1x3's or 2x4's?

JimInMichigan Sep 8, 2014

  1. JimInMichigan

    JimInMichigan TrainBoard Member

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    Finally got my train room finished ( new drywall/paint/ect ) and am going to start building the bench work. I already have a bunch of 1x3's in the garage. I am thinking they should be heavy enough for my application, but thought I'd ask here 1st.

    Bench will be along 3 walls with the back railing screwed to the wall stud's. Size is 10 ft 7 in x 8 ft :

    layout1.jpg
    Shelf width is planned on 30
    Looking at the pic, the bridge side is facing the room, the other 3 side's are against the wall. Stars rep where the legs will be places.
     
  2. BoxcabE50

    BoxcabE50 HOn30 & N Scales Staff Member TrainBoard Supporter

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    One by threes generally will do just fine. Hopefully there will not be a huge weight loaded atop them.

    30 inches is about the max stretch for reach. Be certain you won't need to lean across tracks, buildings or other scenery, in order to maintain anything.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Sep 10, 2014
  3. JimInMichigan

    JimInMichigan TrainBoard Member

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    Agreed. Still trying to decide on shelf width. 24" seems a bit too narrow, 26" might be the way to go.
     
  4. Eagle2

    Eagle2 Staff Member TrainBoard Supporter

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    You could always try sketching a plan on poster paper/board, try to lay it out at layout height and see how well your reach does for different widths.
     
  5. montanan

    montanan TrainBoard Member

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    Ix3's may work if you aren't going to have a lot of weight on it. I personally preferred 1x4's. Here is a trick you may use instead of having legs. My layout has been up for over 25 years with no problems. It's an old cabinet makers trick. I used half inch rigid electrical conduit instead of legs. The width of the layout fron the wall varies from 24 inches to 40 inches.

    The rear of the framework was screwed to the wall studs. The conduit was measured for about a 45 degree angle or less as shown, and an extra 2 inches or so was added to each end. The ends were flattened by using a vise, or I guess you could use a hammer. Two holes were drilled in each end for screws to pass through. the flattened ends were bent. I screwed the top end to the back of the facia or the side furthest from the wall. Once the benchwork is level from the back to the front, the lower part of the conduit is screwed into a wall stud. I have had a few doubters, but after putting their 250+ pounds of full weight on it, nothing moved. This will keep you from stubbing your toes when operating plus make it easier for you when you might have to work on the under side of your layout. It also makes storage a bit easier underneath.

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  6. BoxcabE50

    BoxcabE50 HOn30 & N Scales Staff Member TrainBoard Supporter

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    What I have done in the past, is to lay either a one by four, or a two by four on edge on the floor, against the wall. Then attach my bracing to that. It loads all of the weight against the bottom plate of that wall. Just another method for getting table legs out of the way.
     
  7. Davidfd85

    Davidfd85 TrainBoard Member

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    I have almost the same exact table layout in my train room but mine is 10 X 14 and 33" wide. I'm over 6' tall so it works that wide for me. I made mine out of 1X4's and it is plenty almost over strong. 1X3's should work out just fine. How are you going to do the bridge area. I probably missed it but I did a drop down for mine and it has worked out great.

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    David
     
  8. cajon

    cajon TrainBoard Member

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    A 30" reach may seem OK for some people but highly recommend you have all track w/in 2' or less from the front edge of your tables. Also don't have anything real tall between you & the tracks.
     
  9. J911

    J911 TrainBoard Member

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    I second the 1x4's they hold up great!
    My question is with the drop bridge how are you gonna connect your track? Dremel it?
     
  10. Davidfd85

    Davidfd85 TrainBoard Member

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    Thats what I did. I cut the drop end base at a slight angle then applied the roadbed, then cut the track and lined it up. I have two tracks across it and have been running it for about 6 months now and have not had any derailments at the joints for the drop down at all. The wiring in set up with contact strips. The main power to a terminal block under the drop down then feeders to the drop down and a 12" safety zone on both sides of the drop down so when it is down no trains can fall off. Don't have pictures of the wiring.

