Karhedron Posted November 27, 2012 Share Posted November 27, 2012 My 8'x1' layout lacks a permenent home and gets set up on the dining table when I want to work on it. It was originally designed to tuck under the sofa-bed with my better half's permission. I therefore designed it with a rather short backscene of 4". It quickly got ejected from its home when the boys aquired some scalextric and it now lives stood on one end in the corner of the dining room. Fortunately we have an extension in the works which will include an office. My grand plan is to turn it into a shelf layout above the office desk. Much careful pleading will be required I suspect. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
34theletterbetweenB&D Posted November 27, 2012 Share Posted November 27, 2012 The property we now live in came with a suitable out building, which my wife identified as 'most suitable for the layout' within seconds of seeing it. At 30 feet long and not even mentioned in the property particulars, I thought I had died and gone to heaven... The room has been reroofed, some insulation has gone in mainly to stop excessive solar heating in summer, lighting has been installed. I am happy to dress heavily in winter as one would for lineside viewing: adds to the atmosphere. My principal interest and reason for having a layout is watching the operation, as if standing by the line. Total dominion over all I survey, ho, ho, ho. The more delicate garden furniture and much of the equipment (both of us are enthusiastic gardeners) is stowed in carefully planned accomodation under the layout. It's a shared hobby space. I use my study in the house for modelling projects on cold winter days as the fingers lose dexterity below about 8C; as opposed to operation which is restricted to the layout. From sometime in March to October, typically everything model railway pretty much happens in the layout room. No decoration yet as such, Madam has plans though - she is scenic director. Attractive models are permitted on display in the house- no weathering please - usually a few of her Pullman cars and a gleaming Doncaster pacific. The models are bought or made for operation, so most cannot be spared from their proper place however, which is on the layout. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Poggy1165 Posted November 27, 2012 Share Posted November 27, 2012 I have never had any dispute with my wife on this issue. I have a bedroom for the railway and models and books show up in various places. We share a table for our crafts, one works at each end. It helps enormously that neither of us is obsessively tidy and that neither of us is a control freak. I suppose it's fair to say that we are both also mildly eccentric and don't give a flying one for what the neighbours (or anyone else) thinks of our activities. We have a vague idea of moving 'one day' but space for hobbies would certainly be an issue to be taken into account. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium jamie92208 Posted November 27, 2012 RMweb Premium Share Posted November 27, 2012 As the layout is 40' by 20' there's no chance of putting it up at home so it lives stacked up in the shed (10 by 6 with an extra foot of height specified when it was purchased. There is also a small amount of garden stuff at one end of the shed. My modelling is in a spare bedroom as the kids have all left home. This is lined with shelves and the wardrobe is full of stock boxes. 2 desks allow for various projects. the shelves mainly contain books and magazines though most of the magazines are in the loft. The garage has a lot of timber in it which is gradually being converted into crates for the layout and other such things. The room also contains the family filing cabinet which provides more space to fill with junk. The main problem is that there is no place to put all the other stuff related to other hobbies such as tram restoration and the book sales that support that so there is constant negotiation about what goes where in other parts of the house. Jamie Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
28XX Posted November 27, 2012 Share Posted November 27, 2012 When Mrs 28XX has drunk and eaten herself to death and the mortgage is paid off by the insurance I will have all the freedom I need. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
AJ427 Posted November 27, 2012 Share Posted November 27, 2012 My house/cottage is very small but thankfully has a large garden and therefore my layout and workbench are housed in a 16'x8' shed which was purchased for this purpose as well as for general storage of tools and gardening equipment. The shed has been waterproofed, insulated, boarded out, electrics/lighting fitted and alarmed. Originally I had hoped to make use of all of this space but SWMBO has negotiated away a quarter for gardening purposes which is now only seasonally (and even then rarely) used. Most of my modelling takes place in the shed although occasionally small or relatively clean tasks (such as building a plastic kit) may be undertaken at the kitchen table. Research materials and some stock are stored in a couple of cupboards in the house. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
