Going indoors

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ColinK

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14 Apr 2017
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Hi, about 15 years ago I built a garden railway on a Harz Railway theme. It used mainly LGB equipment and featured in the G Scale Society Journal a couple of times. 5 years ago it was dismantled as we were going to move house. All the equipment was safely stored at friends houses.

We are now in our new house and all the DIY is done, so its modelling time again. However, the new house does not have a garden, so no room for a model railway outside. I can watch real trains from the conservatory though. But I do have a railway room. I've had a framework built that can house two model railways, one above the other. I've got back all my LGB from storage and have started building an indoor LGB layout. The baseboards are built, the track is laid and I've run my first train. Going indoors you realise just how big G scale is, all I can fit in is a oval of track, a passing loop and three sidings.

The next job is a second attempt at reprogramming the point decoders (tried but failed a few days ago) and complete the electrics. After that its the scenery, wonder if anyone makes platform sides like you get on the East German narrow gauge lines?
 
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Look forward to photos!

I'm kind of in the same boat: I dismantled my outdoor line as it just wasn't being used. I realised I'm not really outdoors-y (to coin a phrase from the tv advert), I'd rather have an indoor line and/or something portable to take to the occasional exhibition. Just waiting for my lad to go off to uni so I can have my train room back (it's become a music studio!)

I'll probably use Peco track rather than LGB, I think it will look finer at waist height, and also save a little weight if I do go for a portable layout.
 
There something to be said about having your trains indoors. As I get older, the chores associated with a garden railway become just that, chores. That's why I have simplified my garden railway and am working on plans to build a three rail "O" gauge layout indoors.

Even modelling "G" scale indoors, you can get quite detailed though not as elaborate as an outdoor layout. I think you'll find the modeling of those details that cannot survive outside satisfying.
 
Thanks for your replies. I've spent all afternoon trying to programme my accessory decoders without success. I ended up using them as they already were. This evening I've wired up my points (all five) and they now work using MTS.

I'm finding it difficult to navigate G Scale central, is there a 'idiots guide' anywhere?

If someone can point me in the right direction, I could start a topic/thread for my layout, if that is appropriate?
 
ColinK said:
I'm finding it difficult to navigate G Scale central, is there a 'idiots guide' anywhere?
Click to expand...

Go to Forums, at the top of the page, then select G Scale Pictures (that's where you get the best 'exposure' for your layout.

Press Post Thread, fill in a title, then waffle to your hearts content. Hit Post Thread, again, and you're in.
If you want to add in a photo or three, press Upload a File...... this will take you to your own computer, find the picture you want, and open it. A loading bar will magically show on the G Scale page. If it don't load (it will tell you the file is too big), go back and resize your original to less than 5MB). If just a small picture shows in your post, hit Show Full Size.

Professional Idiot, writing Idiots Guides for 30+ years.
 
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Welcome Colin - yes pics are a must!
 
Gavin has indicated how to make a new thread - for navigating the forum, dont bother too much. Just hit FORUMS and then the NEW POSTS option (all in the title band at the top of the page - this will enable you to see most things quick and easy. After that you will gradually find your way around.
Welcome aboard.
 
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I started with an indoor layout before I took the plunge and filled my back garden.
Here is a video of my indoor line I built in 2005.....

 
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Love the cable cars, and good to see stuff running at an appropriate speed not belting around!
 
Excellent. How big was the indoor layout (roughly)? And did the upper and lower loops join up or were they separate? If joined there must have been some hellish gradients! Thanks for any info, Dave
 
Welcome to the mad house
 
idlemarvel said:
Excellent. How big was the indoor layout (roughly)? And did the upper and lower loops join up or were they separate? If joined there must have been some hellish gradients! Thanks for any info, Dave
Click to expand...

The layout was approx 9' 6" x 7' 6".
The upper was joined by the track that ran past the window at a gradient of around 1 in 20.

I always try to run at scale speeds - indoor and out.
Track cleaning indoors is needed much more infrequently for obvious reasons. With hindsight, I wish I had left the layout up in the bedroom....
 
Aye remember that layout well, Paul. If youre (the OP) looking for ideas for small layouts, may I recommend
http://www.carendt.com/
http://www.carendt.com/

Packed with all sorts of ideas for micro layouts. I got a drawing, thingy from Anyrail.....Oh the hours of fun to be had with that chunk of software. Heres a garage sized layout I threw together (one of many)

Garage.jpg

Quite pleased with this one as I managed to get a run for a water boiler whilst a simple shunt yard for a battery loco. Just one of my Ideas. The "Navigation" is of course, a pub.
 
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Its nice to have two complete circuits. We have decided to keep to scenery veru simple and open rather than cramming in as much as possible.
 
AustrianNG said:
I started with an indoor layout before I took the plunge and filled my back garden.
Here is a video of my indoor line I built in 2005.....

Click to expand...

Does this layout hold the world record for the most loks running in a confined space?
 
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Frank Gallagher said:
Does this layout hold the world record for the most loks running in a confined space?
Click to expand...

Possibly at G scale Frank.:D
There were three circuits in total, each also having a passing loop.
I couldn't get any more track into it - not unless I filled in the hole in the middle from where I controlled everything via MTS.
 
Madman said:
There something to be said about having your trains indoors. As I get older, the chores associated with a garden railway become just that, chores. That's why I have simplified my garden railway and am working on plans to build a three rail "O" gauge layout indoors.

Even modelling "G" scale indoors, you can get quite detailed though not as elaborate as an outdoor layout. I think you'll find the modeling of those details that cannot survive outside satisfying.
Click to expand...

After moving to our retirement home in 2005, I started an outdoor layout. Our next door neighbors' cattle came over the fence to visit and proved that although LGB advertises their track as 'elephant proof', it is not cattle proof. My layout is now indoors. I find that I spend more time running trains and less time working on the layout now. I have more functioning accessories now than I did outdoors, since they don't get as wet.
 
Hutch said:
After moving to our retirement home in 2005, I started an outdoor layout. Our next door neighbors' cattle came over the fence to visit and proved that although LGB advertises their track as 'elephant proof', it is not cattle proof. My layout is now indoors. I find that I spend more time running trains and less time working on the layout now. I have more functioning accessories now than I did outdoors, since they don't get as wet.
Click to expand...


Of the retirement homes I have seen, most have enormous basements. A model railroader's dream.....:h:
 
Yes, but is it as much fun?
 
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