So its time for a pretty big update! I've been crawling along at a number of various projects in attempt to finish up my storage shed. As mentioned earlier in the thread, this will free up an entire wall in my garage for trains! So here's the grand plan and also where I could use some input from the hive mind!
This started Christmas of 2022 with two unrelated but simultaneous events - Inheriting a riding mower, and the unexpected and humbling gift of the Hagerstown Roundhouse from
@wm3798. Knowing that I had to do the roundhouse justice, It occurred to me that building a shed for the riding mower could free up space to make this possible. In the shot below, you can see the google sketchup screen shot of my side of our garage. The plan is to build a stub end yard between the two sets of cabinets at the same height as my modules. The cabinets underneath will provide storage for modules when not in use, while the upper cabinets will act as a valance and have lights attached underneath. This will provide not only the opportunity to create a permanent scene worthy of Lee's roundhouse, but also the chance to really expand the operating potential of my modules.
Here's where I could use the help of the hive-mind. I'd like to design a stub end yard that captures the feel of Hagerstown. In addition to being functional, I'd like this to eventually be the spot to showcase my growing fleet of WM steam, so the orientation needs to somewhat resemble the photo below:
Here is one of the track plans that I've been tinkering with. The major catch is that I still need to be able to park a car next to it with room to get out. The roundhouse and turntable will need about 36", which give me room to park the car and walk by, but not open the door. This is why I've stuck in the corner near the garage door. This way I could reduce the width of the yard to 20" next to the car door - which is the width of the cabinets below. This is also narrower than the recently removed shelves, so I know that amount of clearance will allow me to get out of the car! The yellow line shows roughly where the fascia would be.
So all of this would allow a potentially large railroad that is really only limited by the amount of module storage I can create. Something like the layout below would be a really fun coal branch to operate, and still allow my wife to park in her spot!
Thanks for your thoughts, I'm really excited to have my space back and looking forward to more train time!
