Ideas on making a section for future layout

[zoegraf]

I have been without a layout for almost a year now. Too long. And though making dioramas is rewarding and a learning experience, I can't run a train on it.

So I'm now contemplating on making a section that is 2 feet x 6 feet with a mainline on it and a simple siding. I intend on fitting it into my next layout - it being the first section. My next layout will more likely be a shelf layout in a room probably with minimum dimensions of 11 X 12.

I want to construct it somehow so that it isn't too heavy and won't warp. Also be able to hang it on the back of a door when not in use since I'm currently living in a small space.

Any ideas would be much appreciated.

 

[TheGloriousTachikoma]

I have been without a layout for almost a year now. Too long. And though making dioramas is rewarding and a learning experience, I can't run a train on it.

So I'm now contemplating on making a section that is 2 feet x 6 feet with a mainline on it and a simple siding. I intend on fitting it into my next layout - it being the first section. My next layout will more likely be a shelf layout in a room probably with minimum dimensions of 11 X 12.

I want to construct it somehow so that it isn't too heavy and won't warp. Also be able to hang it on the back of a door when not in use since I'm currently living in a small space.

Any ideas would be much appreciated.

I wouldn't discount operability in this module. 2x6, heck 1x6 is enough for a good 'space constrained' switching layout.

http://carendt.us/scrapbook/page98/

I like Chris Gilbert's New Haston for something not terribly complicated, but Alexander Kaczmarek's Awanst could be made into a single large industry for switching. I'd start there for influence. 2x6 isn't much to work with though, if you can upsize to 2x8 that would be better.

As to lightweight warp-proof construction, your best bet may be to layer two 2" thick pieces of extruded (pink or blue) styrofoam and securely glue a very thin sheet of plywood to the top. Then simply glue a hardboard fascia all the way around the foam and you have a self-contained module.

 

[grove den]

Hello Zoegraf,

I think too that 2 x 6 feet will be too large to "handle" if these modules/section have to be carried sometimes/often from one place to another( hanging on a door for example)
The space that involved with the hight of the section is mostly larger than imagened...The frame should be, for strengt, at least 4 inches ..the scenery on the module , even on a flat one also another 4-5 inches. together 9-10 inches.
So invision the outskirts/contour of one module from 2 x 6 feet... will it be( to) large to handle??...
About warping: as TGT wrote 2"of extr.foam is ok but I would suggest a frame of plywood around the foam. Like a box inwhere the foam is glued.
here a fremo link: http://www.wesleysteiner.com/mr/Modules/Free-moHO/Vernon/Journal/Journal.html
These people do know after years of experience what, for example, warps and what not and of course also operability .
The plywood should be at about 9 mm( 1/3 inch??)
We built almost 45 N scale modules( 4 x 1 feet 2 inches) with a strong(1/3 inch) plywood constuction.Just for one person it is "on the edge"to handle have to say the the hight of these modules are about 40 cm( 1 feet 4 inches)
Of course all written worth my 0,04 euro cents

Jos

 

[tootnkumin]

Some time ago I got some 4" x 1/2" plywood in 8' strips and the method I am going to use for my round the garage walls layout is a space frame (say intermediate cross braces every 2', corner bracing at the ends and centre) which will give a strong, very light open frame. The advantages as I see it are ease of under track wiring and the possibility of scenery (rivers/ponds/culverts) below track level and the ease of adding risers to raise track levels. As a freestanding module it would be easy to close in the bottom with 1/8th" ply which should also give rigidity if needed without any great (if at all) weight penalty compared to 4" of foam core. Large holes could also be cut in the base 1/8th" ply to reduce that weight with no loss of stiffening effect and afford access to under track wiring/turnout motors etc.

 

[Selector]

You can get away with surprisingly little thicknesses if you have two factors going for you: know-how and the best materials.

I would not use much less than 3/8" cabinet grade plywood, probably in strips no longer than the 6', and about 4" wide. What will keep your product looking the way you want it, but more importantly operating the way you intended it, is to construct it so that it can reliably be inserted into place in a modular system. This means that it must not warp or sag. The way to do that is to use blocking at the corners, maybe 1X2 or 2X2 spruce or fir, and both glue and screw from the plywood into the blocks at each corner. Additionally, you would have a minimum of two cross-braces, also with blocking, that look like diagonal joists of the same plywood. They needn't be at 45 degrees, but they should be near 30 degrees so that their length and angle preclude the rectangular outer frame from wanting to deform into a parallelogram shape.

