Major layout surgery

Good morning!
I'd like to hear from those of you who have had to "operate" on your layout in terms of cutting it apart and moving around the pieces. I built the framework for mine about five years ago. At the time, I thought that a 45" "duck-under" to access some closets wouldn't be a big deal. Well, five years later, it is. : (
So I'm considering cutting off one piece and moving it about two feet north & two feet east to give myself a 24" walkway. While that is tight, it should be workable and a lot better than bending down to get under the layout as it currently exists.
I figure that I'll have to rebuild one corner that would be about 6' x 6'. That wouldn't be too bad since I don't have a lot of fine detail work done yet. I do have track & basic scenery in place, but I'm figuring that "IF" I have to do something, it's better now than later when I have even more stuff done.
Thoughts anyone?
Thanks!
dlm --------------------------- Dan Merkel

Dan Merkel wrote:
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Dan, My layout was basically an 11x14 loop. Not completely around the walls, but tucked in a basement corner along two walls and then going around the perimeter of the corner area of the basement I was allotted. I was in about the same situation as you, track laid and a (very) little scenery.
Well, operationally it sucked so in an effort to improve things I negotiated additional space extending along one of the walls, and a slight enlargement of the perimeter.
After agonizing over how to best utilize the additional space, it became obvious that the way to go was to tear down half the layout and rebuild it, moving the remaining half out to the far corner of the new perimeter in the process. So that's what I'm in the process of doing.
I turned not just the additional space, but also the teardown/rebuild into an opportunity to improve the layout.
For example, it had become painfully evident that the layout was too low, so I actually jacked up the remaining half and installed new, longer legs.
I guess the bottom line is that it's not so bad if you look at it as an opportunity to make some improvements.
Good luck with whatever course you decide to follow!
Stevert

Well, it is already about 48" off of the floor. I'm a taller guy and said early that I didn't want to have to stoop to work on it. I guess I was most curious as to the splicing of sections that are already pretty much ready to go, trackwise.
Thanks...
dlm
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Dan Merkel wrote:
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Dan, "Raising the layout" wasn't so much of a suggestion of something you should do, as it was a suggestion to make lemonade when life hands you lemons.
My point was that you should look to make this an opportunity for improvement instead of a dreaded consequence.
As far as splicing, folks do that all the time when they add a spur or extend the layout or realign tracks to make things "better".
If you take as much care with the splices as you did with the original trackwork, they shouldn't make anything any worse.
Stevert

Thanks. I suppose that my biggest concern is the strength of the layout itself. Right now, I'm lucky in that even a small nudge on one side can be easily felt all the way across the room. So when I mentioned "splices," I was thinking in terms not so much of the track itself as I was the layout's framework.
Thanks again for your reply.
dlm
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Dan Merkel wrote:
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As they say every day, a layout is never finished !!.
Alan

Dan Merkel wrote:
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Well, long story short, started the present layout several years ago, started right after coming home after an NMRA national and within a 2 week period had built a long loop of track supported on wall mounted l-girder benchwork, that layout lasted a bit, then torn it down and restarted with the HD shelf bracket and upright idea that showed up recently in the mags.
That was a year ago, then became inactive for about 6 months, then got sick with time off from work for another 6 months, all that was about 3 months ago, and I tell ya, I've done more in a month then the past year !!.
I've just finished getting the basic benchwork up on the brackets on all four walls, now it's almost time to get some basic track down to run trains !!.
Pictures of my layout in the starting stages of construction (from a year ago :-)) are in my web gallery.
Alan