When I started my new layout in a house bedroom room, I had the same problem. What I wound up using was a modular shelf bracket system that screwed to the walls. (I made sure they were screwed into the studs.) These were the kind that had the finished / painted vertical supports that you could then fit or slip in the bracket to hold the shelf material at any height you wanted. Then I got the longest shelf brackets that would go in the vertical support rails, and then made it longer by adding wood extensions.
My modules are 2ft x 7ft and were built light weight by using a 1x3 perimeter frame with two cross braces. Then sheet Luan was glued on top, with one inch blue foam on top of that. These modules are light and sturdy and one person can handle them. Two inch thick foam would have made them even more rigid. At each module joint I added a 2x2 wood leg near the front, maybe 6 inches back from the edge, to help support the front of the modules. These had adjusters on the bottom so I could level the modules front to back. I put a paneling facia on the front to hid the sandwich of materials.
Hope this helps.
Elmer.
The above is my opinion, from an active and experienced Model Railroader in N scale and HO since 1961.
(Modeling Freelance, Eastern US, HO scale, in 1962, with NCE DCC for locomotive control and a stand alone LocoNet for block detection and signals.) http://waynes-trains.com/ at home, and N scale at the Club.
Scott,
I agree with Cowman that a single 1x2 won't be strong enough. However, if you take two 1x2's and glue them together in an 'L' shape to make a structural member that would be very strong and relatively simple and inexpensive.
Lance
Visit Miami's Downtown Spur at www.lancemindheim.com
I think 1"x2" would be to light. I would go for metal angle or even channel iron. I know that the shelving strips that you screw to the walls can hold quite a bit, but you want it self supporting. Check with the dealer and see what kind of specifications different size materials will support.
Good luck,
Now that I've dismantled my HO layout (sold the house - moved), I am starting over in On30. I have a smaller room than before and one that is so nicely decorated that I don't want to attach any of the layout to the walls.
My plan is to build 6 or 7 two-foot (or possibly 2.5-foot) wide benchwork sections to go around the room and for an island.
Vertical framework, attached to the backside of the benchwork sections, will support a 1/4" plywood "shelf" the same width as the layouy. The shelf will support 4-foot flourescent lighting fixtures and some llight-weight display items. I'll use angle brackets that have a metal bar that runs 45-degrese to the two bracket legs.
So, the question is, what do I use for the vertical supports? Would 1" X 2" lumber work, or aluminum angles, or what? I'd appreciate suggestions.
Scott Groff