# My New Layout - Updated (after moving)



## riogrande (Apr 28, 2012)

Here is my new layout started in February - 10x18' basement room. 

Some early construction shots:







What your seeing here is a staging yard which will eventually have a 2nd level over the top - the risers in the back are part of the supports for the 2nd level. Basically around the room twice.

Staging has 11 tracks, inside most track still has some additional track to lay after some support is added on the fillet. Trains can be anywhere from 13 to 22 feet long. Minimum radius 32-inchs, all turnouts #6 or larger. The curved are #8 Shinohara. This is all code 100 track, code 83 will be used in the rest of the visible portion. These tracks in the photo's will be hidden underneath when the layout is further along


----------



## sjm9911 (Dec 20, 2012)

Holy cow. Real nice and polished to boot. Lots of room for track. Lots to be done . Very neet job on the benchwork, its furniture grade. Keep the updates coming.


----------



## Magic (Jan 28, 2014)

Love the yard. :smilie_daumenpos: :smilie_daumenpos: :smilie_daumenpos:
If the rest of the layout comes out that good you'll have a great layout. 

Magic


----------



## Dirtytom (Jan 13, 2014)

Real nice, how wide is your layout? Working on my 2x14 foot expansion, attempting several tracks going to round house and not enough room for more than six lines converging to roundhouse.

Send more pictures.

DT


----------



## riogrande (Apr 28, 2012)

The room was a TV room as used by the previous owner of the home. I painted the walls a sky blue before starting with the bench-work.

The bench-work is in-expensive pine 1x4's with 1x3's as cross members and 2x2 legs with braces. It should be sufficient I hope for a small layout. The staging yard is 24 inches wide but I plan on 30 inches wide above it for the main visible yard.

I have a little more wiring to do, but I finished installing switch machines on the end show in the last picture. I plan on having that go in to a 1 1/4 turn helix 30 inches in diameter to gain altitude for the 2nd level. The other side will probably be a 3% grade up. Not much room to get up 8 inches over the top.


----------



## wingnut163 (Jan 3, 2013)

this is a re-post from another member but i thought i would put it in.

he told some one that was building his lay out to drill all holes before putting the top on.

saves you from doing it after from underneath.


----------



## ronnie (Jan 20, 2014)

that is super nice !!!


----------



## riogrande (Apr 28, 2012)

wingnut163 said:


> this is a re-post from another member but i thought i would put it in.
> 
> he told some one that was building his lay out to drill all holes before putting the top on.
> 
> saves you from doing it after from underneath.


Small holes for what? Turnout switch machines which are mounted underneath? For wires?


----------



## DonR (Oct 18, 2012)

For a layout the size of what you show in the pictures
you will need a number of wires under your table top.

The holes in the cross members are there so you can
run these wires and cables.

Your track work seems perfect; some of the
best I've seen. So I'm wondering
why you have so many rerailers in your yards. 

I don't have any, and only when the incompetent
switchman fails in his duties, do I have any derails.

Looking forward to more pics of your expert
craftsmanship.

Don


----------



## Hutch (Dec 19, 2012)

My guess is for ease of putting trains on the tracks.


----------



## riogrande (Apr 28, 2012)

Ah, holes in the cross members. Yes. I've used a staple gun to secure the 14 AWG bus wires under along the bottom, but I've seen holes as well. At this point I've have to undo a bunch of taps already connected to the bus wire to re-string it in holes drilled through the cross members. Too late!

As for the re-railers, keep in mind the track you see in the photo's is a staging yard which will be underneath an upper level. I put in re-railer tracks as an extra measure of "fault tolerance" so that if wheels come of while a train is pulling through a track, it will hopefully catch errant wheels and put them back. There are 11 staging tracks so I want to minimize the reaching back to re-rail cars.

The above portion, will have no re-railers. I do have a KATO ramp re-railer that I can use to slide cars on to the track in the upper part.

