New Train Table

[kieran]

Hello all, I have been reading here for some time and as such have seen many wonderful layouts. I have been assembling my train collection for a little over year and now have the opportunity to create a permanent layout. I am building a new Log cabin that will be 6x4 meters in size, this has to be my office for my job as well as hobby room and as such my question is how much space should I give over the layout?

I build lots of technic and mindstorms as well, so will be looking to create a good working environment for this as well as playing with the trains. Right now I have loads of track all 9V and monorail. I don't have much in the way of buildings but the aim is to create an interesting layout. I want to include lots of automation in the long run, say a cargo loading area, a level crossing and some switched will be automated in due course.

I was thinking that a long thin section with a bulge on one end for a city type area and another bulge on the other for maybe a cargo / mine thoughts on sizes would be good from those that have done this before.

Many thanks in advance

[Spitfire2865]

Well it all has to do with preference. If you want a mostly train layout, you should go for enough room for the track and maybe a little bit of scenery. If you want to go for a more real-world layout with a town and all, you should have a larger area.

[kieran]

Well it all has to do with preference. If you want a mostly train layout, you should go for enough room for the track and maybe a little bit of scenery. If you want to go for a more real-world layout with a town and all, you should have a larger area.

I agree, I guess the issue is I have never have the possibility of this before and really am not sure which way to go, I feel much more that 1.2m width along the entire length of 6m will be nice with a bulge to say 2m at each end. Just nit sure this will give enough room for a scenery based layout, one option I was thinking about was to add a section that could be removed as well with just track or low level buildings. In this way I could add the extra section when I really need it and not have it in place for general play

[Spitfire2865]

Exactly how much of this room do you want to devote to trains? Half? Quarter? Because if I were you, I would build it as large as I feel comfortable. Remember, if you have area in the middle, it wont look good if its bare. As long as you are sure you can fill the empty space, you should go for it.

[Hrw-Amen]

If it was me and I had to fit in a building space for other creations and also an office, I think the main thing to consider is how much space do you need for your office as this is going to be the space you use for work. (Assuming this is to support your family etc?) That will be the main priority.

Following this what you suggest sounds reasonable. Also there will be a door somewhere so the width will be confined by that in some respects. I think a town layout will need a certain amount of space for roads and buildings to look convincing and also I would not be too keen to fill it up straight away. You may as time goes on think of things to add or change so room to grow is always good. Having a long thin stretch along one edge with maybe a couple of tracks going in a circuit to allow long trains and possibly a road running alongside will be good as it will give the impression of your trains going somewhere.

Have you considered incorporating your Technic/ other building area adjacent to this long thin stage. That way if you want to build a small countryside halt part way along you will be bale to use the same table to fit in a little country station if it needs slightly more room? I would also consider building a mountain / hillside with a tunnel that your trains go into and out of (Maybe have the Technic building are in between the sides?) part of the way along the thin side. It will mean having a blank area in the middle of the narrow run, but that is not always a bad thing especially as I indicated you want a building area, than can get messy at times. Also it will break up the run and look as though your trains are actually going somewhere rather than just round and round. If you plan to automate bits you could arrange for them to sit for a while in the blank bit before having them reappear the other side or back into the town, again giving the impression of a longer journey. You will also have access to this area with your building table adjacent so if you want to switch coaches / trucks in between you can do so without spoiling the illusion.

Whatever you do though, it is important to get the right priority and ensure that you have enough work space to carry out your job first as if you don't have a job and money coming in you will not have any funds to create your layout!

Also whatever you decide to do, you need to ensure that you remember to post pictures for us to look at!

[Hey Joe]

I'm planning a similar project and am thinking that it's best to be as flexible as possible, so that means being modular. Fold-out card tables sound like a good solution to me. You can - of course - arrange them how you want and you can always buy more of them and/or remove some as you see fit.

Maybe you want to build your own table(s), so that's a little different although you certainly could build smaller ones to put together.

If any of our more experienced members would like to weigh in on the 'card table option' I would be very interested.

Thanks, Joe

[peterab]

If any of our more experienced members would like to weigh in on the 'card table option' I would be very interested.

One of the real difficulties we have at shows is getting level tables. Any bow in them leads to quite sharp changes at the edges of tables, which can result in trains stalling or crashing. I'd imagine card tables would bow over time since lego can get quite heavy if you do detailed scenery.

If you build your own tables it's very helpful to have adjustment in the leg height, and make them solid enough that they wont warp or bow.

[zephyr1934]

I am building a new Log cabin that will be 6x4 meters in size, this has to be my office for my job as well as hobby room and as such my question is how much space should I give over the layout?