Such a frame, with a top layer of the same plywood, or perhaps 1" extruded foam as the scenicked layer, would be quite light and easily handled by an adult male.

 

[railfan]

Right now I'm building a larger N scale layout. Using light materials to cut down on weight and expense. Platform top of modules is 1/4 inch BC plywood (sanded one side). Bench frame work made from 1" x 3" pine....which I used to call the cheap stuff. The quality is still the same....but it's no longer cheap. $10 for bundle of six.....eight feet long.

Since plywood is thin....will be using 1" x 3" support ribs every foot....to screw platform down flat. Plenty strong for N scale (probably HO too) and easy to carry and move when needed.




Mike

 

[Beachbum]

Try 1-in extruded foam on a hollow core door - cheap, fast, portable, and I've never had one warp on me. 2-in foam can stand alone on shelf brackets as long as you don't climb on it. Mine never sagged.

I went this way after having to tear down my "dream" layout that was L-girder and Homasote - impossible to salvage much of anything of it.

Experiment! That's a good way to find what works for you.

 

[railfan]

I used to wonder how to fasten items like ground throws for turnouts (that need to be screwed down) when doing a layout on top of foam. I guess it would be easy enough to inlay pieces of 1/8th inch hobby plywood glued into the foam for this purpose.


Mike

 

[tootnkumin]

Try 1-in extruded foam on a hollow core door - cheap, fast, portable, and I've never had one warp on me. 2-in foam can stand alone on shelf brackets as long as you don't climb on it. Mine never sagged.

#1 suggestion, quick cheap and easy, only proviso I would say, is that it have plywood rather than masonite facing.

 

[RBMNfan]

I used to wonder how to fasten items like ground throws for turnouts (that need to be screwed down) when doing a layout on top of foam. I guess it would be easy enough to inlay pieces of 1/8th inch hobby plywood glued into the foam for this purpose.


Mike

I use a short piece of cork roadbed.

Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk 2

 

[zoegraf]

I wouldn't discount operability in this module. 2x6, heck 1x6 is enough for a good 'space constrained' switching layout.

http://carendt.us/scrapbook/page98/

I like Chris Gilbert's New Haston for something not terribly complicated, but Alexander Kaczmarek's Awanst could be made into a single large industry for switching. I'd start there for influence. 2x6 isn't much to work with though, if you can upsize to 2x8 that would be better.

As to lightweight warp-proof construction, your best bet may be to layer two 2" thick pieces of extruded (pink or blue) styrofoam and securely glue a very thin sheet of plywood to the top. Then simply glue a hardboard fascia all the way around the foam and you have a self-contained module.

I suppose I could make a simple switching layout that could fit into a future continuous running layout.

 

[zoegraf]

Hello Zoegraf,

I think too that 2 x 6 feet will be too large to "handle" if these modules/section have to be carried sometimes/often from one place to another( hanging on a door for example)
The space that involved with the hight of the section is mostly larger than imagened...The frame should be, for strengt, at least 4 inches ..the scenery on the module , even on a flat one also another 4-5 inches. together 9-10 inches.
So invision the outskirts/contour of one module from 2 x 6 feet... will it be( to) large to handle??...
About warping: as TGT wrote 2"of extr.foam is ok but I would suggest a frame of plywood around the foam. Like a box inwhere the foam is glued.
here a fremo link: http://www.wesleysteiner.com/mr/Modules/Free-moHO/Vernon/Journal/Journal.html
These people do know after years of experience what, for example, warps and what not and of course also operability .
The plywood should be at about 9 mm( 1/3 inch??)
We built almost 45 N scale modules( 4 x 1 feet 2 inches) with a strong(1/3 inch) plywood constuction.Just for one person it is "on the edge"to handle have to say the the hight of these modules are about 40 cm( 1 feet 4 inches)
Of course all written worth my 0,04 euro cents

Jos

Thanks for the link Jos

I do like the idea of a box inwhere the foam is glued.

