# SP basement layout



## Bonz85 (Sep 16, 2019)

Finally finished the bench work for my layout, still have a little refining to do and will start cleaning up the mess tomorrow but should be able to start laying track this weekend. Don't plan on doing much for scenery for now and will be a fairly basic layout but will slowly add in details.


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## D&J Railroad (Oct 4, 2013)

Did you use screws so you could take it apart to make adjustments?


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## Bonz85 (Sep 16, 2019)

Yes used screws so changes would be fairly easy. Also have a few sections bolted together so when the eventually servicing of the furnace, water heater, water softener is need it won't be to much trouble to access or replace them.


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## flyboy2610 (Jan 20, 2010)

Looks good! That's going to be quite the layout! I look forward to seeing it take shape!


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## 93firebird (Dec 25, 2011)

Looks good! Is there a trackplan we can see?

Sent from my SM-G960U using Tapatalk


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## Bonz85 (Sep 16, 2019)

Got one of my main lines finished and in service, around a third done with the second main line. Got sick of looking at bare track so got some of my rolling stock and locomotives out of storage.


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## BigGRacing (Sep 25, 2020)

One, lots of nice looking equipment there!


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## Bonz85 (Sep 16, 2019)

Thanks


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## Bonz85 (Sep 16, 2019)

Got both my main lines running last week now working on my sidings/branch lines.


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## Andreash (Dec 30, 2018)

I’m looking forward to seeing this progress..cheers


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## Bonz85 (Sep 16, 2019)

Finished up on my track in my north room now just need to wire it up which wont take long.


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## MichaelE (Mar 7, 2018)

That's gonna be one helluvan HO layout. Nice work. I envy your space.


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## Bonz85 (Sep 16, 2019)

All the locomotives and rolling stock in those last three pics I bought from a guy who posted on this forum. The post was over 9 months old but still had a bunch of stuff and ended up living only a hour from me and delivered it.


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## Bonz85 (Sep 16, 2019)

Finally got around to doing a quick walk around of my layout. Nothing running but can at least see all my progress.


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## afboundguy (Jan 10, 2021)

Makes me wish I could use my whole basement to do something like that!


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## Bonz85 (Sep 16, 2019)

afboundguy said:


> Makes me wish I could use my whole basement to do something like that!


I was regretting a bit as I was building it but now that things are running smoothly I'm glad I did. Wasn't using the basement for anything else so was no loss of space either.


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## afboundguy (Jan 10, 2021)

Bonz85 said:


> I was regretting a bit as I was building it but now that things are running smoothly I'm glad I did. Wasn't using the basement for anything else so was no loss of space either.


Wife and I are having disagreements but we do use it mainly for storage as you can see from all the tubs in the pictures


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## Bonz85 (Sep 16, 2019)

Depending on how you build your layout you can still retain a lot of storage space. Also going through all the stuff I had in my basement I realized half of it could be thrown.


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## afboundguy (Jan 10, 2021)

Bonz85 said:


> Depending on how you build your layout you can still retain a lot of storage space. Also going through all the stuff I had in my basement I realized half of it could be thrown.


Oh I know this she's just stubborn lol... I have thrown out several bins worth of stuff already just from moving all the shelving units around to paint floors and walls...


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## Bonz85 (Sep 16, 2019)

Finally adding some buildings to my layout.


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## Bonz85 (Sep 16, 2019)

Industrial section and locomotive yard pretty close to what I want. Loco yard will change a bit when I get an engine house. Will eventually add more to the industrial park.


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## BigGRacing (Sep 25, 2020)

It is looking awesome Bonz !


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## Bonz85 (Sep 16, 2019)

BigGRacing said:


> It is looking awesome Bonz !


Thanks. Now just need to decide how I want to fill that dead space. I don't think a residential setting would look right and can't really do any more rail serviced industries.


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## Big Ed (Jun 16, 2009)

Bonz85 said:


> Thanks. Now just need to decide how I want to fill that dead space. I don't think a residential setting would look right and can't really do any more rail serviced industries.


Looking good.  Or looking well. 

A diner would be nice with a gas station nearby?
Auto lot? With an old house for the office?
Scrap yard?
Truck stop? Or truck terminal?


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## Bonz85 (Sep 16, 2019)

Big Ed said:


> Looking good.  Or looking well.
> 
> A diner would be nice with a gas station nearby?
> Auto lot? With an old house for the office?
> ...


