Size is everything with an apartment layout

Deciding to move on my HO layout Philden Beach has been purely a size issue. As you can see, the 3.3 metre long layout overwhelms our apartment’s small lounge room, and there simply isn’t enough wall space anywhere else in our apartment to accommodate it.

No-one ever posts photos of the unseen footprint a model railway requires, only the stand-out scenic features that they have worked so hard to model. So, I thought I would share some thoughts as to my experience as an apartment-sized modeller of the past 10 years.

This is Philden Beach in its final state. It is now for sale after commandeering the lounge room of our last 2 houses, simply due to the length I built it to.

And this is the culprit responsible for my decision to downsize my Australian modelling, the dreaded staging yard, an evil yet necessary space-sucker if you truly want to operate a shelf layout.

Over the years that have followed building my 1st shelf layout 10 years ago, the one common problem an apartment dweller such as myself faces when modelling in HO scale, is the footprint a layout requires. Not just the visible scenic features that we post pictures of on our blogs, but the true ‘space’ a layout requires when it comes to staging, storage and operating area required. To put it all into perspective, think of how an exhibition organizer plans the floor space for a model train show. The size of each layout is only one part of the problem, there’s access, standing area for those operating it and viewing distance for those standing back to admire it. It really isn’t any different with displaying a layout in a house or apartment. You need wall space to place the layout against, room to move safely around the layout to avoid accidental bumps and stray elbows, and in the case of a layout that occupies a lounge room or living area, room for couches, furniture and TV’s to all coexist. Oh, and did I mention an understanding partner?

Philden Beach, like Philden Street before it and the original Philden before it, has at times tested the patience of my wife for the past decade. Add to that the need to move everything to higher ground each time a grandchild comes to visit, and you suddenly realise how much a layout can take over not only an apartment, but also your relaxation time when you want to sit down and simply turn on the TV. In our case, we actually noticed we were getting sore necks from staring down to watch the TV that had to be placed beneath the layout on account of there being nowhere else to put it. While it’s been one hell of a ride building what turned out to be 3 Australian HO layouts and producing 6 model railway books under my own blog banner, something had to give, and it was a case of ‘times-up’ layout.

By comparision, the total footprint required for my OO-9 layout (Bryn Nadolig), is far less than what is required for a 3.3 metre long shelf layout that needs access along the entire front when operating it. It simply rests atop 2 x 700 mm long IKEA cabinets and protrudes 200 mm further behind the 350 mm cabinet depth. I’ve even left a 250 mm long x 350 mm section of surface area free to place a controller, (or glass of wine) when operating it.

What that means is that I need a total footprint of roughly 1400 mm x 1400 mm to safely bend in front of the layout to admire it. With the actual layout being only 1150 mm x 550 mm, any extension to the layout effectively lengthens the total footprint required and we’re back at the original problem of size being everything with an apartment layout.

Once Philden Beach is gone, not only can the OO-9 layout can be viewed and accessed easier, but it becomes an interesting feature in a small apartment rather than something that dominates discussion whenever a visitor comes over. But that might be the end of the Philden story, with only my OO-9 Welsh Highlands layout to satisfy my modelling interests.

Unless… I can keep to the above footprint by raising the base of Bryn Nadolig to a more suitable viewing height with a load bearing, stand-alone layout built to the same dimensions that effectively sandwiches itself between the IKEA cabinet and the existing OO-9 layout.

While it is only a thought at this stage, it is nice to know that scaling down still offers some upside for the future. An oval of track and a passing loop similar to Bryn Nadolig lends itself to modelling something similar in OO-9 scale. Or perhaps the thought of modelling a single-track mainline loop in N scale holds some appeal to continue modelling in Australian outline. Which would mean another reiteration of the Philden name. It’s certainly something I am considering given I am selling off my current HO scale collection.

Until next time…