Jump to content
 

Please use M,M&M only for topics that do not fit within other forum areas. All topics posted here await admin team approval to ensure they don't belong elsewhere.

Negotiation of space in the home for our hobby


Recommended Posts

My wife knew what she was getting into when she agreed to marry me... and as such, I've been lucky enough to have just about half of the basement to setup my trains. Part of the compromise was that as much of the space under the boards have been setup as storage shelves to help with the inevitable build up of crap that one accumulates!

 

The trains are in the side of the basement that also contains the deep freezer, washer and dryer.

 

The other half of the basement has the home theater system.

Link to post
Share on other sites

My wife knew what she was getting into when she agreed to marry me... and as such, I've been lucky enough to have just about half of the basement to setup my trains. Part of the compromise was that as much of the space under the boards have been setup as storage shelves to help with the inevitable build up of crap that one accumulates!

 

The trains are in the side of the basement that also contains the deep freezer, washer and dryer.

 

The other half of the basement has the home theater system.

 

I did the same thing with my current layout. huge amount of space under there and properly arranged I still have easy access to the underside of the board. :)

Link to post
Share on other sites

I've been in my house for ten years now, and it always had an odd slightly damp walled section to the side of the house that wasn't much use for anything other than accumulating rubbish. Except it was also almost exactly the right size for a 10' x 6' workshop style shed. Recently I've had the money to purchase and fit out said workshop (still working on it, in fact) but I'm chuffed at the idea of having a dedicated "man shed". Just having somewhere with a proper workbench and no cats to get fluff on stuff (or knock it over!) is good enough; having plenty of space for a decent sized layout or two is just the icing on the cake.

Link to post
Share on other sites

Well mine took 15 years to negotiate and I ended up in the loft it's 20 foot by 12 foot of workable space

It was helped by the increasing number of Grandchildren all liking Thomas the Tank Engine - there are 10 grandchildren at present

 

So in OO gauge not N as there was very little Thomas in N I have three tailchaser lines one of which snakes over the top of the two mainlines in a tunnel and there is also a goods branch and quite a few odd sidings

I have the required Steam Shed with three track shed, 2 road carriage shed which will hold 6 coaches, a rail accessed works and large goods depot and in build at the present a wagon works which will have 4 four roads and traverser from a single line access

 

As for workshop I use what used to be my study room when I used to have to undertake "PREP" to maintain my Nursing qualification so it is now organised my way and drives my Missuse mad due to it's apparent dis-organisation and clutter with buildings trees wagons loco's all in bits due to me buying broken stuff to repair /renovate/use for spares

Link to post
Share on other sites

  • RMweb Premium

Currently I live on my own in a self-contained flat converted from a Victorian/Edwardian house, rented privately on a 12 month agreement. The place is quite roomy and I do all my modelling in OO and N scale, running my trains in the living room because I have more room to set the board out and it's the warmest place in the flat.

However I have to move my layouts on my own at short notice and the biggest constraint to layout design is the size and weight of the board, so they have to be self-contained, quick to set up and disconnect, robust and not have too many fittings or details which could get snapped off. I have room in my bedroom to stack them vertically when not in use. For that reason I cannot leave stock out overnight.

The largest size board I can safely carry between my rooms is 4ft 8in x 3ft 6in, see my Horniman Park layout:

http://www.rmweb.co....__fromsearch__1

Link to post
Share on other sites

  • RMweb Gold

hi Rob,

 

In answer to your qs:

  • Whereabouts is your modelling work undertaken/layout placed and what’s the 'story' behind this location (if there is a discernable location for your modelling and layout, if there is not this is interesting in itself) ('story' in the sense of why/how and when this was set up as a space for your hobby whether this be a converted garage or purpose-built shed, negotiations with ‘domestic authorities’ as well as other activities that may take place there, ie home office)?

