Club layout stanchions

[mopjunkie]

I am a member of an NTrak club. We are seeking new ideas for stanchions which will results in an attractive display yet provides a barrier to protect the trains. Anyone have a clever suggestion?

[Anonymous]

PVC pipe.

Use one long piece to be the upright; then use a T-section at the end and thread brightly-colored large-guage nylon rope through the T. Repeat as many times as needed to circle the whole layout. Either attach the bases of the uprights to squares of wood which rest on the floor or directly to the layout (which would make it not an upright but a sideright, I guess).

[Anonymous]

ACL fan is right (again)! PVC pipe is fairly cheap, easy to work with and works well. Our club uses 3/4 in pipe and large wood blocks. Also easy to break down and transport. 1 disadvantage we have found is that during a show, the "walk" across the floor as kids and adults pull on the rope or hit them with their feet. One way we combat this is we have a few extra blocks, so we stack 2 blocks on the corner poles to gain weight and adhesion. Also we have some stanchions that are 1 gallon paint cans filled with cement. About 10 pounds of cement mix to a can, with the stanchion inserted while the cement is still wet. They are a but heavier to haul, and require more space in the trailer, but the wont "walk" across the floor. Check the photo galleries on our web page www.fcsme.org . I know we dont have any pictures featuring the stanchions, but they are part of the picture in a lot of shots. [:D]

[Trainnut484]

I once belonged to a club that used PVC piping and nylon ropes to provide a barrier around the HO modular layout, but as pointed out above, the barriers moved when kids leaned on the ropes. That led to the biggest problem of little fingers (and sometimes bigger fingers) touching the trains and scenery. A better, but more expensive solution, is to put plexi glass or a clear plastic "window" on the layout. The public will be allowed to be closer, but it'll be harder for little fingers to grab that very expensive locomotive or create a human tornado on that well built scenery.

Take care,

Russell