Train Display cases

[Don Gibson]

I DEPENDS ON THE MAKER.

Most cut grooves in the shelves fitting wheel flanges, except for bottom where I  use Atlas flextrack to raise it for viewing.

 

[jeffrey-wimberly]

I scratch-built my own out of cedar. Instead of cutting gorooves, I simply put down lengths of flex track. I have two stretches of track per shelf, side by side. Four shelves, that's eight tracks to store locomotives and rolling stock.

[jrbernier]

  I hav built my own, and they are similar to many of the commercial ones.  I use a 'DADO' blade in my radial arm saw to cut the grooves for the flanges of the trains.  I use red oak that I pick up at the local Menards or Home Depot.  I also use the 'DADO' to cut the grooves in the face stock for the sliding 'glass' doors on the front.  If you use real glass, look for standard sizes that have nice curved edges.  To have custom glass done with these smooth edges can cost some serious $$.  The alternative is to use 'plexiglass' - but it is not cheap either!

  Without a 'DADO', you could use a Dremal, but you would need the router/shaper table or some type of straight guide so you can run the shelf stock through on.

Jim

[dgwinup]

Those grooves are probably custom cut.  Think: "Dremel & router attachment".  About $100, unless you want to get the fancy, new Dremel.

A "veining" bit should give you a decent groove.  It's small and "V"-shaped.  Make a jig to hold your wood for routing.  No matter how steady your hands are, you WON'T get a good straight groove freehand!

Other display cases I've seen have sections of track mounted on the shelves instead of grooves.  To me, the cars and locos look better sitting on tracks.  The distance between shelves has to be adjusted to compensate for the height of the tracks.

I've got all the supplies I need to build a small display shelf.  I just need the motivation to 'git-r-done'!  LOL  I've been pondering which type of joint to use on the perimeter case; butt, half-lap or dovetail.  Maybe when I figure that out, I'll get the darn thing built!!

Darrell, quiet...for now

[Curt]

Hi,

I recently purchased a wooden display case for my HO gauge train cars. It is totally made of wood,even the shelves the the cars sit on. There are grooves in the shelves for the wheels of the cars to sit in. I am wondering if those grooves are just cut into and piece of wood, or is that just a piece of plate rail. It seems it would have to be specially made to match the width of the HO wheels. I would appreciate any information on this issue as I would like to consider personally making another display case in the future.