I started into the hobby again with a hollow core door topped with 1 inch foam, no extra roadbed, hung on shelf brackets. Hollow core doors are rigid, light, and are a standard 80 inches long, enough to build a reasonable switching layout. A 12 x 80 inch layout is large enough for me to re-learn the accuracy needed for good operation. If I wanted grades, I would definitely go with girder construction and foam mountains.
I have 12 4'x2' and 4'x4' dominoes from a previous house, but they are too large for the current house so they are in a shed.
I guess whatever you plan to move you will need to lose some of it
Doug
I used Sievers Benchwork with a double layer of 2-inch styrofoam on my layout. It's very easy to use and configure for portability. While the benchwork may seem a little higher in price, it's all pre-cut and pre-drilled with all of the screws, washers, bolts, etc. that you'll need as well as extras.
Kevin
http://chatanuga.org/WLMR.html
http://chatanuga.org/RailPage.html
obermeyern wrote:With my job I have frequent moves. I want to build a layout that is portable, rugged, and looks nice. I'm leaning towards an L-girder style construction with a hardshell like Joe Fugate uses. To me this type of construction looks light weight and manageable. Would I be better off using foam for landscaping or is the hardshell strong enough to withstand moves? The scenery will undulate above and below the track height. The lowest will be roughly 70 scale feet below. I'm modeling in HO scale in a roughly 10 x 20 foot space. Nate
With my job I have frequent moves. I want to build a layout that is portable, rugged, and looks nice. I'm leaning towards an L-girder style construction with a hardshell like Joe Fugate uses. To me this type of construction looks light weight and manageable. Would I be better off using foam for landscaping or is the hardshell strong enough to withstand moves? The scenery will undulate above and below the track height. The lowest will be roughly 70 scale feet below. I'm modeling in HO scale in a roughly 10 x 20 foot space.
Nate
I did 30 years of Uncle Sam's "all expenses paid" () introductions to new places and new people, the longest stay being 4 years. The main difference between my service and others was that I was in the anti-Darwin society - saving stupid people and diluting the quality of the human gene pool. Just finished moving this fall to what I hope is my final resting place.
First off, I might suggest that while a 10x20 layout might fit in your current house, it won't in many future houses. That's just the way life is unless you have a) the money to make that extra space happen in a new place, or b) you have a lot of say in where you are moving to, and can select only areas where basements are common or cars can be left outside year round without issues. I started off with the proverbial 4x8 in a spare bedroom, and even that had to be cut to 4x6 because many spare bedrooms can't hold even a 4x8 with a reasonable aisle around the long sides and 1 end. Yet another lesson learned the hard way. Of the 15 homes I've lived in since I allegedly reached adulthood, only 4 had basements, and only one of these was an unfinished open basement capable of holding a large layout. So my recommendation would be something similar to this (http://www.layoutdesignservice.com/lds/samples/betterbeginnerlayout.htm) that can fit in most spare bedrooms and/or basements. The other practical alternatives are shelf layouts or a 4x6 to 4x8 (remember my experience with 4x8!) with a shelf extension.
Second comment on your plans. My 4x8 come 4x6 was built with L girder framing, cookie cutter roadbed, and plaster of paris over window screen scenery. All of it was rugged enough to survive the moves with little to no damage. But the L girder is really too "thick" from bottom to top to move easily, especially in sections that are more than 80" long - the height of a doorway. Don't ask how I learned this lesson. A 96" long section also will struggle making turns in hallways and stairways. And the thicker the layout section, the more the struggle. Yet another lesson. But foam in a wood frame construction needs room for wiring and other under-the-table stuff, which means sides at least 5.5 " deep if you are using 2" foam (again, learned the hard way). Recommendations: use box grid construction with cookie cutter in 72-78" long sections.
I haven't tried foam scenery yet, so can't comment on how well it survives the rigors of moving. But I do leave you one last recommendation (yet again base on a lesson learned the hard way). Nothing - and I mean absolutely nothing - can protrude from your fascia or side frame. No toggle switches, turnout throws, not anything. Wiring must all be tucked up and fastened inside the frame. The movers made very good efforts to protect the scenic top portion of the layout. That meant the bottom and the sides must be flat and smooth and capable of sustaining the weight of the layout and any other furniture that gets stacked on top and/or against them. Protruding toggle switches either break, break the fascia, or ding the other furniture. Hanging wires snag anything within reach. Even the fascia layout diagram made with pinstripe tape ended up taking a hit.
just my thoughts and experiences
Fred W
For lightness, try steel studs for benchwork. With proper diagonal bracing, it can be made as stiff as wood. Check the thread on steel benchwork for more info.
When I get to scenery construction, I'm going to go along with Art. Foam is light enough to need minimal support, and it will be nice to be able to lift off big chunks of Mount Takami to get at the staging yards and tracks beneath it.
Just my . Other opinions may differ.
Although I now have a basement (home) to construct a new layout; I spent over five years between basements. In addition my job takes me to out of town assignments for long periods of time. In between basements, I constructed a modular layout using dominos. My domios are 4' and 6' boxes that range from 12'' to 24" wide. My dominos are counstructed from lumber made by ripping 3/4" plywood. They are freestanding on 2x2 pocket legs, which is nice for apartment/rental living. The layout is high so furniture can sit under the layout and still be usable. I bolt the sections together with 1/4" bolts. The layout was designed to run arround the walls of a room. In my last two apartments the layout ran around the perimiter of the living/dining room which gave me a layout of 12' x 30'. Two areas of the layout are made so I can adjust the length of the span by constructing a new domino if I move to a new location, yet maintain the same track plan. I have rail joiners and cut the roadbed (cork) at all of the joints. When I move, or want to rearrange the layout, I just unbolt the sections.
I am planning on a new basement empire. My previous dominos are currently set up in the basement so I have a nice layout to run trains while I am developing the new layout. My job still takes me on the road so I have constructed some blank dominos to take on the road. This allows me to take part of my layout with me and build industries which will be incorporated into the new basement layout.
JIM
Jim, Modeling the Kansas City Southern Lines in HO scale.
The foam will transport more easily and be lighter in weight. By using foam, you can make all the components on the bench and then set them in place, They can then be removed and transported seprately. Here are a couple of picks of the parts of my mountains sitting on the table, a pic of the Lgirder construction with roadbed and a pic of a partially installed mountain.