scouser Posted November 27, 2012 Share Posted November 27, 2012 We have a house with three large bedrooms. The kids are grown and so I decided that one bedroom should be mine. I put my foot down and demanded my husbandly rights to actually use some of the house I was paying for! Yes, your quite right, it is a very nice shed. I'm still trying to figure out what happened, no arguments and somehow it ended up being my decision. How the hell do they do that? Oh and apparently wifey tells me it's a cabin.... p.s. what's a SWIMBO? Paul ( I wear the trousers in this shed!!) Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Natalie Graham Posted November 27, 2012 Share Posted November 27, 2012 I decided that one bedroom should be mine. I put my foot down and demanded my husbandly rights Didn't that require a shared bedroom? That's my coat on the peg in the corner. My new house, (fingers crossed the move goes through ok ) has two interconnected outbuildings approximately fifty feet long each. I could probably fit in a 12" to the foot scale box file layout. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karhedron Posted November 27, 2012 Share Posted November 27, 2012 p.s. what's a SWIMBO? Paul ( I wear the trousers in this shed!!) She Who Instantly Must Be Obeyed? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
28XX Posted November 27, 2012 Share Posted November 27, 2012 She Who Instantly Must Be Obeyed? Rumpole of the Bailey coined this phrase. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
gordon s Posted November 27, 2012 Share Posted November 27, 2012 With no need to go to the office, I decided I could work equally well from home so we had an integral double garage converted to an office/utility room and a new garage built away from the house. Recognising an 18' x 18' space would be great for a railway room, the plans were changed to convert the old garage loft into another room with a staircase to the side of the utility room. Should we ever decide to move it would easily convert into a bedroom or studio. Even with this dedicated space, I really enjoy the company of my wife so invariably end up doing bits and pieces on the kitchen table whilst she is cooking, grooming the dogs or just pottering around. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium newbryford Posted November 27, 2012 RMweb Premium Share Posted November 27, 2012 I used to have a small desk in the spare bedroom that was my modelling space. But it meant that my usual late night modelling sessions had to be done very quietly. Fumes from adhesives/paints could also be an odd nuisance. I eventually negotiated a 10'x8' shed in the garden for my space, if I gave up the desk to be used as a "home office" The shed is insulated/heated/lit and even has a two way intercom into the house - usually used by Mrs nb to tell me she's off to bed and not to wake her up! At about the same time, we acquired wireless broadband in the house and the router is conveniently placed to provide a signal into the shed for net access. Latest addition has been a combined TV/DVD and freeview. The DVD is useful for picture research and the freeview is background entertainment instead of the radio/CD. I don't presently have a home layout as there isn't space for the size I'd like - as I have regular access to two exhibition layouts at the club, they satisfy my current needs for running stock on a weekly basis. I usually only keep projects that I'm working on and materials for those in the shed, but there is some other model railway "junk" in there. All the finished stock (and stock for the "round tuit" stuff) is kept securely in the house, along with most of my library in the previously mentioned spare bedrom. The shed is pretty much my domain, but does become a temporary store when we clear out the conservatory if we have visitors. If I'm doing a "clean" job, such as transfers, I'll often setup on the kitchen table to save turning the heating on in the shed, but the stuff must be removable at about 5 minutes notice! Within a day or two before an exhibition, the kitchen and conservatory can become temporary storage for the stock being readied for a show - especially if i feel like a big wheel cleaning session that'll I do on teh kitchen worktop (the 5-minute rule to clear the worktop also applies) All in all, I don't do too badly and even when we viewed the house before buying, SWMBO was quite happy with our back fence view. Cheers, Mick Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
