# HO Shelf Layout for the Office



## dm9249 (Aug 13, 2013)

This is a project I've been working on since the beginning of last year and I thought it would be a good idea to start a thread here to track the progress. It is a small HO scale shelf layout that I plan on displaying at work. It will be a nice way to show off my interest in trains at work and provides a project for me to work on before I get to building a larger basement layout in my house. Here are the basics:

Scale = HO
Era = Late 80's - Mid 90's
Theme = Industrial spur/siding 
Non-powered for display only

This is the space I have to place the layout when its completed. The opening is about 32" long, 12" tall, and 10" deep. 









For the layout structure, I took two pieces of pre-made Rubbermaid shelving and screwed them together to form a flat base and back wall. 









Once that was done, I threw on a coat of leftover sky blue paint for the backdrop.









The next step was coming up with a track plan. I went through probably ten different versions of this using SCARM and eventually decided to go with something simple and have two tracks connected by a switch at one end. Initially, the track in the foreground was supposed to be a thru track and other one a spur that stopped in front of a warehouse. After a while I didn't like that idea so I decided to make them both part of a single spur that splits into two ends in front of the warehouse. This SCARM layout is pretty much what I went with, minus the building on the right. 









I have made a lot of progress since choosing the track plan, I just don't have time to post all of it right now. If you go to my blog through the link below, you can see where I am at with this now. Otherwise I plan on updating this thread with more progress to catch up to where I am today and then follow along with any new updates.


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## vwrabbit (Oct 14, 2014)

Thanks for sharing! The layout looks like it's coming along nicely! 

Tim


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## dm9249 (Aug 13, 2013)

Thanks! Progress has been pretty slow overall, but it's definitely been a fun project so far.


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## dm9249 (Aug 13, 2013)

One thing I found very helpful at the beginning of this project was building mockups. I used cardboard from old cereal boxes and some foam board from the dollar store. These mockups didn't require too much work and were great for seeing how something would actually look on the physical layout. I did this for three different buildings (Walthers Commissary, Walthers Heritage Furniture, Walthers Industry Office), you can click each link to see a blog post.

This picture shows my first mockup of the final track plan along with two of the structure mockups. I only ended up using the Commissary building as I just felt there wasn't enough space for the industry office. 









For the track itself, I thought about going with flex track, but I already had a shoe box full of old snap track, so I decided to make that work. I did make some small modifications to it though knowing this track would never be powered. I don't like the look of the areas where the rail joiners go, so I cut away those ties and replaced them with ties from the center of a scrap section of track. 









I also made some modifications to the turnout to get rid of the large plastic tabs on the one side. This was before the change.









This was after the change.









With the track pretty much done other than paint, I moved onto starting the Walthers Commissary build. I had never built a kit before, so I wasn't sure what to expect. I'll skip over some of the boring details and show the highlights. On my blog I have a bunch of updates with those boring details for anyone interested. This is a look at how my brickwork turned out.









Adding the painted windows and doors.









Adding the "glass" to the windows.









This is what the assembled base and walls looked like.


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## shaygetz (Sep 23, 2007)

"Non-powered for display only"

...only when the boss ain't around...right?


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## Fire21 (Mar 9, 2014)

I think it looks great. But I also believe that second small building would add more interest. Maybe place a sidewalk between them, with a vehicle or two in there somewhere, a tree or two Just suggesting.....

P.S. Your blog is very interesting!!


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## tjcruiser (Jan 10, 2010)

What a fun project!

Any thought to running some small LED lights to have the industrial building or a lamppost or similar light up when the room is dark?

Looking forward to progress here.

TJ


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## dm9249 (Aug 13, 2013)

Fire21 said:


> I think it looks great. But I also believe that second small building would add more interest. Maybe place a sidewalk between them, with a vehicle or two in there somewhere, a tree or two Just suggesting.....
> 
> P.S. Your blog is very interesting!!


Thanks! As far as the second building, instead of the industry office I am planning on using some DPM modular wall sections to build up a flat background building that runs from the edge of the commissary building all the way to the far right end of the layout. I've also got plans for a truck loading dock area and a parking lot. I'll have to find a way to add some trees and plants.


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## dm9249 (Aug 13, 2013)

tjcruiser said:


> What a fun project!
> 
> Any thought to running some small LED lights to have the industrial building or a lamppost or similar light up when the room is dark?
> 
> ...


