It’s a good idea is to paint the top of the baseboard gray when constructing your layout. Patches of track work where the ballast has not been secured properly will not stand out as easily. I know it is a simple idea, but it is amazing how many people don’t do it.

There are hundreds more great tips inside the members area of the online model train club.

Tom a keen member of the online model train club shares his idea:

These are a couple ways to build a sturdy but light platform for my S gauge layout. If you buy standard metal wall studs at the home center, say 10 ft. long, use these as the main outside and inside horizontal supports. You can put standard wood 1×4′s between the metal studs for leg support.

For the decking, take a hint from the Aluminum patio enclosure people. The roof sections they use are 4inch foam with thin sheets of aluminum sheets glued to top and bottom. Incredible strength. In the railroad application, use 2 inch or 4 inch blue or pink foam board and sandwich between thin sheets of plywood. You can glue more foam board on the top for the landscape.

John sent in this idea to share with readers:

There are many ways of making a platform on which to set up your tracks, trains, and scenery, and as model enthusiasts have found, foam insulation boards make a lightweight but strong and sturdy base. This is not the foam board made of styrofoam pebbles used for packaging that falls apart after awhile; rather, it is used mainly for structure insulation and comes in 2-feet X 8-feet lengths (see photo). This board is found in most home improvement stores, and comes in pink, blue, or green colors. There is even a 4 x 8 board that seems perfect for HO!

 The foam insulation board comes in varying thicknesses, but I’ve found that one-inch and two-inches work best. This board can easily be cut to any size or shape (carefully) using a razor knife or Hot Wire Foam Cutter, and are readily joined using white glue and/or masking tape. Pieces of board that are left over can be used for all types of scenery – landscape, hills, and tunnels. There are some who make the entire train table and legs using foam insulation, but I would not recommend this. Just use the board as a horizontal base and you’ll have something that will last for years.

John kindly supplied this tip:

In keeping with Robert Anderson’s excellent Tip about using small layouts if you are strapped for space, a 2 x 4 N-Scale layout (or a Z-Scale empire!) is just the ticket. Get a 2 x 8, one-inch thick insulation board and cut it in half exactly, making two equal pieces that sandwiched together make a 2 x 4 super-strong two-inch base.

Paint the top, train-side part of the board with gray or earth-colored paint. Then the boards can go on an inexpensive 2 x 4 folding-leg table that is purchased at office supplies or home improvement stores. Put self-adhesive shelf paper on the sides of the boards, and secure the board-sandwich to the table with a few strips of the same shelf paper.

A small end table stored under the layout holds the power pack if you use one. Then the fun begins – use a good brand of track and trains, and even though it is a small layout, do not use too much track-to-scenery ratio (or vice-versa).

As a precaution, 11-inch radius N-Scale curved track comes too close to the edges on a 2×4 layout. Use 9-3/4″ radius curves, which lets you employ two-axle locomotives such as EMD F-Units and Geeps, ALCO RS models, and GE B-series U-Boats.