westcountryman Posted November 27, 2012 Share Posted November 27, 2012 There is absolutely no question as far as my layout, stock & kit is concerned, it's the shed! However, when she is immersed in Professional Masterchef, Downton, Strictly etc, I usually sneak onto the kitchen table! What is not so good is an overexcited Jack Russell, who waits under the cutting mat, convinced that anything dropping is food based! I've had to wrestle whitemetal vacuum pipes, blobs of modelling clay & all sorts of odds & sods from his rather sharp teeth! Having a fully insulated shed, with safe electrics & a thermostatic fan heater has it's distinct advantages. Cheers Rob Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium jbqfc Posted November 27, 2012 RMweb Premium Share Posted November 27, 2012 I have never had any dispute with my wife on this issue. I have a bedroom for the railway and models and books show up in various places. We share a table for our crafts, one works at each end. It helps enormously that neither of us is obsessively tidy and that neither of us is a control freak. I suppose it's fair to say that we are both also mildly eccentric and don't give a flying one for what the neighbours (or anyone else) thinks of our activities. We have a vague idea of moving 'one day' but space for hobbies would certainly be an issue to be taken into account. that sounds a lot like our house Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lady_Ava_Hay Posted November 27, 2012 Share Posted November 27, 2012 As I recall the negotiations went something like this:- "OK bitch, listen up! I am going to possess the second bedroom and completely trash it with wall to wall baseboards and a model railway layout. i will never be in there for more than five minutes without screaming imprecations at you and the rest of the world about that lost tool/small part/price of the last loco and I will pack up smoking to pay for it and shout at you with withdrawal symptoms. I will run my dodgy, sparky locos during Strictly Come Dancing or EastEnders or both and woe betide you if you pass comment. I will poison the pets with indoor paint spraying, never Hoover the floor or dust anything except the layout. Lots of foul smells will emanate from this room and I will cough more than when I smoked. Everything that goes wrong or missing will be your fault." "I hope all this is clear." " A lift to your mother's? Of course. No time like the present but I will just finish this little job......oh damn. Take the b----y bus will you? Oh and make a tea before you go. I am spitting feathers here!" Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Danemouth Posted November 27, 2012 Share Posted November 27, 2012 Rumpole of the Bailey coined this phrase. Hate to be a knowall but the phrase was coined by H. Ryder-Haggard in the novel She - how do I know? Made the same mistake on RMWeb some time back and was put right. So RMWeb has uses other than for model & prototype railways Cheers, Dave Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anglian Posted November 27, 2012 Share Posted November 27, 2012 Didn't that require a shared bedroom? That's my coat on the peg in the corner. My new house, (fingers crossed the move goes through ok ) has two interconnected outbuildings approximately fifty feet long each. I could probably fit in a 12" to the foot scale box file layout. So what are you going to fill these huge spaces with? Sound fabulous. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjcampbell Posted November 27, 2012 Share Posted November 27, 2012 Since the arrival of kids has led to all bedrooms being occupied (although my Son has a fold-out train-set under his bed for us him to play with), and there being little other space in the house, I have had to be ingenious. The loft and pre-fab garage are unsuitable, a shed is an option but: a ) It would rather eat into the not exactly massive garden space if a decent size - which would bother the wife and kids more than he who mows the lawn! b ) A decent size, insulated shed with power and heat would not be cheap. Children, I'm finding, are not cheap either. c ) I do actually like my wife's company and so would probably spend very little time in a shed/garage/loft! So the space available - and agreed enthusiastically by the wife, provided I promised to make it presentable - was an alcove next to the fire place in the dining room. The 009 layout is just 3' 6" long by about 13" deep, and sits above a bureau and below some shelves. It is actually on drawer runners so it can slide forward, and have a small fiddle yard attached over the fire place, but can be shunted without. The result is tidy, acceptable and even a talking-point. It has integral lighting, and the fascia has been stained since this (rather old) photo to match the other furniture. The shelves are used for my railway books, and part of the cupboard in the bureau is used to contain my toolbox, basic materials and bits boxes, current projects, and the "workbench". This is my home-made modelling tray which can be used on the dining table, or more usually on a TV-dinner type table next to the wife in the lounge. This makes modelling very social, and only takes 2 minutes to get out and put away (current project being left on the tray). It does limit messy and smelly work, and painting is done at the dining table only, but still I get far more modelling done with both the workbench and layout to hand than I would in a separate room. The size of the layout is limited, and lots of "stuff" is tucked away in other parts of the house, but for now this is a good compromise of space, sociability, and projects I can actually progress! