im trying to plan a new layout in a odd shaped loft in my home. i am skilled in wood working. but i am having trouble planning the benchwork. ive been considering buying a cad program but my computer skills are poor. i have some ideas in my mind. how do i turn them into a working ho layout?
Probably best to figure out what you want your railroad to do for you first, then build a bench that both fits the space and allows you to operate it safely and effectively. But it also has to accommodate the plan you have in mind.
A person's reasonable reach is always a big concern when constructing benchwork for a layout. The problems you experience where you can't practically reach will confound you and ruin your fun.
So, for most of us it is a balancing act between the space, the curves you need for the trains, other space for structures and scenery, and then room to move around, and room to store stuff and get into and out of the space. For example, if your track system relies heavily on generous curves, say radii of 30", would a bench 12" wide allow you to have those curves? But if your space is tight, maybe 12" wide benches are all you can have. So, something's got to give...as they say.
I would figure out how to lay out a track system that appeals to you, and then border it with heavy markings to represent the benchwork needed to support it all. From there, just construct frames and cross members, and figure out where the supports to the ground or walls will go. Should be straightforward.
I start with an overall idea, keeping the available space and its shape in mind, and then I begin to doodle on graph paper. After an hour or so, something begins to gel and I build on it. Soon enough, usually after a couple of hours at most, I have a decent plan and know how the benchwork will look and work.
-Crandell
This may give you some ideas. I have a 45-degree roofline in my train room. I have an existing free-standing 5x12 foot table layout, and I wanted to connect it to a new section. I gave some thought to attaching the bencwork directly to the wall, but it seemed like a more difficult job than simply building more free-standing tables.
It's simple construction. I used 1x4 pine for the front face, and 1x3 pine for the rest. The layout base is pink 2-inch foam, which sits on top of the frame and is protected by the extra inch of wood on the front. I stained and polyurethaned the front face and the 2x3 legs before installation. I plan to slope the foam down at the edges so I won't need additional fascia above the wood line.
I built this in 3 sections, and I'm keeping the sections physically separable as much as possible, by putting track breaks at the seams and designing the track plan so I don't have turnouts, etc., that cross between sections. It's not meant to be portable, but if it ever does have to be moved, it will be possible with some effort and minimal destruction. The section at the left is 5-sided. It will have a lift-off section in the middle for access to the back of the layout. Off-camera to the right is a smaller 4-legged section. The center piece is just a box frame, and it shares legs with the two end sections for support.
This is a detail of one back corner. I used triangular gussets made of plywood to support the legs. I found that this gives very good stability without having to build bracing beneath the layout, so I can get under the layout easily.
It takes an iron man to play with a toy iron horse.
Thortenney
I did mine on this big graph paper available at most stationary stores. I have the ability and software to do it on the computer but this was more relaxing. Besides I finally got to use my high school geometry set.
I have a room that threw me a lot of curves as far as a track design was concerned and could never come up with one where a door, window or fireplace didn't get in the way. My solution was to design the benchwork to accommodate all the infringements in the room and make the trackplan fit the benchwork. With a minimum of tweaking we were off to the races.
I built some weird shaped benchwork to fit the room and so far so good. I have areas where there isn't enough room to run the mainline through, but I can stick a siding and industry in that captured piece of real estate.
Here is one of my benches part way through construction. Not looking much like a train table.
Good luck. And post pics.
Brent
"All of the world's problems are the result of the difference between how we think and how the world works."
I also have the sloping ceiling along one side of my train room, so I just extended the benchwork back as far as I could and still have adequate (4") clearance over the rails (HO scale). There is a little space behind the benchwork which is where I have my bookshelves with my collection of MR and other books. I only drew the track plan in CAD, and made basic outlines of the benchwork, not a detailed plan. Most of my benchwork is built in 2x4 foot sections bolted together (but for the most part I don;t cut the 2x8 sheets of foam - I had my first 2 sections built before I moved and it was no big deal moving the entire 2x8 section. The legs and braces also bolt on. Dpwn the opposite side of the room I will be building in 1x4 foot sections, and there will be a few oddball angled pieces connecting everything. Each new section as I extend the benchwork gets one set of legs, the end that bolts to the previous section has no legs and it held up by the legs of said previous section. It's all very stable.
On my previous layout I actually did draw all the wood, stick framing and all, in CAD - on my web site under the old layout section I have some pictures. It turned out almost identical to what I drew, but it really wasn't worth the effort. Some may not like my design because it doesn't make the layout 'blend in' to the room, but it makes benchwork construction easy and it makes it easy to move the layout should I move again (which is highly likely). Even if I can;t reuse the layout as-is, I can at least use the sections of benchwork for the base of a new layotu design.
--Randy
'
Modeling the Reading Railroad in the 1950's
Visit my web site at www.readingeastpenn.com for construction updates, DCC Info, and more.
You certainly don't need CAD to design benchwork. You could likely have it all built before you were thorugh the CAD learning curve.
More helpful would probably be Basic Model Railroad Benchwork by Jeff Wilson (Kalmbach, 2002)
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