All good ideas and would fit in quite well or good 😁. Even before I started my layout I thought a RR museum would be cool to do and this might be a good spot and a gas station and diner would fit in good with that.


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## Big Ed (Jun 16, 2009)

Bonz85 said:


> All good ideas and would fit in quite well or good 😁. Even before I started my layout I thought a RR museum would be cool to do and this might be a good spot and a gas station and diner would fit in good with that.


A museum would be nice, and old locomotives, old cabooses and passenger cars sitting around it.
Bring a siding in for the scenic RR train.


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## 65446 (Sep 22, 2018)

Why did you not have cork or foam roadbed under main line ? Sidings, spurs, yards OK without..
But main should be shouldered..Plus it likely will be noisy running without roadbed, track right down on ply...
Also, having all powered switches (TOs) forces you to have a fixed panel for the buttons on a track schematic, or to mount buttons on fascia adjacent to each switch. With a panel you won't really be sure if you've got the correct route of each or not, being far away from switches..Bench is shallow enough you could have skipped motors and thrown switches manually, the way the 1:1 scale does in most every situation...Towers do throw switches remotely, but it's mostly on high speed main lines. All switching/interchanging is done manually..
I do like the layout, otherwise...


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## Bonz85 (Sep 16, 2019)

telltale said:


> Why did you not have cork or foam roadbed under main line ? Sidings, spurs, yards OK without..
> But main should be shouldered..Plus it likely will be noisy running without roadbed, track right down on ply...
> Also, having all powered switches (TOs) forces you to have a fixed panel for the buttons on a track schematic, or to mount buttons on fascia adjacent to each switch. With a panel you won't really be sure if you've got the correct route of each or not, being far away from switches..Bench is shallow enough you could have skipped motors and thrown switches manually, the way the 1:1 scale does in most every situation...Towers do throw switches remotely, but it's mostly on high speed main lines. All switching/interchanging is done manually..
> I do like the layout, otherwise...


Main reason that the mainlines don't have roadbed is nothing for the most part is permanently mounted, besides nailing the flex track for curves and a couple switches. I'm basically in the design phase yet, figuring out how I want everything before I start adding scenery, but for now I'm just enjoying running my trains. Will likely lay 2" foam and road bed but just winging it for now. As far as switches go, even though many have a motor all are used manually but don't do it just because that's how the 1:1, I just enjoying manually doing it plus the motors keep the switches in place. Once I lay the track permanently I will get rid of the motors.
As far as the noise, when my ears start bleeding from the insane amount of noise created I just get some ear plugs. "Joking" honestly I don't get why people are so concerned about noise level. Noise is pretty minimal, unless you need a completely silent train. I run mostly Athearn bb so the noise from those is more than any rail noise.


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## flyboy2610 (Jan 20, 2010)

I have that same ice house and platform kit.
Gonna have to build that one'a these days....


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## MichaelE (Mar 7, 2018)

BIERGARTEN!!


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## Bonz85 (Sep 16, 2019)

flyboy2610 said:


> I have that same ice house and platform kit.
> Gonna have to build that one'a these days....


Haven't decided where I'm going to put it but have a lot of old style reefers and think it will be fitting for my layout.


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## Bonz85 (Sep 16, 2019)

MichaelE said:


> BIERGARTEN!!


Not a bad idea but that part of my layout is a dry county.


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## Bigfoot21075 (Aug 7, 2021)

WOW! I have train room envy. that is going to be VERY cool!!!


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## Bonz85 (Sep 16, 2019)

Thanks


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## Project510 (Aug 24, 2021)

Wow, this looks incredible. Love that tunnel!


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## Bonz85 (Sep 16, 2019)

Project510 said:


> Wow, this looks incredible. Love that tunnel!


Thanks, it's coming along.


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## Bonz85 (Sep 16, 2019)

Finally made the decision to go with foam, worked out that it was on sale at menards to. Found some things I want to change and make improvements to so glad only a small bit of my track is nailed down. Will be easy to remove and start laying foam.


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## SF Gal (11 mo ago)

WOW! What a snake of a layout. Not much for line of sight and that has me curious! So thinking it through, I am wondering how all this works, for you. Looks like you are going to have to invest in a video system with monitors and cameras in every room or have a operator in each space if you are going to run mutiple consists. I suppost having flat level track, perfect curves, and good turnouts can give you piece of mind as your loco leaves the room. Maybe your going to automate the layout with sensors and a PC to monitor blocks of mainline? Or just run one train at a time? 
What is your take on operations? Very interesting!