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    I can get some pictures of the wiring and more detail pictures of the drop down if you need them.

    David
     
  11. BoxcabE50

    BoxcabE50 HOn30 & N Scales Staff Member TrainBoard Supporter

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    Those angled rail ends are something I'd never thought about.

    If nobody else is interested, I am certainly curious!
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Sep 10, 2014
  12. Backshop

    Backshop TrainBoard Member

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    I always wonder why people build layouts that can support 250 pounds per square foot. What the heck are you making scenery out of, depleted uranium? In N scale using 2x4s and lots of 1x4s seems like overkill. Sturdy, yes. A layout should be sturdy enough not to wobble like Jello when you bump into it. You can do that by putting just enough legs to provide support, and making two leg braces (1x2s will do) at 90 degrees to each other from to the bottom of each leg to the framework above. Then put sheet plywood over the framework (not made of 2x4s!!) to provide horizontal stability. (You don't even need to completely cover the framework -- you can cut out "gussets" to brace key horizontal joints) This keeps even free-standing layouts secure. It's like you build a table with areas cut out of the tabletop.
     
  13. mightypurdue22

    mightypurdue22 TrainBoard Member

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    I'd be in the camp for 1x4s or 1x3s. 2x4s are just so heavy and not really necessary for most layouts. I continually used 2x4s up until my latest layout, and can't fathom why I ever used those beefy things for a model railroad. With the 1x3s, you may simply have to add some additional bracing here or there to shore things up.

    Dave
     
  14. Davidfd85

    Davidfd85 TrainBoard Member

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    Since I was asked to put up more details on the drop down I will start a thread in the "How To" section for it.

    David
     
  15. BoxcabE50

    BoxcabE50 HOn30 & N Scales Staff Member TrainBoard Supporter

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    Please do. Looking forward to seeing it.
     
  16. montanan

    montanan TrainBoard Member

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    Drop Bridge

    I have a very similar bridge as J911. Put it in about 20 years using about the same hardware. My bridge is also part of a hidden staging yard that also allows for continuous running. Being that the span is only 30 inches, I just used a scrap of half inch plywood without any bracing.

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    The two little scraps at either side aligns the tracks perfectly from the bridge to the hidden tracks. Looks like we used the same latches to hold the bridge up, but in a different way. I used a piano hinge on the other side where it comes out from under the main layout. (Yes, I did put 2 new screws in the left side of the hinge)

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    I was thinking of trying to do something else down the road, but it has been working for over 20 years so I figured that if it ain't broke, don't fix it. Originally it was going to be a temporary fix but I never bothered to upgrade it because it worked. Most of my trains are limited to about 14 to 16 cars so they will fit in either side so I really don't use it very often. Sometimes when the grand kids come over and want to see the trains run, I'll put a 40 to 50 car train together and let it run around the layout, but normally it's not in use.
     
  17. JimInMichigan

    JimInMichigan TrainBoard Member

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    How u guys wired the drop bridge would be cool. David, please add a link here when you finish the wiring thread.
     
  18. montanan

    montanan TrainBoard Member

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    If you look at the bottom picture, you may see where jumper wires are soldered to both the tracks coming from under the layout to the bridge. All I did was solder a wire from the stationary track, drilled a hole through the plywood and ran jumper wires, in this case six, two for each track and came up through the bottom of the bridge section and they were soldered to the rails on the bridge section. It have been working all these years with no problems at all.
     
  19. Davidfd85

    Davidfd85 TrainBoard Member

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  20. halfpint33

    halfpint33 TrainBoard Member

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    I used cabinet grade 3/4 "plywood on my last layout.Cut it in 3" strips with a Skil saw.Just be sure to use a guide so your cuts are straight.It held up fine until I tore it down to move.
     

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