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Donw Posted November 28, 2012 RMweb Gold Share Posted November 28, 2012 I have a similar modelling tray which fits onto a very similar table. My tray also fits into an old brief case which makes it handy to carry around. I can also take it with me in the motorhome. Marion is very considerate regarding allowing room space for a layout but has strange ideas like keeping it tidy and being able to hoover the floors. I believe that handy space within the home often gets used more than an outside shed. It always seems a bit antisocial to disappear down the shed at every opportunity. Don Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cleefy Posted November 28, 2012 Share Posted November 28, 2012 Since moving out of my folks' house I've always used my spare bedroom as a room for hobbies, which in reality meant music/home recording and video games (hey, I was one of the ZX Spectrum generation - it never leaves you!). Now that my interest in this hobby has been rekindled, that same room has had its contents shuffled about a bit to make room for a 12' x 2' layout along one wall. I could make more room by moving my home recording gear off to one side, but the best position for it is in the middle of the room and I don't want to sacrifice that. It's all about compromise, innit? I don't have a garage (and even if I did it would be used for storing and working on my bike and car) and I can't afford a loft conversion. Whilst I do have an outbuilding I could use, getting it drylined etc. would also be costly and its shape doesn't really lend itself to building a tailchaser, which is what I'd want if I was going to justify the cost. A shed is also out of the question as my yard is small and cluttered enough already. I have a small conservatory that I use for work such as servicing, soldering and painting - loads of natural light and it keeps the fumes out of the house. As for the domestic authorities, I made it clear to my ex-girlfriend that if we were to move in together, I'd want one room that would be mine for me to do with as I liked and she could decide for the rest of the house if she wanted. Issuing that particular ultimatum, however, wasn't one of the reasons why said co-habitation never happened, but that's another story for another time Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold pirouets Posted November 28, 2012 RMweb Gold Share Posted November 28, 2012 I'm lucky enough to have had space in the garden to put a shed up, but I do look back and think I could have got something bigger. We don;t have a garage in the garden like the neighbours and I remember when I marked out the 2 sizes on the grass with string showning 12*6 (which I waht I have ) compared to 16*8 thinking should I be cheeky and make the size bigger than the actual dimensions to end up with 14*7. Don't get me wrong. I am happy with what I have but I did miss a trick, and my wife agrees that by the time the shed dies, the kids will be older anyway so a bit less garden space will not be an issue. This may also be the point where my eyes cannot cope with N so I move up to 4mm. The key reason I feel the lack of space even though I model in N is that if I build to my ambition, the centre space in the shed gets cramped and I lose the location for a desk to model on, so for now, phase 2 of my layout may never get built as I would prefer to be able to swing a gauge 1 cat, rather than a t gauge one. Hopefully a few hours will be spent out there tonight. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rivercider Posted November 28, 2012 Share Posted November 28, 2012 My layout is located in our spare (double) bedroom. It is a decent sized room, the layout 8' 6" x 18" is along one wall. It rests on 3 Ikea chests of drawers 2 of which are full of stock boxes the other I use for clothes. There are also 2 bookcases, one of which has some of my railway books and photographs stored. On the walls are 3 display cases for stock not currently used, and some railway pictures. The rest of the room is used for clothes storage in wardrobes, and clothes airing. My partner suggested I got myself a model railway after redundancy from full time work on the railway. I think I could have occupied more of the room if I had wanted a roundy roundy layout. I dont do much actual modelling, but when I rarely do, making up kits or painting models I use the dining room table, but have to clear away after every modelling session. My other railway books are in a large bookcase in the lounge and another in the hallway. All harmony here, my partners main hobby is the garden/greenhouse where she spends her spare time (when the weather is better), cheers Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kenton Posted November 28, 2012 Share Posted November 28, 2012 Another garage dweller (cars and garages have never been associated in the life of this household) In the garage there are DIY tools and essentials, the house boiler and water system, food freezers and a drinks/wine refrigerator. Oh, and no fewer than 5 layouts (none finished). The front doors are sealed and boarded to prevent drafts but there is no heating other than a small portable oil heater. It starts to get very cold in there about this time of year so layout modelling is curtailed. I also have a large