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## Bonz85 (Sep 16, 2019)

SF Gal said:


> WOW! What a snake of a layout. Not much for line of sight and that has me curious! So thinking it through, I am wondering how all this works, for you. Looks like you are going to have to invest in a video system with monitors and cameras in every room or have a operator in each space if you are going to run mutiple consists. I suppost having flat level track, perfect curves, and good turnouts can give you piece of mind as your loco leaves the room. Maybe your going to automate the layout with sensors and a PC to monitor blocks of mainline? Or just run one train at a time?
> What is your take on operations? Very interesting!


My operations are quite simple and don't foresee having multiple people running trains. Definitely won't be getting to fancy with it so no cameras or anything like that. With the 2 main lines I can run 2 trains without fear of them hitting each other unless I have a major derailment. I'm currently just running DC and will be for the foreseeable future, where my controllers are located I can see if the train is moving at any given point as long as it's at least 30 cars long or so. However this is one of the reasons I pull a caboose is so I know if I had a uncoupling, it's saved me from my locomotives smashing into the cars it was pulling. 
The biggest downsides to my layout are the tight radius and steep grade. There is a 3.5 inch height difference between the highest and lowest points, I didn't do this on purpose though, I didn't factor in how tall my washer and dryer were when I started building so had to have the grade so the track could run over them. It also makes the grade in less thsn 15 feet. However when I add the 2 inch foam it will bring the grade to a reasonable level and a smoother transition. Also my current radius is 22" for one mainline and 24" for the other. However after laying the foam and re routing one part I should be able to increase both mainlines to 26" radius. 
The grade and radius do put a bit of a limit on how many cars I can pull without a dpu but it would substantially shorten the lenght of my layout if I wanted a bigger radius so I'll have to just deal with it. The grade definitely creates a problem with long trains because at a scale speed some can barely make it up the grade and then come flying down, but that problem will soon be over.
This is the first layout I've built other than it being on the floor so have learned a fare bit and glad I didn't make anything permanent the first time around.


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## afboundguy (Jan 10, 2021)

Bonz85 said:


> View attachment 590381
> 
> 
> Finally made the decision to go with foam, worked out that it was on sale at menards to. Found some things I want to change and make improvements to so glad only a small bit of my track is nailed down. Will be easy to remove and start laying foam.


I think you'll be happy you did! I love the flexibility I have with that foam under the track!


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## Bonz85 (Sep 16, 2019)

afboundguy said:


> I think you'll be happy you did! I love the flexibility I have with that foam under the track!


How did you mount your track to the foam? Is it not permanent? My plan is to lay the foam, lay my track back down with a few changes with how it is now, figure out any changes I want to make then use foam roadbed on my mainlines and at the very least make the mainlines semi permanent. Then work on sidings and rail yards.


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## afboundguy (Jan 10, 2021)

@Bonz85 I glued the foam roadbed to the insulation foam after I painted it all brown with elmers glue and then glued the track to the foamboard with contruction caulking. It's permenant enough but easily removed if needed... For the non mainlines I just used nails directly into the foam...


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## Chris At FilmWorks (3 mo ago)

Bonz85 said:


> View attachment 590381
> 
> 
> Finally made the decision to go with foam, worked out that it was on sale at menards to. Found some things I want to change and make improvements to so glad only a small bit of my track is nailed down. Will be easy to remove and start laying foam.


Yikes... where I live that is about 300$ worth of expanded foam. Have you chosen an exact local along the SP?.


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## Bonz85 (Sep 16, 2019)

Chris At FilmWorks said:


> Yikes... where I live that is about 300$ worth of expanded foam. Have you chosen an exact local along the SP?.


Was 230 ish, was on sale. Not doing anything specific or period correct.


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## Bonz85 (Sep 16, 2019)

Wanted to do a walk around before I lay foam and make a few changes. Looking forward to adding some detail.


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## Conductorkev (Nov 5, 2021)

Bonz85 said:


> Wanted to do a walk around before I lay foam and make a few changes. Looking forward to adding some detail.


I was going to comment on that hump going up to your washer but have seen you had noticed it also. Will the foam cover the whole grade? If not I would suggest just picking up a couple of WS incline starter sets. With this being your first layout it is not always a good idea to try to make the incline yourself I tried my first one and had a lot of redoing of my layout over it. Unless you have a good grade leveler dont try. And even if you do you still have to ease into any grade.

