of the layouts I visited had the storage on open shelves under
the layout, some behind curtains or doors. The key is that it
was neatly organized or out of sight.
4.
The room is well lit. Some of the layouts had lighting that
was behind a valance with the aisleways in the shadows. This
had the effect of drawing me into the world of the layout and
minimized non-layout areas.
5.
The floors are either tiled, carpeted, or if concrete they
were painted. I don't know why, but bare concrete seems to
generate a very fine dust that gets over everything.
I know that once we have successfully negotiated an area for
the layout our first impulse is to start putting up the bench-
work. After all, as model railroaders we want to see our
equipment running as soon as possible. Our imagination can
fill in a lot of the gaps that are there with only the benchwork
up. I have been there, done it, have the T-shirt.
Harking back to my days as a project manager on heavy high-
way projects, the underground work such as pipes, bridge
foundations, etc. is completed first. In our hobby, the room is
the underground part of the construction. I believe it's impor-
tant to take the time to prepare the room first. Think about it.
Do you really want to be a contortionist working over a finely-
detailed portion of the layout to install ceiling tiles, paint, or
add the extra lighting that the room needs?
Before you start on your layout room take time to think about
rooms that you find inviting and that make you feel comfort-
able. Aspects of those areas are what you need to incorpo-
rate into your layout room. Resist the urge to begin on the
benchwork. Begin by completing all of those areas that will
be inaccessible or hard to reach after the benchwork is up.
(See Charlie Comstock's Up the Creek column May 2013 –
What do you do if your layout is up and running but there are
areas of the room that need work? Begin by assessing what
you don't like and what is needed to bring up the room to the
standards that you desire.
Make plans on how you will do the remodeling and protect
the layout at the same time. Most likely you will need to work
in smaller areas at a time so that you can control the amount
of construction related mess. It won't necessarily be easy, but
with a bit of ingenuity you should be able to do it.
Finally, I believe that as model railroad hobbyists we need to
share our hobby with others; non-model railroaders as well as
fellow model railroaders. Where would you prefer taking your
guests, to a nice room that complements the layout, or to a
dungeon?
Publisher’s editorial-3
MRH-Aug 2013