I have thought about lighting this thing up, I just want to get more work done on the structures before I start placing the LED's. I'm planning on modeling the interior of the commissary building so I'll need to work the LED's into that process.


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## vwrabbit (Oct 14, 2014)

The mock ups are a great idea! I need to do something for my modules. Trying to figure out how to make them visually interesting. Those Walthers buildings are nice. Might have to pick some up.

Tim


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## dm9249 (Aug 13, 2013)

With the commissary building kit nearly complete, I started laying out a mockup for the loading dock that would go between the two tracks. Again I did this with pieces of old cereal boxes. I plan on using the Pikestuff modular loading dock kit for this. There was also some extra carboard laid down for a partial road running across the front, but I scrapped that idea and will stick to having it just come straight out and off the front of the layout.









In this picture the track has been painted (with Rust-Oleum camouflage brown) and I started creating my layered cardboard paves areas. What I ended up doing at this point was gluing together five layers of cardboard for the entire section. Its not the best way to do it, but I worked with what I had on hand and it didn't come out all that bad. 









After spray panting the track sections, I hand painted the rails and tie plates with a rust/brown colored acrylic paint. Since I am not going to electrify the track, I decided to paint the tops of the rails. I think it looks ok, so I'm going with it. 









Along the way on the project, I've been experimenting with scratch building a few things that I might use on the layout. One thing I tried was making some road signs by printing them out on paper and gluing them to painted brass rod. 









This is how the main paved area turned out after paint. Since it was layered cardboard, it kind of warped a bit as the paint dried, so I had to really glue it down good and put a lot of weight on top for a few days to get it right.









This is where I am at right now. My next steps will be working with the DPM modular sections to fill in the right side and completing the paved areas. After that, I can work on adding some of the finer details.


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## Cycleops (Dec 6, 2014)

I thought it was going to be a working switching layout! So disappointed that it won't be operated. The tops of the tracks wouldn't be rusty but silver due to the traffic. You could use another adjoining module as a "fiddle yard".


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## dm9249 (Aug 13, 2013)

Cycleops said:


> I thought it was going to be a working switching layout! So disappointed that it won't be operated. The tops of the tracks wouldn't be rusty but silver due to the traffic. You could use another adjoining module as a "fiddle yard".


That's a good point about the tops of the rails, I'll have to see what I can do to fix that. I guess I could either sand off the paint or try to paint over it with a silver paint pen.


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## dm9249 (Aug 13, 2013)

Recently I bought a switch stand kit from Central Valley Model Works and have started putting it together for use with the one turnout on this layout. Now I just need to paint the target and glue it to the rest of the stand.









Making this thing has got me modifying the turnout to better accommodate it. Right now I have an old Atlas turnout and I plan on cutting off the plastic pieces that actually move the rails so I can mockup some brass rod that at least looks a bit more prototypical. I know I could probably just buy a brand new turnout, but this is more fun and I'm trying to make use of the stuff I already have on hand for this project.

This meant I had to tear the entire turnout off the layout for now. I'll post some more pictures once the modifications are done.


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## vwrabbit (Oct 14, 2014)

Looking forward to the modifications. I've been thinking of modifying my Atlas turnouts as well. 

Tim


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## dm9249 (Aug 13, 2013)

I finally got around to finishing up the turnout mods and I really like the way it turned out . I also put together the Pikestuff loading dock kit and got it painted. Here are some pics:


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## Cycleops (Dec 6, 2014)

Looking good!


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## dm9249 (Aug 13, 2013)

Thanks! I'm really enjoying this project and it makes me want to finish up and move onto something bigger where I can actually run trains.


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## dm9249 (Aug 13, 2013)

I've made some more progress on the Walthers Commissary building kit. I now have the awning glued in place.









I also have the roof glued in place.









I've also been working on building up the interior so it will have three separate floors. I did this using sheet styrene for the floors with walls and floor joists built out of old cereal boxes and pieces of craft wood. I also printed off some different textures to place on the interior walls and floors. I plan on fully detailing the inside and lighting it with LED's.


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## Cycleops (Dec 6, 2014)

The building looks great! If you're looking to now build a working layout but are limited for space have a look at Carl Arendt's site if you've haven't discovered it already http://www.carendt.com/category/small-layout-scrapbook/ it's full of great ideas.


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## dm9249 (Aug 13, 2013)

Thanks! I will definitely be checking that out.


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