
Lead me not into temptation.....I can find it myself!
I do not have a room, but an office that I have to share with the Mrs. Rioja. It was going to be all mine, as I was told, but come on, do we believe everthing our wives tell us ? So, I am relegated to an 8' wall over my desk, with 4' more additional I'm going to take over out the door and into the hall. Looks like a shelf to me. . . .
Well Josh i could go 40x25 the whole basement but i work on it and run it 95% of the time the other 5% the wife jumps in. So what i have will do for me.
Harry Check out my blog at <!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://newyorkontariowestern.blogspot.com/">http://newyorkontariowestern.blogspot.com/</a><!-- m -->
i think i have the smallest room here! It's about 9x10 - the smallest bedroom in my house.
-- Kevin
Check out my Shapeways creations!
3-d printed items in HO/HOn3 and more!
<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="https://www.shapeways.com/shops/kevin-s-model-train-detail-parts">https://www.shapeways.com/shops/kevin-s ... tail-parts</a><!-- m -->
? So, I am relegated to an 8' wall over my desk, with 4' more additional I'm going to take over out the door and into the hall. Looks like a shelf to me. . . .
