Version 3 of the Northern New England Scenic wil enjoy a significant room footprint. Upon purchase of the home, the finished area of the basement is 25’8″ by an average of 18″ as shown for the area labelled Finished Area below. The unfinished side extends an additional 6′ to the left with all the utilities as well as door to bulkhead convenioently located against the leftmost foundation wall of the basement.
Expectations for use of the room are:
- Bulk of room can be devoted to the model railroad, but not exclusively
- Room for a table and chairs we have must be preserved so that grandchildren when old enough can play board games there
- Closet space must be preserved, but location can change. This will hold the bulk of our boarf games.
Additional considerations for my use are:
- Modelling surface required. The table and chairs for board game play can be used for that as long as clearable for game playing.
- I will want an eventual place for a dispatch monitor.
- Adequate storage must exist for model railroad items.
Because the unfinished area extends an additional 6 feet and allows plenty of walking space between the illustrated area and those utilities, I am able to expand the finished area to include this entire footprint, making the new finished area 25’8″x27’6″.
Here is the finished area footprint expected.
The black areas to the uper left and upper right are an expense saving decision based on where some pipes run in the unfinished are of the basement. By leaving some wall space exposed at the ends in the unfinished area and angling the extended walls, I am able to avoid having to having some plumbing re-routed while still gaining the additional finished space for the around the walls configuration of the layout. The remaining unfinished area of the basement where the utlities reside is such that I can locate the new door into that area of the basement anywhere along the left wall. It will be located closer to the top of the diagram corresponding to a convenient location in the track plan to use lift out sections for those occasions when I need to go into that portion of the basement.
The closet size is retained and relocation on one wall of the stairs, eliminating any obstruction for family to come downstairs, get out games and.or play games in the basement using the table and chairs.
Dispatch is a small area, and its adjacency to the table will allow plenty of working space for paperwork for the dispatcher. I may build out the dispatch area slightly larger, but that will be determined later when I can try out options.
Requirement for storage space will be handled by using under layout storage for all model railroad items and supplies.