I've been going round and round about this for a while now and have come to some conclusions - and questions. Anyway, I have a collection of o-scale trains that have been used primarily for display until now. Space has been the problem. I will soon have more space than I ever dreamed of and am finally getting serious. My question of the moment has to do with what materials to use for the basic table/platform. These are heavy trains that make large turns, and HO mentality isn't necessarily going to work. My thoughts of the moment:
PLYWOOD is generally the material of choice. It is heavy and unwieldy, however. I'm on my own and don't want to be wrestling this stuff around. If I go to 3/4 inch, which I fear I must, it is out of the question.
FOAM has been suggested. It is light and you can work with it. Unfortunately, it does not support weight very well, and it chips/cracks/breaks all too easily.
That brings me to a "free standing" idea where the track and roadbed are afixed to ... oh, I 'm guessing ... a 6 - 12 inch or so wide strip of wood or whatever which becomes the railroad. Scenery and other apparatus are then built off of that.
Any comments or ideas about any of this?
You won't need 3/4" plywood. The use of 1/2" plywood on 2x4 framework, 24 inch on center, would be sufficient.
Rich
Alton Junction
carney2FOAM has been suggested. It is light and you can work with it. Unfortunately, it does not support weight very well, and it chips/cracks/breaks all too easily
2in foam on 16in center cross members would support concreate blocks,it wont crack, does not chip or break. Unless you try to bend it around corners.
Good luck trying to keep a 1X6,8,10 or 12 flat,without a lot of cross members. Most will '' cup'' before you get home.
carney2That brings me to a "free standing" idea where the track and roadbed are afixed to ... oh, I 'm guessing ... a 6 - 12 inch or so wide strip of wood or whatever which becomes the railroad. Scenery and other apparatus are then built off of that.
This is probably your best option if you plan any changes in track elevation. You won't need 12" wide, just an inch or so wider than your roadbed on each side. The problem with plywood is that if you get it flat, you will have an unnatural base for your scenery. Foam is better as you can carve it to provide for creeks, culverts, drainage, and add to it to provide hills, mountains, and tunnels.
Chip
Building the Rock Ridge Railroad with the slowest construction crew west of the Pecos.
No matter the scale of the train, L girder or open frame works the best. You build it using 1x4 lumber, then you cut plywood to match the track’s roadbed. You can use ½, 5/8, or ¾ plywood. Also use pieces of it where you are going to have structures. All of the space in between can be covered with plaster soaked paper towels or impregnated gauze. Or you can use the foam method.
It sounds to me that what you really want is spline roadbed with extruded foam terrain. The spline roadbed is made from 1/4" Masonite or similar material cut into strips about 3/4" wide, then laminated together on edge in multiple layers to form the roadbed. First, position a center spline along the desired track centerline. Then laminate additional layers of splines on either side of the center spline until the desired roadbed width is achieved. Seven spline layers would yield a roadbed 1 3/4" wide. Nine layers would yield 2 1/4". This method gives you a smoothly flowing curves and vertical grade changes, plus structurally solid roadbed. After the spline roadbed is complete, you use extruded foam (or hard shell) to "fill in" around the spline roadbed. This will work on either L girder or open grid benchwork with the spline roadbed supported on adjutable height risers.
I don't know what is available in your area, but here in Southern California, the dimensional lumber we get is absolute garbage. Even if you pick through the entire pile to find the straightest pieces, they will be anything but straight a week after you get them home. My own layout uses 1/2" Birch plywood cut into three inch wide strips which were used to build open grid benchwork. All joints were glued and tacked together with 18 gauge brads. The glue joints were further reinforced using 2" by 2" wood blocks and more glue. Except for the two helix structures, all of the layout is cantilevered off the perimeter walls 24" deep with open spans as long as 15 feet with no additional suppports on the aisle sides of the layout. I can sit my 220 pound self anywhere on the layout benchwork without fear of it even sagging a little. Best of all, it has barely moved at all since I built it over 10 years ago. Everything has stayed straight and square.
Hornblower