Hello from Southern Maryland

Hi,

In the beginning... I started the Railroading hobby when I was ten. I built my first layout on an old pool table. By the time I got back from serving in the Air Force, my father had given away my layout to my nephew. Fast forward a few years to the new house where my new bride agreed to my using some of the garage for a new layout. It was going to be beautiful. I had just finished the river, complete with real running water, when I found out I was going to be a father.

The battle between the layout and the now three kids was lost when the new mini van needed the garage.

Alas, the third child is off to college and I am free to engage in a hobby of my own approbation. My first mission is to run a HO shelf around my office. I am envisioning a dual track with the ability to switch between them. I have a solid design in mind except for spanning seven feet of fireplace bricks.

One of the things I hope to find here is people with the bridge building skills and ideas that can help me get across those bricks.

 

I live in SoMd myself--North Beach--and am a former carpenter.
Spanning 7 feet of fireplace doesn't sound like too much of a problem.
Unless of course you have regular fires--[grin]
A couple of 1x3s or 1x4s, on edge, under the ply should do the job.
Assuming ply for the rest of your shelf.

 

natsb, welcome aboard. Looks like you already have received some help. Please keep us posted as your layout progresses.

 

Hi natsb, welcome to the Train Board. What about spanning the fireplace with a series of through-truss spans? You could have each of their ends supported by shelf brackets anchored to the brick. If you painted the brackets the same color as the mortar, they would blend with the brick and look like concrete under the trusses.

It would have been fun to drop by and say Hi, but my son just sold his place in Dameron and moved out of state. :-(