Overall tho like the layout keep up the pics.


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## Bonz85 (Sep 16, 2019)

Overall tho like the layout keep up the pics.
[/QUOTE]

Once I lay the foam and roadbed there will be about a 1 1/4 difference between the lowest and highest point, which will be a substantial decrease. The WS kit is a good option but not sure it would work that well for my layout. My current grade transition is quite crude and had to do a lot of shimming but didn't really have many issues due to that once I worked out those issues. I do appreciate the feedback. I'm glad I didn't permanently mount anything.


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## MichaelE (Mar 7, 2018)

Could you get a couple of helpers to help lift the track after sliding some 1"x2" under all of the track lines and slide a section of foam in under the lifted track one at a time?

I would hate to build a layout of that magnitude only to disassemble it and then have to re-assemble it.

That's a great track plan. I'd love to see more running videos.


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## Bonz85 (Sep 16, 2019)

MichaelE said:


> Could you get a couple of helpers to help lift the track after sliding some 1"x2" under all of the track lines and slide a section of foam in under the lifted track one at a time?
> 
> I would hate to build a layout of that magnitude only to disassemble it and then have to re-assemble it.
> 
> That's a great track plan. I'd love to see more running videos.


 I'll be making several modifications to the track plan so need to pull up the track anyway. I enjoy the building process though so it isn't a big deal. Have a handful of videos on my YouTube channel. I took a couple videos recently to see what the longest train I could run without a dpu with the current radius and grade so I can compare it to my revamped plan just havent linked them yet.


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## afboundguy (Jan 10, 2021)

@Bonz85 I wish I could finish this statement without getting in trouble but holy you-know-what! Loved the video! I've been following your progress but that video really is a great representation of the aweseomness of your layout!


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## Bonz85 (Sep 16, 2019)

afboundguy said:


> @Bonz85 I wish I could finish this statement without getting in trouble but holy you-know-what! Loved the video! I've been following your progress but that video really is a great representation of the aweseomness of your layout!


Thank you!


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## Gramps (Feb 28, 2016)

I don't think you have enough rolling stock.  
Seriously, that is a very impressive layout, looking forward to more updates.


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## OilValleyRy (Oct 3, 2021)

The amount of bloody noses is almost bloody nose inducing. Wow. I was always partial to the Widows though, especially on the GP/SDs.


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## afboundguy (Jan 10, 2021)

Gramps said:


> I don't think you have enough rolling stock.
> Seriously, that is a very impressive layout, looking forward to more updates.


I was thinking @Bonz85 didn't have enough locos!!!


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## Bonz85 (Sep 16, 2019)

Foam is down, had to fill in the gaps between sections. Going to put down another coat since I have a lot of extra paint. Hopefully be laying track soon.


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## Bonz85 (Sep 16, 2019)

One step at a time


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## afboundguy (Jan 10, 2021)

Definitely an improvement over the pink isn't it? Totally worth it when I painted mine!


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## Bonz85 (Sep 16, 2019)

afboundguy said:


> Definitely an improvement over the pink isn't it? Totally worth it when I painted mine!


Absolutely, glad I painted it. Not sure if this was the best color to go with but not sure what else I would have went with. Either way better than pink.


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## afboundguy (Jan 10, 2021)

Bonz85 said:


> Absolutely, glad I painted it. Not sure if this was the best color to go with but not sure what else I would have went with. Either way better than pink.


Seemed like everywhere I looked people were going with brown coupled with I got a gallon of brown paint that was an opps at the hardware store I was sold. I do think I may paint where there will be grass/greenery on my layout more of a green base when that time comes which will hopefully be sooner rather than later. I also may paint immediately around the tracks a gray to match the roadbed but not sold on that idea just yet...


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## Bonz85 (Sep 16, 2019)

afboundguy said:


> Seemed like everywhere I looked people were going with brown coupled with I got a gallon of brown paint that was an opps at the hardware store I was sold. I do think I may paint where there will be grass/greenery on my layout more of a green base when that time comes which will hopefully be sooner rather than later. I also may paint immediately around the tracks a gray to match the roadbed but not sold on that idea just yet...


Lol that's funny since the paint I got was a oops situation as well. I was planning on brown but wasn't sure on what shade then they had this and thought it was nearly exactly what I was thinking, there was actually a pin hole in the can. I was thinking about green but don't think that would have looked right, also thought about a dirt black color but don't think that would look right either.


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