More Detail on Staging Concept

So I wanted to throw up a little bit more on what my line of thinking was when I wrote the post this morning. Here's how I envision the staging/transition between decks working:

as you can see, staging will run against the back of the level all the way around. In the configuration I have above, I can get 4, 200"+ tracks, good enough to slot 8 trains, leaving the 5th one free for loop running. In the upper right, just after the yard throat would begin the 4" climb up. With the length of run, the grade there will be about 1.6%. On the peninsula, I can average about the same, but because some areas will hold a yard/switching functions, the grades will top out at 2.0% in some places. This will get the line along the left wall at 4" where the yard complex will begin. The line will be level the rest of the way around the walls to the helix.

One good thing is that when I built the benchwork for most of the layout, I had 15" depths on the bottom level around the walls. This will now allow me to basically do 12" scenes with some space behind to run these ramps or provide some reach in and/or peaking space if I desire.

Hold the Phone - Finding Inspiration at 1 AM

I was looking through some updates of other layouts and MRP after MNF last night and had an ahah moment so ignore everything I've said in my last few posts. I've been inspired by Shaun and his layout and staging loop. I was at the point over the last few days I was ready to just tear everything down and look at building something quick, easy and cheap. Looking at Shaun's layout, I was contemplating dropping to a single level around the walls with center peninsula and a lift-out and staging underneath. Well, in trying not to upset my wife and dismantle everything I've done, I've figured out I don't need the lift-out and can still have the multi-level layout. I just need to reverse the bottom part of the G shape of the layout, like this plan I had drawn up for a single level layout:

I'll add a 3rd loop to the inside of the helix that will be used strictly to connect staging yards going down, like the staging yard on Model Railroader's MR&T on each level, 4" or so below the primary trackwork and entered on the left-bottom. This arrangement will actually allow me to close off the layout room from the workshop/woodshop side of the basement. I'm going to play some with the entrance/exit of the helix to make sure the curvature and arrange doesn't look too funky since the staging loop will be the inside track.

Staging Decision

So after much playing around with the space, I've decided I'm going to go with the stub ended L-shaped staging.

Unfortunately, this inverts the direction of traffic flow so I'm going to have to readjust the design slightly or just build the yard and figure out everything else. The deciding factor was the last few days of moving some furniture pieces from the workshop on the other side up the basement stairs (which come down right into that corner). I had also had to take a door and my ladder down and up the stairs. With the refrigerator at the bottom of the stairs, I need as much space as possible in that corner to be able to swing and adjust. Having just the mockup of the helix base there made me realize that I'd have the real possibility of always knocking into it. With the staging, I'll have more room. Of course, I had thought of tearing down everything I had build and going with a simpler plan, something like I had read in MRH and the gentleman is building here. I'm not ready to go to that extreme, yet, but it is something I thought about.

Decisions, Decisions

I'm at the completion of one of my home projects and nearing the time for outside help to come in to finish off the other (read plumbing) so I turned my attention back to the basement this past weekend. I cleaned up the entire workshop side of the basement, moving anything and everything layout related to the layout side. Then I started to look at what I had built already for the layout. Over the last few weeks, I've had to turn off the water to the house a few times. This has lead me to realize that the helix placement next to the water meter and fridge may not be the wisest choice. Part of that is the way the helix base was built:

As you can see, it's pretty square. Playing with the base some, using the standard L-girder and cross braces I used elsewhere on the layout benchwork will probably give me more room and definitely will be a higher base. Also, I've had to carry some things up and down the stairs that were a little cumbersome and realized making the corner with something sitting next to the fridge is going to be very difficult. All of this was enough to get me thinking of possible layout arrangements. Some are minor tweaks to what I have been looking at, some are rip everything down and start over. I've come to more or less 3 differing varieties to look at.

The first is a helix on each end of the layout lines, with staging being on the opposite wall then the classification yard on the 2nd level.

Pros:

• Utilizes all current benchwork
• Passthrough/visible staging allows continuous running
• Could also do staging above each other with one track connected for continuous running

Cons:

• Still have helix next to water meter
• Have to build two helices
• Room can't be "enclosed" due to 2nd helix

The second variation I had come up with was a helix on one end and stub-ended staging on the corner by the water meter.

Pros:

• Utilizes all current benchwork except for shelf in corner of staging
• Gives full access to water meter
• Maximizes staging capacity with up to 9 or 10 tracks on each level

Cons:

• Room can't be "enclosed" due to 2nd helix
• No longer have ability for continuous running

The third one is the "tear everything down" one. It follows along with the age old looping design to climb between decks. In this one, I have put in looped staging based on emails and reading about various layouts, particularly Bruce Faulkner's. 

Pros:

• Looped staging allows for continuous running
• Water meter corner is clear which could allow area to be used for storage or perhaps a small workbench
• Room could be completely enclosed

Cons:

• Would require the full dismantling of 80% of the current benchwork built
• Tighter aisle due to width needed for looping peninsula

So now that you've read down this far, I'll say that I'm really leaning to the towards the second one but I will say the 3rd looks like a really fun challenge. I do think I've talked myself out of the double helix or even the looped staging going into that corner. Please give me any thoughts or suggestions you can think of seeing these 3 arrangements or even slight variations of them.

Getting Motivated

It's always good to find something to re-energize yourself in this hobby. This past weekend I attended the NJ Division's meet which was only a town or two over from me. While I missed one of the clinics due to finishing up some house stuff, I was able to catch another and peruse some of the offerings at the swap tables and just take in the whole atmosphere of the local meet as it was my first time attending one. I then had the opportunity to take my wife and daughter around to two of the layouts open afterwards, to show them, one, this is what I'd like to do in the basement, but also to show them where I go that one day a month. Thankfully, the guys at that layout didn't say "Who are you? I've never met you" because that could've been awkward. I also went to two other layouts as well after I took them both home for my daughters nap.

I remember last year coming back from the Mid-East Region's Convention in Princeton having the same motivation and getting a lot of the benchwork for the layout up. I had hoped to go to this years in convention to get the same motivation and see a couple of great layouts, but unfortunately my  trip to North Carolina will have to be reserved for this upcoming weekend and a technology conference.

While I had been very motivated last year and put up lots of benchwork, it's been quite a bit of waffling since then. I've probably put up and taken down more supporting benchwork than most people who build multiple layouts have, but then again, I guess I can consider what I've done the past year my "chainsaw" layouts, I just didn't have any track to take up too. The other thing I paid attention to was during these visits was use of space. Two of the layouts were in finished basements that were very well done, while the other two weren't, they were just in basements. One of these was a little more partitioned then the other, but again, I didn't feel the aesthetics were any less in those than  the other two when looking at and examining the layout themselves. And since I operate on one of the layouts regularly that's in an unfinished basement, you again don't notice the lack of finished ceiling and such too much when running the railroad.

So what does all this have to do with anything? Well, I've been back down in the basement, cleaning things up, making some measurements to see if potential changes could fit, etc. It also motivated to get moving on the bathroom and bedroom I was stuck in before as I'm almost done the bedroom and the bathroom has a ceiling again and one wall. Doing a little bit here and there, I'm hopeful all of that can be completed in the next few weeks and then in October I can get back to the layout since time will be short come January for me.