Everything on model trains, model railroads, model railways, locomotives, model train layouts, scenery, wiring, DCC and more. Enjoy the world's best hobby... model railroading!
Model Railroad Layout Foundation
Ted would like to hear feedback from others in the hobby on the idea he is working on:
“To make my layout easy to move if required I know that the board has to have tensional strength. Plywood the standard is heavy and too flexible without diagonal bracing which adds even more weight. So I intend to use internal blank doors. They are available in different heights and width. However the primary size would be standard height and 36″ wide. Light and inflexible. Using 3/8″ dowels I can attach then accurately and clamp them using old furniture draw clamps, terminate wire harnesses at the joints as well. Using foam and or cork I can vary the height and it’s easy to attach raised decks.
I am so into this concept I may be blind to negative implications so am looking for comments. Can’t hurt my feelings so be blunt as it will help.”
Click to add your comment to Ted’s posting.
8 Responses to Model Railroad Layout Foundation
Leave a Reply
SUBMIT YOUR QUESTION
Download Your Free Catalog
Use Tiny Railroad Micro Controllers
Model Train Help Ebook
Hi Ted
Hope doors you have in mind are lighter than ones I used a few years back, turned out heavier than if I had used 2×1 frame and 12m ply
Regards Bob
I am a member of a private group known as the Carnkief Model Railway Group and we made an exhibition layout known as “Carnkief Central” (See Railway Modeller September 2010) this was made using these doors. No great problem, putting wires through the double skin can be achieved with a large needle or a piece of tubing. Point with motors mounted, just cut a hole in the top to take the assemby and a hole in the bottom for the wires. Cutting holes is easy as it can be done with a craft knife. Negative point, only really one, the size, on average you have a door which is 6 foot 6 inches (198Cms) which can be a bit cumbersome to travel around if you intend to exhibit but it can be overcome. We sold Carnkief Central and another layout is being built, we are sold on the idea!
Good luck.
Ted: Please be careful using interior doors the wood on the exterior is usually 1/16 pressed wood and the inside is cardboard be very careful with your electrical wiring even 12 volts can cause a fire and would distroy your railroad in seconds once the fire got more air from burning through the plywood exterrior, never leave your train pluged into electricty when you are not with it ! Good luck with your project.
Ted,
I am on my second layout and in both, I have used hollow core interior doors, with good results. For my S scale layout, I joined two 24″ X 80″ doors by simply using case locks at the two ends of the doors. I rest the layouts either on adjustable saw horses. This gives me good mobility ( undue the latches, separate the track that bridges the two doors). To reduce noise I have layered them with carpet, but foam insulation or acoustic tile; the latter can be painted, and ground foam, etc, added. I have screwed down the track on each pair of doors on one layout, on the other I use embedded sectional track ( e.g., Marklin C track, Fast Trak), which takes little time to remove.
I wish i had a room to set up a permanent layout, but for now this has to do, and i can get a lot of fun out of running trains ( lot of switching, etc). I have also made a number of structures which i can also put up and take down easily.
Hope this is of some use to you.
Have fun!
Hi Ted.
The idea with the door is a good one, but if it still is too cumbersome, you can try the board used as insulation. It’s extruded board, rigid and strong as anything, usually pink or blue in color, and takes well to water-based paint. I use them for N-Scale trains, and it works great. It’s easy to cut using a hand-held Keyhole Saw, and is available at home improvement stores like Home Depot.The boards come in 2 x 8-foot or 1 x 8-foot sizes. To give an example, I’m making a double-track layout in N on a 6-foot long by 2-1/2 wide fold-up table with leg extensions. I’m using a 2×8 board, cut the 2-feet off the edge to make it 6′ in length, and the extra width is made up of a 6″ by 6′ extra piece. Cautions with this board include being careful with the paint – Rustoleum eats it up.
I hope you make out well and really have fun with your trains.
John
I have used very successfully 6mm ply in two skins held apart with 18 x 32 timber spacers at approximately 600mm centres for the sides of the baseboards. Skins for upstands are 100mm deep. Boards are assembled on a 1220 x 600 format with 9mm ply being the running surface. Cross bracing is usually at centres on long sides only. This cross brace can have numbers of holes, not more than 60mm diameter using hole cutters, without compromising strength, the inner skin of the twin skin support can be finished in a similar fashion. Having these spaces creates convenient routes for wiring. All timbers are screwed together. Track bed is 3mm cork fixede with pva adhesive.
quick question, how do i enable the “Older Posts” “Newer Posts” links at the bottom of the main blog page (not the post page)? There doesn’t seem to be any so my readers can’t browse through the older posts. Thanks.
1. The blog home page http://blog.model-train-help.com/ only has links to older posts because those are the latest posts (so there are no newer ones)
2. When you click on older posts the next page will let you surf newer posts or more older posts (if there are any)
3. As at 17 Nov 2012 we are still working on refining this new system of surfing the site and will make refinements over the next week or so to improve any little glitches.