New to hobby and lacking space

[seanbhoy90]

Hi I am brand new to the hobby as my three year old train fanatic son was given the flying scotsman set for his birthday by his papa. Its my job to get everything all set up according to his papa even though its been sprung on me this afternoon. I've always been very keen to get into the hobby and am chuffed to help get a chance to now alongside my son the only problem I am facing is one of space. We live in a small two bedroom house. Initially I had thought of using the loft but it hasnt been properly converted and is rather cold which I have read is bad for model railways. I was wondering if anyone has any easy storage solutions. I was thinking about a modular baseboard which could be taken apart and stored with the track attached. I don't know how easy this would be to do or if it would even work. Any advice would be much appreciated.

[Howbi]

@seanbhoy90............welcome to the Forum...........if you type into Google 'folding baseboard design' you'll access a lot of information...........HB

[poliss]

Have you thought about hinging it against a wall?

[RDS]

Welcome to the Forum seanbhoy90,

If you have got 2 bedrooms, why not use one of those?

[dadad]

Hi there,

 

for any question like this I would say that a look at Brian Lambert's pages would be a good place to start, you should find hin at http://www.brian-lambert.co.uk/ all the best.

 

Joohn  

[LCDR]

 There are a lot of possible solutions.

1. A board above a bed, hinged against a wall. My friend's father did this with a board hinged from a shelf so that when folded up it did not crush the track and scenery against the wall. Layout size is limited.

2. A railway on a shelf round the walls of the bedroom. Not easy if there are tall items of furniture.

3. A railway over the stairwell, again limited space.

4 A railway in a shed or garage (could be problems with damp and condensation which can be overcome with insulation and heating) That is my own choice. A garage layout can be suspended on pulleys and hauled clear when the car comes in.

5. Modular baseboards, can be troublesome especially if they have to be put up and dismantled every time you want to run trains. Track joints need great care. I have two.

For the amusement of the grand-children I put three boards ( 2 times 3 foot by 4 foot plus one times 2 foot by 4 foot, [all out of one sheet of 8 x 4 ply] supported by battens screwed round the edges) together supported on two loose 8 foot battens which rest on the dining table (which is protected by an old thick table cloth). Each board joined to the next with backflap hinges with the pins removed and replaced by bent nails  which come out to dismantle.  Track is then loose laid each time. This is assembled in our Conservatory which doubles as a dining room.

I also have a layout I can construct from eight or ten 2 foot by 4 foot plywood boards (also edged with battens) supported on cheap B&Q saw horses, which goes up under our car-port in a rectangle with an operating space inside. This is intended for my Hornby O gauge tinplate, again loose laid

Both these can (and have been)  be taken to exhibitions and my vintage Tri-ang or Hornby tinplate  loose laid over some old velour curtains.

6. A line in the garden or yard. Weather will restrict what you do and will require care with electrics. My O gauge layout is permanently in the garden.

Very few people have have space for a large layout and in the smaller houses it can be a really difficult to find a permanent home. The minimum round and round OO layout  demands a board at least 1 metre by 2 metres (four foot by six foot) approx. End to end or station to fiddle yard layouts can be squeezed into odd corners, but may not appeal as they do not allow continuous running..

 

I now have a 16 foot by 8 foot shed in my garden and as soon as my O gauge line is complete my OO is going there.

 

[LCDR]

 That is impressive. A great use of garage space.

[2e0dtoeric]

Just in case you overlooked an obvious point - with a hinged layout like that, you HAVE to remove all loose items before you tilt it up, or there will be lots of expensive crashes and bangs! :-)

[michael_winstanley]

If you go to Key Publishing's website (they produce the Hornby magazine) they do a bookazine dedicated to layouts in small places and for the beginner. About £6.99 including P&P if I remember rightly.  www.shop.keypublishing.com. 

[RB51]

I hinged mine against the wall , as it is 5M+ by 1.5 metres wide its heavy so i use a boat winch to lift it up and down. (yeah Im lazy) but its heavy, too heavy for one person to lift.

I've seen bits of your layout before this shot Phil - but this is the first time that I can see all of it. Very impressive. Well done. (photography, stowability and layout design that is). R-

[PJ_model_trains]

My layout is no where near as large or as advanced as Phul007's, which is fantastic and a credit to him. My latest layout is hinged to the wall and only takes up about 12"/300mm when in the upright position.

 

http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/gallery/album/3882-bottom-le-dale-railway-building-from-scratch/

 

The upstands around the layout are 4"/100mm so this did restrict some items on the layout, but also reduced the width of the wall plate it is hinged to so prevents the risk of twisting the wall plate. Additionally legs are added under the wall plate, this also stops any risk of twisting, especially when the layout is lifted.

 

To get round this the buildings are removable, but everything else is fixed down.

 

To please my wife, as this is a spare room used a couple of times a year for visitors (including grandchildren) hooks are added and a curtain drapes over the undersside of the layout. Everything hidden and safe.

 

The layout is ongoing and images are added to the gallery regularly for any one who wants to have a look at any time.

 

The Gallery link is also included in my footer/signature so is under every messaged added to the forum.