I've had some practice on two previous layouts - but I enjoy track laying. I've learned to trim/cut turnouts and flex track to get the best geometry. I mostly use a Demel with a cutoff wheel and use curved turnouts to maximize the length of the sidings. The capacity of the staging ranges from about 13' trains on the inner tracks to 22 feet on the outer - some decent length trains in HO.

I'll try to post some progress shots in the coming weeks and months.

Cheers, Jim


----------



## riogrande (Apr 28, 2012)

.....


----------



## trains galore (Jul 22, 2013)

Sounds good
Be careful with staples though, one club layout I helped out with had staples to secure the wires but the staple had actually cut through the insulation and created a short circuit


----------



## DonR (Oct 18, 2012)

Oh yes, I missed noting that was a staging yard, so do understand
about the rerailers. But what a shame to hide that beautiful
track work.

There are a couple very long arm reaches on my layout where that pesky 
incompetent switchman derails cars on turnouts. I could use a couple
of rerailers there.

Don


----------



## spoil9 (Dec 24, 2008)

Nice work. Looking forward to more pix.


----------



## golfermd (Apr 19, 2013)

I should be able to start on my layout sometime later this year (moving). I hadn't thought about re-railers in the yards. Since I have rather large hands and fingers the thought of trying to re-rail cars in a yard scares the heck out of me. Besides hard to access or elevated bridges (we have them on our elevated bridges at our club) what other areas are recommended?

Dan


----------



## riogrande (Apr 28, 2012)

I am careful with the staple gun - just one wire per staple so I an make sure I don't pierce the insulation. So far so good. They are attached so the wire is loose in the staple so it can slide a bit.

Don, thanks for the compliments on the track work. I am trying to do a good job, partly to practice for the above part plus to hopefully to minimize derailments in an area which will be underneath.

The clearance to the upper level, just so you know will be max of 8 inches. That being the case, access will be less than ideal so I'm putting the extra effort up front to minimize the need to reach back. I will be able to reach over the top of trains to the back tracks, being that trains are about 3-inches high I'll have 5 inches over the top to reach but it is less than ideal. I'm planning on 3% grade one way and a 1 1/4 turn helix the other direction to gain altitude at more like 2 %.


----------



## riogrande (Apr 28, 2012)

Looks like I lost track of this topic. I have since torn that layout since I moved to a new house in Nov 2017. The basement was unfinished at move-in in the new house; we DIY finished in by Nov 2019 as we had other project such as the kitchen we had to do in 2018. Construction began on the new layout in Dec 2019 and has slowly continued although I stopped from March thru Sept for rebuilding the deck, funeral and other things. Here is a synopsis:

Old layout got this far along before teardown:

























Basement finishing at new home, first at move-in it was frame in already which helped:









Basement finishing in-progress.










Full bathroom in the door to the left (my wife did all the shower and floor tiling.










Here is the basic track plan to fit the new space.










Finally finished and first sections going in Dec 2019. I re-used some sections from the old layout giving a bit of a head start.









Construction continues around to the other side.

















All of the main benchwork was in by last spring.









Last fall staging going in and being wired.

























Last couple of months up to recent:


----------



## sjm9911 (Dec 20, 2012)

Lol, you and me both. I haven't been on the forum in a few. Good thing i came back to see that! Nice bathroom to boot. And put the clock on the wall! Lol.


----------



## riogrande (Apr 28, 2012)

This weekend some more progress:


----------



## Magic (Jan 28, 2014)

That's going to be one heck of a layout.

Keep us updated. Looking very good so far.
Some impressive bench work.
Love that big yard.  

Magic


----------



## riogrande (Apr 28, 2012)

Thanks. The yard is for staging trains. I plan to build a yard on a a two foot wide shelf above it. The mainline gains altitude as it runs and will eventually reach the level of the main yard, nolix design.


----------



## gunrunnerjohn (Nov 10, 2010)

Lookin' good, that will be an impressive layout for sure!


----------



## riogrande (Apr 28, 2012)

Some update shots:

















Supports going in for the main yard above staging:


----------

