# Room isn't a problem, the ceiling is.



## nbretz (Dec 14, 2017)

My room is located in a loft of my house. This is where I'd like to have my layout located. Space isn't a problem, it's my ceiling. Since it's a loft, the ceiling are slanted down towards the ground so, putting my bench-work up against the wall will hit the ceiling. Any tips?

Another small question,
Where does everyone get inspiration to model a certain railway? Are their any popular ones a ton model these days? Do you pick sections?


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## BrokeCurmudgeon (Feb 8, 2016)

Check this out. Good luck!


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## nbretz (Dec 14, 2017)

The issue is, the ceiling end about 20 inches from the ground, so if I walk over to the side of the room, I hit my head.


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## Lehigh74 (Sep 25, 2015)

Mine is in the attic. The roof slopes down to the attic floor. I made the platform about 1 foot above the floor to maximize the platform area. It is 20’ X 20’ with U shaped loops. The main walkway is in the center where the ceiling is highest, but once in a while I do bang my head on the ceiling. It is a PITA to work under the platform. I would make yours about 18-20” off the floor (again to maximize your area). If you run the track near the sloped ceiling, use an NMRA clearance gauge to make sure you won’t scrape you engines or cars against the ceiling.


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## Mark VerMurlen (Aug 15, 2015)

nbretz said:


> The issue is, the ceiling end about 20 inches from the ground, so if I walk over to the side of the room, I hit my head.


If you have a wide enough room, I would inset the layout into the center of the room such that I could have a 12" high backdrop between the sloping ceiling and the train board. Build the benchwork as an unsupported table in sections that you can bolt together. You could use the space behind the tables for storage.

Mark


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## johnfl68 (Feb 1, 2015)

You just have to be creative. Get the benchwork as close to the outside wall as possible, use trees or ground cover, etc. to fill the short space between the wall and sloped ceiling if unusable space because of height, and your standing area in the center of the room where you wont hit your head.

Go to google, search for:

loft train layout

and then click on the images tab.

There are lots of pictures of variations on this, ever loft/attic space is going to be different. Sketch some things out on paper, mock up a section or two by cutting up some cardboard boxes, to get a better feel of how something might work before committing to building it in wood.

Take your time, think about the space you have, and have fun!


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