That's an easy question, at least 12 m x 8 m for the layout and try to keep the office stuff as out of the way as possible so that it doesn't interfere with your lego (grin).

Okay okay, if you can't pay the bills that means no lego, sigh.

It all depends on how you like your trains and what aspect you like most about modeling. You could try taking over a portion of your dining room for a few weeks to get a feel for what you like and don't like about running. No matter what size you have, one of the real tricks is putting some good thought into how you will layout the track. A plain loop on a table can be boring, but if you hyper detail everything inside the loop, then you won't even notice that it is a simple circle.

I personally like a layout where the trains can disappear for a moment. So I like the tracks running around the perimeter of the room. A pair of tracks is nice, so you can have two trains running. The hard part with this type of design is crossing the doors. My solution is to put it on the floor (how brilliant, who'd a thunk, I know). You could put some bits in, e.g., designing the doorways anticipating a lift bridge or draw bridge. Work in a couple of ledges to expand out into yards or town, etc..

Or if you didn't want to cross the doors, you could do a dogbone on two walls , or a two track loop on one wall with the outer loop expanding into a dogbone on a second wall. Run the trains behind your desk so that you can watch them go by while working.

[Hey Joe]

One of the real difficulties we have at shows is getting level tables. Any bow in them leads to quite sharp changes at the edges of tables, which can result in trains stalling or crashing. I'd imagine card tables would bow over time since lego can get quite heavy if you do detailed scenery.

If you build your own tables it's very helpful to have adjustment in the leg height, and make them solid enough that they wont warp or bow.

Thanks peterab, I appreciate it.

I was reading in another thread where someone had a bunch of card tables put together in his basement and a poster suggested putting thin sheets of wood (sorry but I forget the type of wood) on top to mitigate 'settle' and gaps. That sounds ok to me BUT it would be impossible to have one piece of wood to fit over more than a few tables (so there would still be gaps) and it would increase the weight.

Sorry for my ignorance but I've been living in China for a long time; is it possible to get high quality folding tables or is building your own the way to go?

Hope this is on-topic?

Joe

[kieran]

I think I will build my own, the next issue is to cover in base plates or not. I have seen examples of both on here. Right now I will be out of cash so I think I may just cover with paint to create some interest and take it form there as each section builds up.

I like the idea of taking over the dinging room but this is not possible for me as I have an open plan layout and 3 young children that need to eat there 3 times a day. 2 Tracks will be important i think as you say you can then have 2 trains running all the time. I also like the idea of the trains dispersing for a while, it think this will add loads of interest, I will try and make some drawings ans share for feedback

[peterab]

Sorry for my ignorance but I've been living in China for a long time; is it possible to get high quality folding tables or is building your own the way to go?

The local hardware stores here in Australia sell plastic tables which are OK and relatively cheap. My train club has used them for a few years and are now starting to move to custom built wooden ones.

The plastic tables do sag a bit after a while, though if you buy the more expensive types the hire firms use this takes a lot longer. The cost of covering all your tables in wood is probably more than half the cost of custom tables. Custom legs gives you the possibility of adjustment (though that's most useful if you will be moving the layout often). Building the tables will take a bit of time and skill, though I know in Europe their are pretty good train layout table kits around if you just want a fixed layout in your home.

[dundarach]

Have a look at my brick shelf folder http://www.brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?f=492641

The room is about 7 foot square, I have plans and build photos which might be of use :-)

[Hey Joe]

The cost of covering all your tables in wood is probably more than half the cost of custom tables.

That's an excellent point peterab, thanks.

Nice layout you've got there dundarach. I'm jealous of your motive power; Santa Fe, BNSF, Amtrak, EN and probably more...nice!

Joe

[alainneke]

I think I will build my own, the next issue is to cover in base plates or not. I have seen examples of both on here. Right now I will be out of cash so I think I may just cover with paint to create some interest and take it form there as each section builds up.

I covered mine with artificial grass: it adds a little texture and is able to hide some cables. It also helps in making the sound of the running trains less loud

[kieran]

I have seen some of the images of you layout and it looks good, just not sure if I want that all LEGO look or not, for now though its getting the building up and creating the tables

[tedbeard]

I think I will build my own, the next issue is to cover in base plates or not.

I saw an interesting kids LEGO table on Pinterest where the mom had glued baseplates around the edge only. This allowed the bulk of the plates to be moved freely but prevented any movement off the table.

She had cut them to fit the table and so they were something like 13 studs but a purpose-built table using "LEGO dimensions" could have a single "layer" of 16x32 baseplates around the edges.

Interesting idea anyway.