The Train Room

The N-scale CSX Dixie Line layout will occupy a basement room that is 18’-2” long by 9’-2” wide, or roughly 162 square feet in area. This room, which has no windows and a single 36” wide opening (with no door) along one of the long walls, was finished along with most of the basement in the spring of 2002. The floor is covered with padded, commercial grade carpeting and the ceiling features a 2’ x 2’ suspended ceiling grid hung at 9’ above floor level. There are three commercial grade 2’ x 4’ fluorescent lighting fixtures recessed into the ceiling and abundant electrical outlets. This room is wired on an independent 15 amp branch circuit. The entire basement is climate controlled with regards to heating & air conditioning and humidity.

There is really only one hard political constraint with regards to the layout: it must fit entirely in this single room. This includes all mainline, branchline and staging areas. While future expansion may reach into adjoining rooms, I have decided that setting the political boundary to the confines of this single room is the best way to get started and will discourage me from biting off more than I can chew (as if I haven't done this already!). This also means that there will be no carpentry involved with the room itself other than attaching benchwork to the walls as needed. Most importantly, none of my beautiful drywall will need to be punched through!

Photos

Here is a diagram of the room that will house the CSX Dixie Line layout (click any picture for larger version):



Here is a view looking away from the entrance. The helix will be in the distance at the end of the peninsula that runs down the middle of the long axis of the room:



Here is a view looking back the other way towards the entrance. The peninsula will attach to the middle of the short wall, or just behind where my current test layout is:



Here is my current test layout and a small 2' x 4' layout:

The test layout is built on a hollow core interior door mounted on folding banquet table legs. I believe it uses the same track plan that Dave Vollmer's N Scale Pennsy Middle Division layout is based on. I hope to have just a bit of the same success that Dave has had with his impressive layout!

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