Good Morning My name is Dave Burnham and I am getting back into N Scale trains after being in the Navy for the past 28 years. I am living in Nebraska and am starting a new layout in my basement. I am working on my benchwork now and have a few ideas, but the plan is still pretty much a blank slate. I am either going to build an Island style layout in the middle of the room and it would be 18 feet long and six feet wide or I am thinking a shelf style layout going around the room and would be 21X8X7 and would be 36 wide all the way. Any ideas are welcome, I am planning on using flex track, cork roadbed, tortoise switch machines, Digitrax DCC system. Now onto the planning of the track, thats where I seem to be stuck or have hit planners block, lots of ideas but I can't seem to make it work on paper. Dave
Howdy, Dave. Let me be the first to welcome you to Trainboard. We are happy to receive you as a fellow member. My personal opinion would favor the shelf design. The reason would be, it's easier to reach trouble spots, cars etc and you do not have to have trapdoors to access them. Also, it's easier to provide back-drops unless you simply hang one down the middle of a center of the room table. Just my 2 cents worth. I'm sure others will have some ideas for you as well. Again ... Welcome!
Dave- Welcome to TrainBoard! Please try posting your ideas in our Layout Design Forum. There are some excellent minds, with plenty of suggestions and ideas, who can offer input.
Welcome, Dave. Retiring from the Navy to Nebraska seems like quite a change of scenery! I think the ultimate decision on how to build may depend on how much off-line scenery you want; it strikes me that an island would allow a lot more non-right of way space, while a shelf layout would focus more narrowly along the tracks. Enjoy!
