Still Waiting, Still Planning

While we're waiting for someone to buy our house, I'm continuing to think about adapting my now-disassembled layout to a "new" room. Since it is unlikely the new space will be exactly the same as the old, I have been passing the time by considering possible "re-assembly" scenarios.

Inconvenient closet location: This may cause some problems. The old room, 11' x 13', had the entry door and closet on the same side, with a window opposite. Some homes we've looked at have a similar room arrangement, though with slightly different dimensions, but which would still accommodate the layout sections built so far without a hitch, and which would require only slight modification of the original plan for the unbuilt layout sections.

Others, however, have the entry and closet on different walls. The most difficult case I've seen so far has the entry on one wall, a closet and a door to the outside on yet a different wall, exactly opposite from the inside entry door. From a fire safety standpoint there's no way I would block the exit to the outside, even with a swinging bridge device, etc. The closet was a single-door, spaced about 18" from the wall. A 24" long swinging bridge would probably work; approaching benchwork would have to allow for the closet door to open, and I would definitely want access for storage of modeling supplies and my large magazine collection. An additional possibility to increase layout space would be small "peninsulas" jutting out into the room from the layout ends.

Room used for other purposes: While most houses we've considered have two guest bedrooms, which means one would be exclusively for model railroading, we've seen a couple with only one guest room, which was pretty spacious. The guest room, in our case, would only be in use a few times per year. So I considered a total layout plan revision, a layout on a bookshelf, say 9'6" x 2'...totally arbitrary dimensions, but I had to start somewhere. I could fairly easily use existing track by simply sawing out the white pine roadbed and the strip of particle board baseboard under it, so my previous work wouldn't be wasted. However, in such limited space I would model an industrial area with relatively dense trackage and use building flats against the backdrop for industry sidings. There would also be room for a small pier, so the harbor terminal theme could be salvaged.

I'd also consider raising the layout height from my present 42" to maybe 48".

I don't think this will be the scenario, but it has been fun to see what kind of track plan would fit in such a compact area. The trains.com website (Model Railroader) has some compact track plans. Though they are in HO, they do provide some usable ideas.

Planning While Waiting

Other than reading the latest issue of Model Railroader, my hobby activities have gone dormant, since my layout and equipment are packed up. We have put our home on the market but, these days, a sale could take quite some time. In the meantime we have been looking at homes for sale in the 55-plus neighborhood where we hope to move, and I've paid special attention to potential layout space, which will be in a spare bedroom. One place had a three-car garage, which in a more moderate climate might, if properly prepared, offer space for a layout, but the summers in southeast Texas are way too hot to make that a viable option.

A spare bedroom will be fine, especially if the entry door and closet are on the same side of the room. Otherwise, some form of "swinging bridge" layout section will be needed to get past a closet door.

The layout sections I've built to date will probably fit into a new space without much trouble, but the unbuilt sections of my original plan will almost certainly have to be modified.