I've been allowed indoors - but is it worth it?

I have (nearly) always had my layouts in sheds, however, having moved a couple of years ago I have only just got a new workshop/railway shed up and running and even now it has more bits of kitchen etc being built/rebuilt in it than railway. My dearly beloved has decided that she is fed up with me being 'up the shed' especially in the winter. So she has suggested that I might like tio use our small box room which is 8ft x 8ft 6in as my railway home, the only criteria being that I put some bookshelves in it for my Railway books and her Gardening books as well as our Vinyl Collection. The space isn't huge by comparison with a shed but I like the idea of being indoors - central heating and easy reach of the kettle! What do others think - I have a cunning (!?!) plan to use the shed as a base for a G scale Garden Railway if I can get away with it….

I was a shed dweller for many years but since we moved i now have the entire upstairs of the bungalow for my layout room.
I have to say it is a lot better environment to work in and obviously the more stable temperature and humidity is of great benefit for track cleaning the ability to use card and a better environment for anything electronic.

In your case the space available seems to be the fly in the ointment to you as i assume its a lot less than the shed.

While you have the ball rolling cant you convince her a slightly bigger room would be a far better place for you to build the layout as the box room only really needs a bed.

Of course a romantic weekend, flowers chocolates and other gifts may well make her be more affable towards this idea.

Brian

Hi Simon,

Nice space (compared to mine - 5.25 x 4.3 feet) but… 

Presumably there is a door, call it 2.5 feet wide, opening inwards and situated to one side of the shortest wall with a short side wall. around 3-6" long. Total space available is 86 square feet, of which the door will occupy 9 square feet. Looking at it another way, the linear run available, ignoring the window, is around 30 feet minus the shelves.

Will the space be used as the workshop as well? Storage? 

Baseboard depth is one of the elephants in the room. Two feet deep on opposite walks and one wall between in a U configuration will give you around 4 x 4 feet space in the middle as you will also have shelves in one wall that need access. The other one lurking in the corner is of course the ruling radius.

I think you could be looking at an L-shaped or U shelf layout on 2 or 2.5 walls, depth of around 15-18 inches. A roundy-roundy would be around 5x 8 feet with very little space in the middle. Almost the proverbial 4 x 8 feet.

Do you want to turn the engines? Loops or wyes are expensive on space. Turntables are better.

Friend of mine has a G scale narrow gauge roundy-roundy layout in his basement, around 12 x 16 feet, so it can be done. Ruling radius is I think 5 feet, but he only runs 0-4-0 locomotives and a couple of flat wagons.

Draw up a scale floor plan and see what fits. Any chance of changing the door so it opens out? Or change to a pocket door? I suspect you may be pushing it a bit here. Although my wife did suggest to me that I change the hinged door to my "room" to a pocket one. I usually end up with a 5 x 4 feet L using two modules, one  5 x 1 feet,  the other 3 x 1 feet,  on shelves,  my work station and tools reside underneath. Getting rid of the door would give me more space.

Nigel

Hmmm, more expense! Trouble is herself has already commandeered the only other spare room (we are in a chalet bungalow) for her sowing activities. On the other hand I have spent several afternoons and have a decent track plan of a cramped second city terminus variety. Simon.

The door idea is good,  Herself suggested a stable door arrangement which might also work. As you say curve radius is an issue but not insurmountable. Simon.

The sewing room is bigger??  I'm with Brian….. throw in a computer cutter for her sewing (which you can also use for your card models) and I'm sure you could manage a room swap.

Unless your beloved is like mine, in which case, no chance - go ahead with your plans!!!

Regards

Michael

If she's got the bigger room, the bookshelves should go in her room!

[user=1512]Headmaster[/user] wrote:

The sewing room is bigger??  I'm with Brian….. throw in a computer cutter for her sewing (which you can also use for your card models) and I'm sure you could manage a room swap.

Unless your beloved is like mine, in which case, no chance - go ahead with your plans!!!

