# I must be crazy



## Davidfd85 (Jul 4, 2011)

I was kidding around with my fiance the other day telling her I'm going to tear down my newly completed 10' X 14' X 33" HO around the room layout and rebuild it in N scale. She came back with why not just put an N scale layout in the middle of the room.

Well I just checked for the heck of it but I could put a nice little 15" X 4' switching layout right in the middle of the room. 

Am I crazy or would this work with that much room ? That is leaving a 24" walkway all the way around it also. I'm using a NCE DCC so I could just expand that to both layouts I think too.

Need some opinions on this idea to help me decide.

Thanks
David


----------



## flyboy2610 (Jan 20, 2010)

We're all crazy. That's why we're _here!!_:laugh:


----------



## shaygetz (Sep 23, 2007)

Why not?


----------



## DonR (Oct 18, 2012)

Nothing wrong with a layout in the middle of the room, but you do give up
that appearance of trains running on a 'more distant' track.

I made the mistake of leaving only about 18" for an 'aisle'
in one part of my layout. I can't even turn around in that.

Make sure, if you go the center room route, that your passage
ways will permit you to move without brushing against buildings
and other layout parts.

Don


----------



## fcwilt (Sep 27, 2013)

Lie down for a bit - perhaps this madness will pass.


----------



## CTValleyRR (Jul 26, 2014)

Why not? You can never have too many layouts. I have my layout (granted in an unfinished state), my son's (also undergoing major modification), and as of last count, 3 dioramas (non-operating) that I made to experiment with various scenery techniques.

You could pass a set of bus wires from the main layout underneath a piece of carpet or foam padding to avoid a trip hazard. I think your NCE system should be able to handle that just fine.


----------



## fcwilt (Sep 27, 2013)

CTValleyRR said:


> Why not? You can never have too many layouts.


It depends on how much free time you have, how much money to spend on the hobby and if you want a layout that makes folks say "wow!".


----------



## CTValleyRR (Jul 26, 2014)

fcwilt said:


> It depends on how much free time you have, how much money to spend on the hobby and if you want a layout that makes folks say "wow!".


And yet I work full time, am an Assistant Scoutmaster with a local Boy Scout troop, and am on a very limited budget due to current and pending college tuition payments. I find the time, although I sometimes have to wait a few months for the budget to catch up.

Does my layout make people go "wow"? Don't know.... and don't really care. That's not it's purpose -- it's purpose is so that I can have fun, often with my youngest son -- and for that it is more than sufficient. But part of the fun for us is in the creative process -- building, painting, and adding scenery or details, so we'd just as soon not come to the end of that road.


----------



## A&NRR (Aug 2, 2015)

I agree with Don, make sure you have plenty of room to move around your layout, especially during building. My last layout several years ago, I had 24" wide aisles in some areas and hated it. I personally like 3' walkways you have room to move without looking like Godzilla stalking the landscape.


----------

