Have you thought about using extruded foam board? It is very light and can easily be cut/molded for scenery. I had thought about going with a modular layout for I plan to build a 3 car garage and have the second floor as my train room. Right now I am in a room about 18 x 24 and the layout takes most of that up. I decided to go with L-girder construction and have designed it in such a way that I should be able to use most of the structural lumber and would only have to purchase new foam board when that move comes.
dennis
TCA#09-63805
I have plunged head way into a possible folly of a layout design. I decided that since I move so often I needed a portable layout; also since I plan to one day be stable in location and have a large room; I wanted an expandable layout; hence modular.
I have built a 16 x 9 foot oval out of 20 inch by 36 inch sections. Each is composed of MDF rails cut to 1 x 3 dimensions with a surface of fiberboard. (Light and cheap) The secitons are bolted together and each is suported by two legs (2x2) which are bolted to the MDF. I am using cork roadbed on top of the fiber board to buildup thickness for attaching track and have gargraves flex track on two mainlines with 72" curves and 8 1/4 track centers. Each section will be its own block and be wired to control the adjacent two blocks using the outside rail technique. (No DCC; mostly post war stock and definitely a post-war mindset!)
If this were a permanent layout I would have prefered to go with 1/2 plywood with homosote and 1 x 4's but wanted to keep the sections light enough that I could easily carry one in each hand.
Our community is FREE to join. To participate you must either login or register for an account.
Get the Classic Toy Trains newsletter delivered to your inbox twice a month