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O Scale Shelf Layout Complete.

19K views 46 replies 22 participants last post by  cosmos2002 
#1 · (Edited)
Thanks again for all the help I have received on this forum while working my way through this project. I took some pictures and video of the final product to share.

The shelf layout has 2 separate loops and travels through 3 bedrooms. Inner loop is about 50 feet and outer loop is about 95 feet, with a crossover section in the middle.

The proposed layout was drawn out using MTH's track design software, and some input from T-Man brought me to this layout:


Couple pictures of the shelf details:





Looking into my room from my son's room:


Other direction through the corner tunnel


Both trains diverging and converging through crossover section:


Around the corner


Full circuit through all 3 bedrooms and closets


Passenger train in the dark through the closet
 

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#7 ·
I recently built a 4x8 HO layout for my kids, and "slaved" over the construction and detailing of a tunnel/mountain. As a precaution for any in-tunnel derailings, I built two little access windows into the back (unseen) face of the mountain. But ...

All my kids now want to do is watch the trains go through the tunnel via the little access windows on the back side. Forget about my roads. Forget about my trees. Forget about my buildings. The kids like the little access windows best. So ...

I'll soon be sending my kids over to YOUR house, where they'll be spending all day running back and forth between rooms, watching your trains poke through the little wall cutouts! Hours and hours of fun!!!
 
#8 ·
Thanks for the comments folks! Glad you enjoyed it.

cruiser : That is too funny about your tunnel. That's always the way with kids eh? My son does indeed run between rooms constantly to follow the trains. Although I have to admit I still do too!

I absolutely love running the passenger train at a crawl around the outer loop at night, it is so soothing to look at and listen to. When it runs at slow speed, it is gone from the room for a good 2 minutes before re-entering the room. The shadow play is great going into/out of the tunnels. This was so worth the time I put into it.

I think this rivals my previously most fun project:


For any interested tinkerers, here is a build thread for that project:
http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=75782.msg809831#msg809831
 

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#13 ·
Thanks for the compliments guys.
Yah, the kids totally love this! My wife and I do too. The kids go to sleep to the sound of trains now :)

This is really a great way to get a long train run without really using any extra space in the house. I am so glad we came across this idea. Definitely would recommend a project like this to anyone.
 
#14 ·
EXCELLENT ROB I LOVE IT!

I take it they are O gauge?

You did all that in the last couple of months?:thumbsup:



"She" (the Queen) just told me not to get any ideas from you.:laugh:

Whats next G gauge through the garden?:D
 
#15 ·
Thanks Big Ed!
Yep, those are O gauge.

I started collecting up the parts around Christmas, so a little over a month I guess. Spent most of the time in the shop cutting, staining, and shellacing my shelves. Was a bit tedious, but the actual installation was pretty quick after that.

No garden railway plans (yet), but I do kind of have an N scale coffee table setup rolling around in the back of my head now. That would be the exact polar opposite of this setup!

Cheers :)
 
#17 ·
Did you think of painting the walls with scenes? Or buying some interesting panels.

Mountains,hills,streams, etc.
I think the would look good all the way around where ever the track runs.

desert one room? Rocky mountains another? coastal scene in another?:D

How much money do you think you invested in the wood?
What kind of wood is that?
 
#18 ·
I thought about that idea, but we decided to just keep it low-key for now. (Although "low-key" is a relative term when you have 2 long trains cruising through your bedrooms). I like the clean look of it as is. I may just paint the top section of the walls with a contrasting color and possibly install some rope lighting. Also I will add some O scale light poles, billboards and such eventually for some extra appeal.

The wood was not too bad. All the shelves are strips of oak plywood (5" wide), and I think I went through 4 full sheets, so around $160. Then I added cove molding and base shoe molding to trim the plywood edges. I used some fake oak composite molding from Lowes which I can not tell from the real oak and it was cheap and easy to work with. Then cut the shelf brackets from 3/4" solid oak. I would say I spent maybe $40 for the brackets.

