My Railway Room

Hi Everyone,

I built a layout in my attic some 25 years ago, but work and family commitments never allowed me to bring it to completion. The attic has fink trusses, so with the advancing years, access to areas of the layout became more of a challenge. I investigated the possibility of having new open trusses installed, however, this was going to prove very expensive, for what would end up as a limited space with restricted headroom.

As my garage had become a storeroom and I had not parked the car in it for about twenty years, I decided to turn a cold damp space in to a dry and warm environment for my layout.

first job was to replace the window and door with UPVC ones. As they were the biggest single cost, and you get one shot at installing, I entrusted this to a joinery firm.

I undertook all the other work myself, starting by installing a damp proof membrane, with 50mm of high density insulation, over which I floated a 22mm chipboard floor. I then tackled the roof, and supplemented the existing 50mm low density foam with a further r50mm high density and plasterboard.

I then installed a new wiring circuit, allowing for plenty of sockets, before running stud frame wall all around, insulated and finished with plasterboard.

I am having difficulty uploading photographs, but I have made outreach to Toto to help me with this.

The garage is now a warm, dry, dust free environment , and I acquired a number of 1200mm kitchen base units at an end of range bargain price from a well known DIY retailer.

I took a weeks vacation for the build, and completed the work in nine days, which I was quiet pleased with.

I have fairly average DIY skills, but with power and hand tools now available at very reasonable prices, it is quite easy for an average Joe like me to achieve a good standard of completion.

Hopefully, photos will follow soon.

Hamish

 

"here are some photos;

Starting with the DPC: "

Floor insulation and flooring going down Working on the roof

Getting the wall framing in place

Nearly there on the job

Taping and filling

All done, ready for the layout

 

Just discovered that the photo problem posting was not me , but my computer. It has a bunch of phishing and malware protection which stopped the link to the gallery. It is a company supplied computer, so have to live with the constraints. Used my wife's computer and got them up loaded without any difficulty.

 

Thanks all for your positive comments.
No, I am not going to have a bar, but I might install a bar hatch to allow the tracks to pass by the doorway.
The layout will be DCC, and will be LMS themed, although it will be quite varied and have an element of Highland.
Yes, I have got an RCD trip in the distribution box , which I renewed with all the other wiring. As I mentioned, I have now installed some kitchen base units over which I will construct the layout. I am still toying with the idea of having two levels, as I have a good running length to allow for a shallow gradient, but nothing firmed up as yet.
One thing I do plan to feature is a very large viaduct which will has a curve on a 2.6 metre diameter (largest comfortable diameter I could fit in) which will I will install at the far end shown in the last photo. It will be loosely based on the Glen Ogle viaduct, and so will have a mountain built behind it, but this one will be double track. I have constructed it from card and brick paper. I did purchase a Scalescenes kit, but found the arches to be a bit on the small side for my eye. The viaduct has a running circumference of 3.5 metres, and looks OK, but I will wait to see how it looks once the landscape has been completed.

 

Thanks for your ideas Paul. I will take a look at these. Lots of options out there.
Yes, I think an investment in track planning software is a good plan. Might save a lot of headaches and grief in the long run.
I do have a lot of space to play with, so I want to make the best use and see some decent length trains go by.