Regards

Michael

Ive got a better idea make her sewing room your old layout shed bash down the wall between the 2 rooms you will have plenty of space then.
Of course there is a risk after announcing this idea the next morning there may be a pile of dustbin bags outside the front door with all your clothes in  

Brian

I've read this thread 4 times now - just to be sure I hadn't misunderstood - and I'm stunned.

Her sewing room is bigger than your layout room AND she wants her gardening books in there ????

Just tell her it's a no deal whilst reminding her who wears the trousers.  That's what I had to do in my house when Liz suggested I had a 2 ft plank under my desk.  And to be honest, intensive care isn't at all bad in our local hospital ………………………..

Joking aside, reading what's on offer, in spite of the positive luxury of indoor modelling, I think I'd lean towards a railway shed.  You could use part of the boxroom for your modelling workshop but have a larger layout in the shed.  To me, it's one of those rare cases where size really does matter !  Whilst you can have great fun and satisfaction from a 2ft plank, I'll bet that, if you asked 100 modellers what their dream would be, 95 would say to have more space.

A layout is never big enough - ask Pete Waterman.

I am in the situation that Petermac describes, the layout is in the 16 x 8 ft shed, and I have a modelling space in the extension on the rear of the house which I share with swmbo hobby space, jigsaw puzzles....

When Mrs M suggested that I should be inside or attached to the house I pointed out that 24ft x 16ft is an unlikely sized room to find in any dwelling so it would have to be a built extension.
I have watered that seed for 5 years and these days it has become a must-have on the house hunting list.  My trade off was a garden big enough for the chickens and and veg plot.  

He who dares wins as they say. 

 :pathead  :chicken :chicken

Exactly Barry

When we decided to move all i wanted was my own layout room when we looked at this bungalow i said well the upstairs is mine the rest of the bungalow is yours,  she was happy with that so we bought it.

Brian

You old Romantic, Brian!

 :cheers

Simon
Just a word of warning about what you give away to get what you would like.

Mrs M said a few chickens…….



Hmmm..

Barry

Simon
On a more serious note and getting back to the thread…

I have found a couple of useful basic ideas in the Peco plans books produced by Cyril Freezer.  In the plans for Small Railways book, there is a plan for a small continuous run layout with an upper terminus and a low level 3- road storage sector plate.  I have always thought that this would make a great “snug” layout.  The terminus occupies most of the upper circuit and includes private sidings and a decent goods yard.

In the book called “Track Plans”, number 5 or 6 from memory is a terminus-continuous run layout with an intermediate through station where you can reverse a train all in about 6ft x 4ft.  I have built this layout for a friends young son and it was great fun to operate (with an operating hole in the middle).  I made another version of the same thing in a slightly bigger space with the addition of a simple inner terminus instead of the line just stopping in an engine shed.  This produced proper end to end running albeit with small tank engines and 4 wheeled coaches.  However, this was a junior scheme but would make a good light railway layout.  In both cases, they worked with just one controller.

These books are well worth hunting down.  When I get back home I will look these plans out and post them if you are interested.

Barry

I'm with Terry, go with higher base boards. Depending on whether the door is central or offset, have one side as a decent,  wide shunting plank, with the bottom of the U and the other side narrower. Shelves under the long narrow side, workstation under the narrow short side (possibly where the window is ?) And then maybe wheeled storage units  under the wider shunting plank side to store all your modelling paraphenalia . 
 There is then nothing to stop you having a dual oo and G gauge loop,  around the garden, from the shed, so you can stretch the legs of your 00 gauge locos, and/ or run G scale in the good weather   
  You also  have a decent worshop/ shunting plank room for the rest of the year, in house next to her sewing room. 

Best of both worlds  :thumbs

Cheers

Matt

Go for baseboards hung from the walls, like Ursa Resurgat…plenty of room underneath for modelling bench, book shelves, cupboards with doors [to hide new aquisitions] and an external bi-fold door, by taking off the door stops on the door linings and moving them to the inside edges….eg https://wickes.scene7.com/is/image/travisperkins/normal/Wickes-Woburn-White-Moulded-6-Panel-Internal-Bi-Fold-Door~T3274_165877_00
Good luck!
Douglas