# Is This Large Enought?



## Dennis Cherry (Feb 16, 2008)

We are building a new house and in the basement there is a room about 18x22 feet. Just one 36" entry door and nothing else in the room.

Is that large enough to consider for an indoor railroad?


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## hcampbell (Jan 2, 2008)

It sort of depends on what sort of railroad. Might be a bit cramped for the Santa Fe main line but could be a wonderful industrial line. 

Harvey C.


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## Homo Habilis (Jul 29, 2011)

That is just about the size of mine and I'm doing it in 1:20.3. It's logging themed with mainly 8' diameter curves, kind of a semi-folded dog bone. It is not point-to-point so I ended up having to include a number of access holes since there is only one isle. These will be mostly hinged with landscaping to hide them.


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## Madstang (Jan 4, 2008)

9' would be the largest curve you could go'.............the question what do you want to run and will that curve work?

Most things will run on 8', but some engines don't look pretty doing so.......if you are going to run 1:20 make sure you check if the engines will work on that.....I wish I had an indoor layout that was not up near the ceiling, that I run my 1:20 on.

Bubba


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## vsmith (Jan 2, 2008)

Sure it is, 4' dia, 5' dia, 6.5' and even 8' dia track makes planning for this area more than doable.


I've done 3 layouts in a 10x20 area of my garage, it can easily be done, but there are a few caviets to be aware of before you dive in. WHAT ARE YOU PLANNING ON RUNNING?, if your determined to run a great big Dash-9 or PA-1 Dismal you could end up having quite a boring layout because it will basicly be nothing but a great big circle. So, What do you plan to run? 


The minimum curve radius you use will determine how creative and extensive you layout will be.What you plan to run will determine your minimum radius. Now for indoor use, I am an advocate of R1 (4 foot diam) use, it allows you to get alot of track in a minimal space, allows for a more creative track plan, and maximum operations in the space given, the only real negative is you are* limited to using the smaller rolling stock*. But if your like me and really enjoy small mining and logging engines and cars, its alot of fun.


Here are some ideas of what I have planned using R1s
My original layout, demo'ed when the garage was rebuilt











Its replacement, which got downsized










This is planned for a back corner of the yard if I can ever get the area cleared and the fence rebuilt:








This is two layouts designed for a spare room:









This is my current layout, based on one of the spare room studies:












Here are some ideas based on 8' dia track should you insist on running great big dismals
Spare room using 8' dia.








This was for a forum member looking to put a layout in a 9 x 20 covered patio








One more General thing for any Newbies out there reading this, make sure your turnouts match your minimum dia curvature, more than a couple of newbies have bought 8' dia track then use R1 turnouts and then wonder why their PA-1 keeps derailing.

I think you could be fine in that space with 6.5' to 8' curves.One thing to keep in mind, REACH, the wider and therefore deeper your layout gets the harder it gets to reach in to get to derailed cars or couplers or turnouts, something to keep in mind that most indoor layouts try to limit maximum reach to no more than 36 inchs, even that is stretching it, I would suggest keeping a small step ladder handy, I know I use mine all the time. 


So 18 x 22 is more than enough, time to start planning


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## chuck n (Jan 2, 2008)

You could use LGB's 18000 series track. That diameter is about 16'. Most engines and cars can handle that very easily. Big Boys, Challengers and Allegehanies might have problems, but everything else is a go. In fact 10' diameter (Aristo large radius) would also work. Longer engines and cars will look better on the 10' curves than on the 8 footers. It really depends on the type of trains you are planning to run.

Chuck


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## vsmith (Jan 2, 2008)

Chuck in that space wouldnt he just end up with a big fat boring loop? Where the fun in that? 

The whole point of a layout should be having something interesting to run on, not whether you can simply run the biggest locomotive on the market.


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## chuck n (Jan 2, 2008)

He could do a folded figure 8 in that space which would be a little less boring. I wanted to add the word "diameter" to the discussion to show that it could be done. An earlier post just mentioned 8' or 9', was he talking about radius or diameter? 10' diameter curves would give space for sidings and industry. As you showed there are a lot of options available for that space.

Chuck


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## ThinkerT (Jan 2, 2008)

I set up an experimental layout intended for a 12 x 12 space which is not just a simple oval and incorporates a lot of mainline trackage. Check out the 'pizza pile up' thread in this subforum.


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## jaug (Oct 18, 2011)

Hi Dennis, I'm in the planning stages of a 1:20.3 indoor layout just as you, in a space just a bit larger than yours, my suggestion, for what it's worth, is to sit down and decide some things about what your want from your new layout. What location and or time period do you enjoy modeling, this will help determine your equipment and type of scenery you want to model. What type of motive power and rolling stock you have or want to purchase taking into account the era and the radius constraints of the equipment vs the space. Then think about what you want to model like a simple track to run trains or a more detailed layout. Do you want to run a continuous loop or a point to point system or both? Do you enjoy switching maneuvers or just watching your consists run? What structures if any, and what you enjoy doing most in the hobby, some like track work, others scenery, building rolling stock or structures, etc. Make a list of these things and then you'll have a basics for your plan, oh, and don't forget the Holy Grail..... The Budget.


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## AppleYankee (Jan 3, 2008)

Hi Dennis,

My available indoor space is roughly 11 X 26 ft. The curves are LGB 15000 (R2), the switches are Train-li R2's with a mix of LGB R1's.

The current design includes three switching areas and a host of other layout running opportunities and most importantly easy reach. 










Jan


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