My modelling stuff lurks in different parts of the house: in my lounge at the moment my bookcase is (temporary) home to a kit-bashed 009 engine shed and loco, as well as a 00 Class 08! In 'my' part of the wardrobe in the main bedroom are lots of modelling bits and pieces - they take up more space than my clothes to my wife's annoyance, with scenic items, track, a few bits of 009 stock and a Gn15 kit! Despite all this my main space for modelling - or at least running trains - is in the loft, which was ready converted when we moved in in 2004. It's a bit of a pain as there is a trap door and ladder to gain acess, rather than proper stairs, and having the ladder down causes problems as it gets in the way - but at least the loft is my space, and somewhere I can indulge in running my trains - given half a chance...

  • What kinds of adaptions did you undertake for spending time modelling and hosting the layout and collections and why (better insulation against damp, heating ect)?

I had to clear out the loft a bit, as it was full of stuff dumped there when we moved in, but it was all boarded and insulated, even has a radiator and carpets, by the previous owners. When I saw it on viewing I thought, 'aha, possible layout room here!'. It took more than five years to get some baseboards in place and although the track is temporary it has a double circuit which is enough to keep me amused til I get more time to make things a bit permanent. As well as the model railway stuff I keep most of my railway books in the room, as well as a big collection of my OS maps!

  • To what extent do you have control of this space as opposed to the rest of the property?

I guess the loft is my space, more so than other rooms in the house, which are shared with the family - I did use to use the lounge but got ousted.

  • If you have a dedicated space, to what extent is your hobby limited to this room?

I do modelling on the sofa in the lounge some evenings, and the stuff I need for this - paints, powders, adhesives etc - are kept in the kitchen above the wall units and out of reach of the children. The kits are in my wardrobe though, and if they look nice when they're finished they end up - temporarily - in the bookcase in the lounge!

  • Have you had a go at decorating it, whats in there in beyond the layout in terms of stuff such as research files and do you display some of your models in it?

The loft has my railway books and stuff, but again some of this creeps downstairs for easy access and a warmer spot for reading. I tend not to go in the loft except when everyone is out - it just seems a bit antisocial to be hidden away up there. I guess if anything models are 'on display' downstairs, but only for a short while.

  • Some modellers are not allowed by their partners to have any model trains or other kinds of model related stuff displayed around the house to what extent does this relate to you?

Well, my wife is very tolerant! She drew a line, eventually, last year when I had taken over the dining room table with my 1970s Spencer Park layout, and this was shifted into the loft. I have a board sitting in the corner of my lounge now however, painted ready for track, for a Gn15 project, but I've not yet summoned the energy - or risked domestic upset - by setting it up in the lounge to begin working on it - perhaps over Christmas...

 

cheers,

 

Keith

Link to post
Share on other sites

  • 3 weeks later...

Like many my layout is setup in a small part of the house (a flat in this case). It's a small flat so there isn't an abundance of space for a massive layout, so I currently have "on display" two modules of 800x300mm for a total of 1600mm plus a 40mm fiddle yard. To go with this when I want to "play trains" I can connect to the display section some other modules that expand around the lounge in various combinations depending on mood etc...

 

But, a few times a year, I take some, all, or just stock, from my railway at home, to a meeting of the club I am a member of.

 

We're a significiant club, some 1000+ plus members across over a dozen countries (but most members are in Germany just 7 are in the UK)), and we all build modules to the same standards, and then a few times a year travel to meet up in a large venue, assemble the layout from the modules, and then play trains for the (extended) weekend, then pack it all up and take it home again. These meetings vary in size from half a dozen people with maybe 20-30m of through track, to 300+ members putting a layout together with 1.2KM of through track, 93 stations and 3 gauges (all in a room of 6000m²)

 

This means that from my small set of modules (that are at various states of construction), I can operate them in several different ways and an incredibly large number of combinations, from the little part on the shelf in my lounge, right upto part of an international collaborative layout.

 

J

Link to post
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.


×
×
  • Create New...