 

[zoegraf]

Some time ago I got some 4" x 1/2" plywood in 8' strips and the method I am going to use for my round the garage walls layout is a space frame (say intermediate cross braces every 2', corner bracing at the ends and centre) which will give a strong, very light open frame. The advantages as I see it are ease of under track wiring and the possibility of scenery (rivers/ponds/culverts) below track level and the ease of adding risers to raise track levels. As a freestanding module it would be easy to close in the bottom with 1/8th" ply which should also give rigidity if needed without any great (if at all) weight penalty compared to 4" of foam core. Large holes could also be cut in the base 1/8th" ply to reduce that weight with no loss of stiffening effect and afford access to under track wiring/turnout motors etc.

Damn, days like these I wish I had a table saw and a room to use it in cause if I did, I could make something like this:

http://rrmodelcraftsman.com/extraboard/cm_extra_sparandribbenchwork.php

 

[zoegraf]

Right now I'm building a larger N scale layout. Using light materials to cut down on weight and expense. Platform top of modules is 1/4 inch BC plywood (sanded one side). Bench frame work made from 1" x 3" pine....which I used to call the cheap stuff. The quality is still the same....but it's no longer cheap. $10 for bundle of six.....eight feet long.

Since plywood is thin....will be using 1" x 3" support ribs every foot....to screw platform down flat. Plenty strong for N scale (probably HO too) and easy to carry and move when needed.




Mike

Thanks for sharing the images.

A very feasible option indeed.

 

[zoegraf]

Try 1-in extruded foam on a hollow core door - cheap, fast, portable, and I've never had one warp on me. 2-in foam can stand alone on shelf brackets as long as you don't climb on it. Mine never sagged.

I went this way after having to tear down my "dream" layout that was L-girder and Homasote - impossible to salvage much of anything of it.

Experiment! That's a good way to find what works for you.

That's very tempting and I could put a fascia on the sides... mmmm...

 

[zoegraf]

Does this foam shrink over time? Why I ask it after applying the roadbed and track, is it possible it could have dips in it over time?

 

[Beachbum]

Does this foam shrink over time? Why I ask it after applying the roadbed and track, is it possible it could have dips in it over time?

No, not in my experience. It's very stable dimensionally. 2-in foam alone on metal shelf brackets did not sag, twist, shrink, or warp for me. I believe that's what Bill Darnaby used on his Maumee Route, which has been featured in Model Railroader, etc.

You do have to protect the edges of the foam some, which is I why I like hollow core doors - screw your fascia into the edge of the door to cover the edge of the foam. For transport, I've screwed metal window handles (I'm sure there's a technical name for them) into the side of the door.

If you put 1-inch foam alone on shelf brackets on 16-in centers, then yeah, it'll probably sag between brackets.

Again though, I'd suggest spending some time trying different techniques until you find one that works best for you.

 

[zoegraf]

No, not in my experience. It's very stable dimensionally. 2-in foam alone on metal shelf brackets did not sag, twist, shrink, or warp for me. I believe that's what Bill Darnaby used on his Maumee Route, which has been featured in Model Railroader, etc.

You do have to protect the edges of the foam some, which is I why I like hollow core doors - screw your fascia into the edge of the door to cover the edge of the foam. For transport, I've screwed metal window handles (I'm sure there's a technical name for them) into the side of the door.

If you put 1-inch foam alone on shelf brackets on 16-in centers, then yeah, it'll probably sag between brackets.

Again though, I'd suggest spending some time trying different techniques until you find one that works best for you.

Sounds good. I'm going to find out if Home Depot delivers doors.

Thanks for the info.

 

[zoegraf]

I visited Home Depot today and was happy to see that they have hollow doors with the dimensions of 80 inches by 24 inches.

Now I just got to get a friend to take me there to take the goods home. Home Depot wanted $60.00 to deliver a door.

 

[TheGloriousTachikoma]

I visited Home Depot today and was happy to see that they have hollow doors with the dimensions of 80 inches by 24 inches.

Now I just got to get a friend to take me there to take the goods home. Home Depot wanted $60.00 to deliver a door.

For one door? They wouldn't even need the delivery truck for that! Unless you happen to live $30 in diesel fuel away...

That sounds like a good size. Have you decided on a track plan yet?

http://www.huntervalleylines.com/gallery/thumbnails.php?album=1

This guy has alot of cool plans, most 24"x86". I'm sure most of the designs would not miss the 6", especially if you stay strictly to #4 turnouts.