Benchwork

I'm having trouble wrapping my mind around this foam, I guess it's off to Home Depot tomorrow to get a sheet so I can see it in action. Peole say foam and I keep thinking foam peanuts

 

I think you are going to be pleasantly surprised when you see what construction foam panels are and how you can be use them.

 

I used foam board just like plywood. Some of the vertical supports are sheets of foam board.

 

More work done

I was able to complete 2 pieces this weekend and I think I've got the hang of it so the rest should be a little easier. The legs are 48" high after I add the foam it shoud be 50-52" high. In addition to the 2 x 2's I had cut, I cut 6" wide tops for the legs using some wood I had in the house. I also used a old wood hutch I had lying aoung for bracing.

 

That certainly looks sturdy! I so hated apartments that I bought my first house when I was 25, after starving for 3 years. But I guess NYC is the place to be these days!

 

I bought Sievers benchwork pieces in 1991. I have had three complete layouts (room size) using these components. I moved the layour from Kansas City to Indianapolis back to Kansas City, and then to Phoenix where I stored the Stievers benchwork components for 8 years. I now have a new layout in Texas still using the same Stievers benchwork I bought 15 years ago. Great stuff. I have used plywood on risers and foam to build layouts. I am now using 4" foam as a base on the Sievers Benchwork and even though I've made a few modifications to the legs (raised them to 54") and supported benchwork off the wall where possible, its still doing a great job. When I reconfigured I just simply unbolted and re-did the way I needed. Great stuff. You can't find better.
Doc

 

Been Awhile

It's been some time since I've been on the board, work really got in the way of my hobby. But many things have changed. When last I visited I had made benchwork using metal studs and tracks. Well I completed the benchwork, bought foam and set about trying to level the whole thing. But something just wasn't right, I kept looking at it and tinkering and I realized that while the benchwork was sturdy and achieved what it was supposed to I just didn't like esthetics of it all. So thanks to a nice bonus from work and a little overtime I justified the purchase of Mianne benchwork. While it did cost me a pretty penny, I am very happy with it, in fact it has reinvigorated and motivated me. I didn't think how the benchwork looked would affect me that much but the difference is amazing.

 

Progress Pictures

I've made progress. The foam is now mostly in place. I ended up using 1/2" plywood under the foam as I needed support for various electronics that will be under the layout. In the pictures you will also see the EasyDCC Command Station attached to an old under shelf keyboard tray that I was no longer using. This allows me to slide the command station under the layout as well as adjust the height.
By the way you can't see them in this picture but I installed track lights from Home Depot, they are the flexible track lights with three bulbs and are about $29 each. They provide pretty decent light.

 

Congrats on your benchwork material find. Looks like a good score.

As to Subway cars-
First off, I think Subway cars could accomodate fairly sharp turns in HO scale. I realize you are an N scaler, but perhaps this subject requires HO scale. (this is coming from a die hard N scaler BTW) Subway modelling is more like traction and trolley modelling only underground or elevated.

See here:
http://www.imagesreplicas.com/new.htm
http://www.imagesreplicas.com/hosubway.htm
http://cgi.ebay.com/NYC-Transit-R17...4985279QQihZ015QQcategoryZ19141QQcmdZViewItem
http://www.collect-corner.net/subways.html
http://www.brasstrains.com/ViewRailroadName.asp?category=63&gaugeID=1
http://mysite.verizon.net/sctransit/modelnews.htm

Some of these links are to larger scale models, but I think the volume of models available for larger scale, ho and bigger, is fairly impressive.

Good luck. I always had a thing for the Chicago El and dreamed about building it in N scale, but at a certain point I gave up because there just wasn't enough there for N scale and I'm not a super dooper scratch builder.

 

Subway

There you go. Looking good.

Nolan-

Live in NYC?? No more for me.

 

I'm actually building a railroad from plans published years ago by MR. It was the Burlington Northern and they did a whole series on building the layout. I'm staying pretty faithful to the plan except that I am using DCC, and adding computer control so I can combine my interest in trains, electronics and computers

 

Here's the track plan as published by MR. I'll add more shots later of the whole room. Thanks for the compliments.

 

I also thought of modeling the subway but the cost of n scale subway cars is very prohibitive not to mention that I just don't have the modeling skills to build elevated tracks the MTA uses. And the underground portion would be interesting to say the least. At one point I thought of modeling one of the MTA yards which might be very interesting

 

The past few days I managed to paint the foam a nice beige/brown, get buss wiring finished under the layout, run a train on some test track mounted to the foam and drop and break my digital camera, but I feel great because it all seems to be coming together. I hope to have a website up shortly documenting progress as well as other info as I go along.

 

The original layout is for sale if anybody is interested. It is located in the Minneapolis/St. Paul area. I don't have the gentleman's info in front of me but send me a P.M. and I'll get it for you.

Andrew