For the holes through the walls, I took some aluminum roof flashing sheet metal, spray painted it with a brown stone-looking paint, and tacked it into the holes before nailing on those arched moldings. Looks nice and clean, and I like the arched openings.

Overall it turned out better than I expected.

Now I just need to build a nice wall box to house the controls. I have to figure out a good way to separate the controls that I will allow the kids to have access to from the switches, etc that could cause issues if not used correctly. Also need to have a throttle stopper to keep that diesel from derailing...that sucker hits close to light speed when opened up.
 
#20 ·
Hey Big Ed,
Yah, that oak crown molding is crazy expensive. I originally was going to do that, but since the shelf is sitting at the level right on top of the door/window frames, I would have had to start/stop the crown several times, and would have looked pretty busy and bulky I think. This style blends into the existing woodwork pretty nicely. (And is way cheaper, woohoo!)

What I mean by throttle stopper is just probably a removable pin or something to physically keep the throttle dial from going too high. That way I can let my kids change the speed around a little without worrying about derailments.

Although I would like to hear more about an electric speed limiter, however that works.
 
#21 ·
#22 ·
THe problem with slowing trains is the heat dissapated with the resistors. The diodes ate at the voltage but took a lot to show any difference. So a mechanical stop for the handle is probably the most practical. I never did get a dimmer to test it out.

Everything looks great. It looks like a lot of fun. The wood work is excellent. I have been avoiding threads to get some projects done but I had to comment on this. We have had a lot of shelf questions so it is good to see a great example in operation.:thumbsup:
 
#24 · (Edited)
Maybe he will now that you bumped the thread. Might have been sent to his e mail notification alert.

I still say a backdrop of some sort would look real nice. And I don't think it would go unnoticed to someone like me....... 6'4".
Just up top behind the rail.:thumbsup:

And even if you view the video you can see parts of the wall in it. An ocean scene if you like water? When the trains goes into a different room a mountain scene? Then in the kids room a jungle scene with all the jungle animals?

Or a T Man Room with the dinosaurs?:D (or T's future flame spewing dragons?:D:confused:)
 
#25 ·
Still chugging!

Hey guys, no updates on the layout since it was "complete" in February. It is still getting a lot of runtime every day. I still have to stop and watch every time a train comes streaming out of my wall into the room ;)

Eventually, I will be building a nice built-in wall cubby for the train controls, but summertime is for R/C flying, so that will have to wait til winter!

Thanks again for all the nice comments in my project, nice to know others enjoyed it. The most often heard comments from people visiting our house is "Wow", "Awesome", and "You're nuts!". LOL. The last one is definitely true.

Cheers,
Rob
 
#27 ·
Great work. I really like that, you did a beautiful job, I'm jealous. I just wish I could get mine to run a consistant speed all around. Thanks for putting up the videos.
 
#28 · (Edited)
It's good to bump this thread, so the new members can take a look.:thumbsup:

Did you have any "accidents" yet?:D
I forgot, can you run 2 trains on the same track at once?

I'm going to check out the video one more time.:thumbsup:

Edit......
I did notice one thing looking at them again.
If you ever run a smoking train on your rails your going to set off the smoke detector.:laugh:
Does anyone know if he did run a smoker up there, would the smoke from the engine leave a residual stain on the ceiling from the smoke?
I never thought about this before.:D

She still says your nuts but told me to tell you she loves the woodwork you fabricated for them.:thumbsup:

Every time I walk around looking up by the ceiling I get a don't even think about it.:laugh:
 
#29 ·
I just stumbled across your post on an unrelated search, and have to say I absolutely love that layout. I'm starting an O layout in my basement, but have all of these HO trains that are just going to be boxed. I do believe I know where to run them now . . .

I did broach the subject with my wife and got an eye roll. I don't take that as a firm 'no'. She usually doesn't care as long as the house doesn't burn down. I can think of at least one room that's going to get your treatment. I just don't think i can convince her to let me stretch it outside that room.

But, we'll see. :)

Beautifully done!
 
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