hi all, I am planning my next layout and have a fair idea of what it will contain and a track plan. My space is a nice 6mtr x 9mtr
The issue I'm having is my layout will have a no-lix climbing from level to level so I need addition width on the shelves to accomodate this. As a result I am having to have wider than (the normal) shelf to have something resembling scenery and allow double main line !
Would like your opinions on a shelf 1 metre wide,
does anyone think this is too wide ?
I have steel studs to attach shelves too to support the extra weight?
many thanks as always
Tom from down under
tomcatWould like your opinions on a shelf 1 metre wide,
Yes, that is too wide. 60-70 cm is a more reasonable max. It's not a matter of support, it's about being able to reach to the back for construction and maintenance.
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39" deep shelf may/will cause reach accessibility issues especially as the elevation climbs. What elevations are you thinking/planning?
Modeling an HO gauge freelance version of the Union Pacific Oregon Short Line and the Utah Railway around 1957 in a world where Pirates from the Great Salt Lake founded Ogden, UT.
- Photo album of layout construction -
Elevations 16-20 inches at maximum grade of 1.8 - 2%.
Nothing really set in stone about how for apart the shelves will be , I don't want them to be sitting on top of each other . The bottom level will be mainly engine facilities , staging on 2 sides . Then more scenic and towns , industries on the 2 more levels above ,would like enough separation between levels to be workable and look nice to get some scenery in , any suggestions welcome on shelf separation welcome as well.
Besides width, you might also want to consider height. Do you have a stool or step ladder to help you get to the certain areas?
tomcat Elevations 16-20 inches at maximum grade of 1.8 - 2%. Nothing really set in stone about how for apart the shelves will be , I don't want them to be sitting on top of each other . The bottom level will be mainly engine facilities , staging on 2 sides . Then more scenic and towns , industries on the 2 more levels above ,would like enough separation between levels to be workable and look nice to get some scenery in , any suggestions welcome on shelf separation welcome as well.
Sorry, but by 'elevation' I meant how high above the floor? That has definite affect on how deep benchwork/shelf should be.
Hi tomcat.
Yes it is but only by 75mm or 3".
1 meter is aprox 3'3" and conventional wisdom is a board should not be more than 3' wide if you can only acsess it from one side.
But having said that 1 meter width is a std sheet width from Bunnings so IF at your planned hights you can reach right across the board it is not to wide.
I would at that width make conventional bench work on legs and screw it to the wall for extra stabilaty rather than bracket it off the wall.
I would also make the legs long enough to hold both levels on the same legs.
That way the weight is on the legs not the wall the wall is only stopping it toppeling over.
I think the wide shelf plus scenery weight is going to be more than the 20kg max
recomended for any brackets screwed to the wall, steel studs or not that thick.
So with all the weight I would be concerend about the weight pulling the screws through the steel studs not an issuie if all the weight is taken by legs.
For shelf spacing no idea but for a 2% grade you are only going to rise 20mm for every liniar meter the train travels. if that helps.
regards John
If you have to have a shelf that wide maybe you could have an access hole in it. I have a bottomless pit in the middle of a 180 degree u turn that is about a meter wide. Only the turn is that wide. After that is goes to a more reasonable width.
j............
John Busbyconventional wisdom is a board should not be more than 3' wide if you can only acsess it from one side
I think that the more typical "conventional wisdom" is 30" wide (76cm). Wider than that, and one is likely to crush scenery or structures when reaching across. This can be worse on the lower deck of a multi-deck layout (as I think that the Original Poster is describing), as one is restricted in reaching in from above.
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I don't know your age or how long you intend to keep the layout, but, as I grow older things seem to get farther and farther away.
Charlie
Designing an Building Multi-Deck Layouts is a great book on this topic.
tomcatThe issue I'm having is my layout will have a no-lix climbing from level to level so I need addition width on the shelves to accomodate this.
not sure why you're saying you need additional width? Are you suggesting a grade only on the back half of the shelf?
shelves 18" apart in height require a run of at least 75' with a 2% grade. But as Koester discusses, you'll need flat sections at stations and for sidings so that cars don't roll away. So you may require quite a bit more than 75'.
Koester's shelf width were relatively narrow, perhaps only 18" wide. He used thin shelf brackets to minimize shelf thickness.
greg - Philadelphia & Reading / Reading
My maximum reach-in is 80cm at 110 cm height, but there are two jokers:
Of course, all of the complex trackwork will be within 70 cm [EDIT 50cm] of the eventual fascia line. I learned a long time ago to avoid putting turnouts at the extreme end of a long reach in.
Chuck (Modeling Central Japan in September, 1964)
I'm with Chuck on this one. And would go further and say no track more than 22" from the shelf edge. Light weight lift out scenery, could be worked on as necessary on the workbench and placed in, before big items went in out front.
As also mentioned, physical abilities decline with age, and your plans seem to be extensive, therefore decade consuming.
Dave
The SIW shelf is 24"wide.
Joe Staten Island West
Building benchwork to fit a plan or drafting a plan to fit the benchwork?
Anyway, IME, 24 inches is about the max for comfort at 48 inches above the floor. I'm currently messing with 14 inches but I think I'm going to go to 18. Aside from reach distance, how much "territory " do you want to scenic? Some (Darnaby?) argue for 8 inches width for single rural HO track. Anything wider wastes time and material.
A bit extreme perhap, but food for thought.
nucat78 Building benchwork to fit a plan or drafting a plan to fit the benchwork? Aside from reach distance, how much "territory " do you want to scenic? Some (Darnaby?) argue for 8 inches width for single rural HO track. Anything wider wastes time and material.
Aside from reach distance, how much "territory " do you want to scenic? Some (Darnaby?) argue for 8 inches width for single rural HO track. Anything wider wastes time and material.
How deep a single track shelf will have to be is determined by two things:
In my case, the single track is doing a snakewiggle down a canyon, alternating two and three span deck girders with short tunnels. The fascia, when I install it, will look like a seismograph's earthquake trace. Meanwhile, lower down and right against the wall, there are three parallel tracks - thoroughfare and nose-to-tail staging for steam/diesel powered freight trains. Due to clearance issues those three tracks have to be behind the snake, not under it. The minimum shelf width, wall to fascia, would just about fit down the barrel of a 16 inch naval rifle.
On the other side of the room the netherworld has seven tracks on two levels and the top level has a rural station (two through tracks flanking a high platform, freight spur with shed) instead of a single track. The width is a little less - 15 inches - and the fascia is straight.
As for an eight inch shelf with a single tangent track - probably wide enough, for typical midwest scenery - and you could still hide a couple of parallel tracks under it.