bookcase in one of the spare bedrooms for literature, my wife has another room for her cookery and sewing library. For day work - kit building - I have a 10x12 'study' room, that has the PC and two desks used as benches/solder stations. Oh, and in the attic there is an old trunk full of kits. SWMBO doesn't go into the attic, but being a "modern" house the attic space is useless as a railway room conversion. The wife has two dedicated rooms, one for hobbies (sewing, embroidery, quilting) and one that is her office for work. We don't have problems with space (it is a pretty big house with now only the two of us) but I know there would be trouble if I used the dining room table or other reception rooms for modelling - so for a quiet life I don't. I don't collect, so do not need anywhere to display. If I did, I probably could as SWMBO's quilts adorn almost every wall of the house. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
peach james Posted November 28, 2012 Share Posted November 28, 2012 OK- started out in a upstairs "family room", in the mid 1980's. It helps that mum is interested in all things mechanical, except for some strange reason, she wants a model of the ACR in winter as her model ! (in N, I'd guess...) That was 4x5, and folded up onto the wall. (it only came down 2 or 3 times off the wall, when someone went climbing on it...). Then, it grew a little bit (2x2 more), and finally, got taken apart to start making serious model railways with peco and stuff...(2, 2ft by 4 ft modules), which then kicked around for a good # of years...) We moved, and I got what was 8x10 in the dining room/mum's sewing room, and the layout went around the outsides of that. (built up on ~2x4 ft sections. Then, I got consigned into the basement, where I had 9x11 (outstanding !), which I had to build the room for. The room was done when I was 15. Over to the other parent's house, as he bought a house in Elliot Lake with a empty basement- only problem was it was ~30 min away by foot & I didn't drive. So, layout sections went over there, the layout was over there, but I did most of the modeling in the railway room. (Long Marton V1) So, off I go to join the Navy, and bring my "little" layout with me- this was at the time, a set of completely unfinished plywood frames for a 1x5 layout. That lived in my barracks room for my trades training, generated a few little smiles, and was generally better recieved than a lot of the other stupid antics that people got up to !. I had to break up the first version of Long Marton at around this time, as it was never going to make the move to the west coast, so I saved what could be saved (trackwork) and burned the rest in my dad's back yard. My wife met me out here- she knew about the incredible Lego collection fairly quickly, as well as the little layout, as it was sitting in the space I was living in too. My appartment that I moved into was far worse- 3.5" railway engine in one corner, the shunting layout above it, then the rest of the 1 bedroom apartment was FULL of lego. We moved to Newfoundland, and I had the back room for my lego, the front room as a study/spare bedroom/lego building area. When we started doing up the list of things we wanted in a house, my item was a basement that I could have & gut. (hers were a fireplace and land for a horse). So, we ended up here, where I have most of the basement for my hobbies, and she has a fireplace & a horse. I'm not sure if there was a length that I had in mind before I started- I seem to think that 30' long may have been used as my criteria for how long on one wall. The lego is much more freeform than the serious modeling, but because I was coming back with only the little portable layout, I wasn't set on any particular configuration. Now, I would be stuck with requiring a minimum of 36' in one direction, because I would be loath to abandon the modules of Long Marton that I have done. James Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gordon Connell Posted November 28, 2012 Share Posted November 28, 2012 Well my layout is in the loft. When we were looking to buy the house I spotted that it was already floored and had lighting and power sockets. My wife was happy for me to use some of it for a layout as long as there was still some space for storage. The loft could probably stand a little more insulation but that keeps getting put off. My current layout is very child-friendly (or basic depending on your point of view) and my wife tells me that she enjoys the peace when the children and I go upstairs to "play with the trains". Modelling work either takes place in the loft or more usually on the dining-room table and so long as I tidy it away at the end of a session this is not a problem. There isn't a lot of obvious railway-related material around the house. The models are all in the loft and the books are in our bedroom. My wife views my hobby as quite harmless and is resigned to the fact that whenever we talk about possible holiday locations the first thing I do is check to see what heritage railways/museums are close by. Gordon Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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