Loft Update
My Carriage House's Loft has been neglected for a while. The main chunk of work to make it what it is today, spanned from 2017 to 2019. But it has sat in limbo pretty much ever since. It is a shame really, as it is a great hobby space. The plan for the room changed a few times. A sound studio, for mixing small bands with a nice mixer and effects suite was one such idea. But frankly I am much too old school to keep up with the changes in the music industry. The Lofty Lair was an idea for a private adult lounge. But I scrapped that idea back in 2018. The Model Railroad / Hobby room has been on the table a few times, and is the dominant inspiration behind the room going forward.
The Loft features a 8ft by 3ft built in work bench. This bench is mostly for electronics work, but also features a work station, and will be a ham radio 'shack'. The train room will feature a slide out work area which will allow models to be worked on and painted. Rolling supply drawers will exist to compliment that area. It will be located under the Thomson Bay town site, which is pictured here.
A slide out work space should be able to be easily constructed in this area. The one thing that has been a bit of a barrier, has been how I finish the area below the layout benchwork? Originally, i was going to do dark oak removable paneling, which would the unfinished area below. It would of needed to be removable because of the wiring and other needs that would be under the benchwork for the model railroad. But today, the idea of oak paneling seems a bit expensive. So there needs to be another solution. One thought would be to just paint the area. Maybe a dark color like black, in an effort to hide it. Another thought would be to drywall up to the level of the conduit, and finish that like a normal wall, then put a finished skirt of painted MDF board along the edge of the layout which would extend far enough down to hide the unfinished area. I am open to ideas on this one.
In any case, there needs to be a finished floor for things to continue into a finished state as well. The ceiling is mostly finished with drop ceiling and panel lights. I do however plan on installing track lighting for illuminating the railroad. There are also light circuits installed for a night mode setting, railway power circuits, and a 'moon' light. The room is currently heated with a couple electric base boards. But the servers also keep the room warm and toasty in the winter months. For this is the room where I keep my equipment rack for my server farm.
With the changes that have taken place in my life over the past few years, this Loft area is the destination for much of my electronics and hobby equipment. So until it is finished, there are several boxes of gear - mostly electronic, which is waiting to be transported up to the Loft to be stored or installed. I know that one day my Son will really enjoy tinkering with the stuff up in the Loft.
The SVNO is still in the plans. The railway construction will be a joint effort with my partner and I. But I think first thing is first, we need to finish the room before we begin work on the model railroad again. The SVNO will still be an end to end line for operation, however the temptation exists to install a looping track for continuious running. The line currently has 3 operating locomotives, which all need paint jobs. I believe I have a total of 8 more locomotives which will need decoders installed. The N Scale nature of the layout means that details are tiny, and precision is needed for working on these little locomotives. But I am sure it won't be too bad.