Layout in the loft.

[Western52]

Hi this is my first post. What tips  are there for storing your Oo gauge in the loft?

[Philou]

I would suggest that the loft be dry and not subject to great variations in temperature. Make sure that it is well covered to protect it from dust. Mice and spiders are not your friends either! Do make sure that it is flat as any sagging due to parts being unsupported will be very difficult to iron out when you want to use it next time. (Flat doesn't necessarily mean flat on the floor but if it is resting at an angle, try any support it regularly from behind - dependent on its length of course.)

 

Cheers,

 

Philip

[The Johnster]

Agreed.  Lofts that are not properly insulated (which is not the same thing as insulating the floor to keep the house warm, that will just further isolate the loft) will experience huge temperature ranges, and these will not do electrical connections or point frogs any good at all, not to mention playing havoc with glued or soldered joints.  They need to be well ventilated as well, as damp and dry rot will make mincemeat of any baseboards or other woodwork, and moist conditions will rust any ferrous metals.

 

RTR stock and RTP track & buildings are designed to be used in the heated and ventilated part of your home; of course, this is where space is at it's highest premium and the needs of partners and children have to be taken into a/c.  Even for storage, uninsulated and poorly ventilated lofts, sheds, and garages are death to RTR model railways.  If you can afford it, the best solution is a full loft conversion, which will add value to your home, but of course will fall under the gaze of partners and children who would like to use if for their own purposes!

 

Writing this reminds me of how lucky I am to have The Squeeze, who is happy to let me use three walls of the bedroom of our rented flat for a layout.  When I bought a 2h Austerity tank a few years ago, I told her it was for the colliery.  'What colliery', she asked, and I explained that it was 'off stage' but the exchange siding was modelled.  Her father was a miner in South Poland, Silesia.  'Build colliery, then' she says, so I explain that it would need to be where the fy was and the fy would have to move alongside the bed towards 'her' wardrobe, and she'd have to squeeze past it.  'How big you think is my bum' (I know not to even think about responding to that), 'build colliery!'.

 

Now, that's a keeper...

[Jinty3f]

Think long term. Your knees are not going to get any better as you get older, and loft ladders are not as easy to climb in your 60s as they were in your 40s. And it comes around quicker than you imagine.

[smokebox]

Too cold in winter and far too hot in summer unless well insulated.

[ikcdab]

Are you storing it (as you say) or building it and operating it there? Two totally different things.  If just storing it, then wrap it up well in polythene or in secure boxes.  If you want to build and operate your railway there, then that's a different question...

[Lee-H]

I’ve had no problem with storage in the loft over many years so long as everything is boxed up and kept at floor level. As others have said, temperatures range from freezing to heatwave so don’t be tempted to pile it up as the temperature at head height is considerably higher than at floor level.

[cypherman]

Hi all,

I had a loft layout for over 20 years without a problem. We put in a Velux window for ventilation and lagged the roof before boarding it in. Yes it did get a bit warm in summer. But not enough to cause any damage. The lagging stopped it getting too cold in winter.

[Wheatley]

About the only advantage a loft has over an outbuilding of some sort is security.

 

1. There's a fine line between storing your layout in the loft and overloading the roof structure by adding a load of dead weight and clomping about on the rafters. If it's been converted properly (not just boarded out for storage) then fine but otherwise see numerous older threads on here about what can go wrong.

2. How old are you ? (rhetorical question). Getting up and down a loft ladder, let alone carrying things up and down a loft ladder, gets harder the older you get. 

3. It's dead easy to turn it into a condensation trap to the detriment of both the layout and the roof structure. 

 

I know it's a big tempting space but I would rather build a smaller layout in a shed or garage than faff about with the loft. Same issues with temperature variation apply but they're easier to deal with in something that isn't a vitally important structural part of your house, also it's much harder to fall out of a shed. The ideal is in the house somewhere; you don't need a whole spare room, there are numerous ways of fitting a decent layout in as part of the furniture with a bit of imagination.