I am about ready to start the benchwork on my little empire and not sure where to start. Never built one of this size before and I want to get it right. I am looking at using the foam insulation board. I was thinking of using 2 x 4's for the legs and ross beams. How far a part should I put the supports for the foam board? Here is what I am building. The room is 17'9" x 10'. And yes it is HO.
You will have a very heavy and sturdy layout bench with 2X4's. If you really want my opinion, having done my first layout that way, it is really a waste of good wood. I suggest you give yourself a solid hour and a half at a well-appointed builders' supply outfit and find 10 or 12' lengths of clear 1X4 spruce or pine that look to be quite straight. Get as much as you need to make 1X2 legs and use some of the 1X4's for the outside frames of any sections you are going to lag-bolt together. I bought a bunch of 1X4's and set them down in aired stacks in my basement for about a week before I went through them again to see how that aclimatization affected them. I was lucky in that they were all still fine. You should have an agreement with the dealer to return those that warp during the indoor seasoning period. Then, rip several of them to make the legs and any cross-bracing you will want. The rest make your outside frames and any joists or spacers for risers. And risers for your roadbed. You can use small blocks of the 1X2 as corner blocking if you feel you need it. I found my four-section layout with 3'X8' out dimensions for each layout to be granite solid once each section was lag-bolted to the adjacent ones using 1" washers.
I've always used 1x4s for frames and 1x2s for braces and 2x2s for legs. I bulid the frames with cross members about every 2 feet. I also suggest planning to attach a 1/4" sheet of luan to the top of the benchwork before attaching the foam. There are a few too many places on my fathers layout where the foam has been punched through. The luan would have prevented that.
Love the scheme and am excited to see progress. I prefer heavier material in all areas, using 4x4's for upright supports and 3/4" birch plywood, setting foam on top for a super sturdy, "but honey, I know you think trains are silly, but we can't just take it down" table.
I used 2x3 for legs, 1x4 for the outside frame and 1x3 for the inside cross-rafters: I set the rafters even with the bottom of outer frame, so the 2-inch foam sits inside the frame, on top of the rafters. The rafters here are spaced 16 inches apart. The foam itself, even without a plywood underlay, is very stiff and could easily work with 18 or even 24 inch spacing. (Stilck with 16-inch if you plan heavy plaster scenery, or if you're running O-gauge.) I used triangular gussets made of plywood to keep the legs square with the table top, and some 1x2 cross bracing as well. In my case, the layout is on casters so it can be moved around a bit. That required some additional bracing.
I second the 1x4 construction. I built a layout years ago with 2x4's and it was overkill. Even with my O scale benchwork I used 1x4's. Here is the benchwork for my small N scale 3x6 layout. 1x4's throughout and 1x2 and 1x1 clear pine for legs. I really did not need to do it, but I set down a 1/8" piece of plywood for a table top and then added a 3" thick foam board. This is very strong benchwork. Mister Beasley, your benchwork is beautiful, Norm Abrams would be proud!
On a different note, you are going to have access problems at the top of your layout as shown in your diagram. It's a full 3 feet in from the aisle. If you can get around the back, no problem, but if you have to reach over scenery, including the turntable and maybe a roundhouse, it's going to be really difficult to work on anything, or even retrieve a derailed car back there. Generally, the rule of thumb is no more than 30 inches. Even that is a bit of a stretch, literally, for many of us.
I like your benchwork. Thanks! The drawing was drawn to 17' x 10' so I have an extra 9" to play with on that end of the layout. I am looking at putting a couple of access points (one in each corner) there so that I can get to it. Another option would be to make the turntable be a modular piece that comes out. Problem there would be what I am going to put there will be too heavy. That is my museum area where I will put engines that I cannot run due to age. I have a bunch of old engines that are over 30 years old that I Inherited from my dad when he passed in 1995. Due to nostalgic reasons I cannot part with them so they will be displayed in the roundhouse area.biggrin: Also will put locos there that I purchased to run that need to be updated with DCC. Will be taken out as they get completed.
Its amazing how fast a year goes by. Sill haven't been able to start the layout yet, but I am now on an 8 week plan to get started. Still need to finish prepping the room. Also need to finish my Lionel shelf. Once that is complete I can start on my HO layout. So until then I am starting my necessary list of supplies and after all these nice responses I will go with 2x2 legs, and 1x4 braces, 1/4" plywood for the top with 1" foam board attached to that. Now to motivate myself to get this going. I have a way of procrastinating until nothing gets done period. :teeth: To get me going I have the family helping me which in turn will force me to finish the never ending project of finishing the basement.
Kevin, for those areas were the reach may be a little far. Just do as I do and have a short 3 rung wooden latter to use when needed. It is also needed for scenery work that is beyond the back tracks.
Ken that is a great idea. Never thought of that. Still planning small access areas in the corners though.
I appreciate alll the suggestions I have received here. I have decided upon a free standing style of benchwork that will follow the walls of the train room. Here is an artists rendition (I used paint to draw it) of what I am looking at. The following materials will be used. 1 x 4's for cross bracing 2 x 2's for the legs 1 x 2's for the bracing on the legs 1/4" plywood for the top 1" foam board on top of the plywood mesanite fascia board View attachment 43905
If you guys are making a portable layout, the majority of you are "overbuilding" the layout. My dad and I have a 8'X12' N scale layout that we can have completely set up with all the trains running for a show in less than 45 minutes! The layout itself is built with 1"X2" L-girder construction with 2" foam glued on top of it. There is NO need for cross braces or anything. The legs are 2"X2" with 1"X2" for supports both diagonally and horizontally. The layout itself is 4 2'X8' sections that are boxed face to face for transportion to/from shows. The entire layout MIGHT weigh an TOTAL of 25lbs. This layout has been built since 1979 and still to this day with the exception of some minor track work changes is still as sturdy as the day we built it.
Some videos to check out: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tyenCuseToA To view one person's benchwork: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ymzLS0ZiG8k L girder construction: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ozR1AHP-Ml8
I cut up a sheet of 3/4" plywood and got 12- 1x4's out of it for the perimeter of my frame. The plywood was $32. A lot cheaper and stronger than pine boards. Even this is over building as CWWRMAN stated earlier. I could have made the plywood into 1x3's and gotten 16 boards out of it. I did cut up pine boards for the frame cross boards as it's pretty tough to drill drywall screws into the end of plywood. Cut some 2x4's in half then ripped them for the legs and stapled luan for the deck and backdrop with 2" of foam on top. My layout is 10x18 for n scale. You need a large table saw to cut the plywood with for straight cuts or have lowes or whoever cut it up for you if you decide that route.
