OK guys, here's what I'm dealing with. After figuring out with my girlfriend a space for my N scale layout, we settled on an "L" shaped layout of 9' x 12 1/2' x 3' in our family room. Before you say "marry that woman!", we're already doing that July 22. I need to know if any of you have built a layout incorporating shelves along the base to make it appear like furniture. We're planning book shelves and a few access doors for storage and maybe some drawers. So any ideas/links/pics would be helpful. I'll post pics and progress reportspics as wellyou as ayou layout plan soon. Thanks in advance for any help!
Iain Rice's Shelf Layouts for Model Railroads is a good place to start, both for some track plans & philosophy about the type of space you're thinking about. Placing a layout on top of individual bookcases / cabinets is usually not the greatest idea: slight variations in height, wobble (especially on the frequency of usage of the supporting furniture), etc. This means constructing custom cabinets that act as the benchwork, or add lower shelves & doors to whatever benchwork you build. You'd probably be better off attaching the layout to a shelf that's bolted to the wall (or use track shelving), and then having the full space below it free to fill with whatever you want, in whatever arraigement you want. Either way, 3' deep (if I'm reading yr specs right) is pretty deep & will require hefty support. Of course, it doesn't have to be 3' deep all along the layout: your fascia front can slim down & balloon out as the layout requires, rather than the track "filling the rectangle". What kind of layout you want will also inform your design: multi-track continuous run? urban switching? 4-axle diesels / small steam or 80-car autoracks pulled by a 4-loco consist of six-axles? variations in elevations? place? period? While knowing the negotiated real estate boundries are important, knowing how you envision your layout's look & feel, and how you operate it, will be a better guide than just the benchwork outline. [the missus does know that sawdust gets everywhere, yes? and drying paint & scenery give off fumes, yes? If not, she'll find out soon!] [So start the construction July 23 or later ]
I'll second the suggestion to secure the layout to the wall rather than to cabinets beneath it. Any future repairs or future changes will be MUCH easier if you can pull the cabinets out from under the layout to access wiring, switch machines, etc. :tb-wink:And you know something important will eventually fall behind the layout and will require you to empty all the cabinets and bookshelves to move the entire 9x12x3 layout away from the wall to retrieve the item. If securing the layout to the wall is not a preferred option (rental property? expect to move in a few years and don't want to damage the walls?), use some variation of L-girder or frame benchwork that minimizes how many legs support the front of the layout. This will give you greater flexibility in positioning free-standing or wheeled cabinets with drawers or shelves under the layout yet still allow easy access to wall outlets, heating/cooling vents, etc.
Yes, the recent expansion had shelves integral to the table. Pics to follow when I figure out how. In operation: Better pics tomorrow. Design Notes The expansion was to be from the dining room into the living room right across a casement of 3 windows. I figured they would need to be accessed at least 5 times a year. In addition I promised my love that the underneath would be aesthetically attractive and used for practical storage of woo woo woo. This required: It would be light enough to move It would have shelves It would have "cabinet doors" We agreed on two feet deep. The original design was entirely of foam. After an enormous amount of design / redesign I decided on foam and wood for durability. I will have to custom make cabinet doors as the height of the table does not match what is commercially available. The Table The 2" thick x 2' x 8' foam "table" rests on the shelf unit. It is not fastened to the table itself. There is no frame. It is "fastened" to the original table with no more than a 6 "T Pins". I anticipate adding a bit more support at the joint and the right hand end but not a lot. Wheels A few people suggesting putting the shelves on casters. In an ideal world that would make sense. In my case it would have added to the complexity and delayed progress. I am fully capable of lifting the shelves on my own. That said, some day I will likely replace it with a casters version using commercial cabinet doors. I am sure you have the tools and skills to do a much better job so I encourage you to go with a sturdier structure and design it with as many off the shelf components as you can such as readily available cabinet doors and castors. Sketch in Paint: Results:
Marry that woman! And congratulations! Sounds like most everything I can think of has been covered. I would also encourage building a shelf, and putting shelving/cabinets/etc. under the layout. Keeping the two isolated from each other will probably pay dividends in the end for all the reasons mentioned, as well as the other 9,000 that we haven't thought of yet. If there's a gap between the two, anything from extending the facia to adding a short curtain can create a nice, finished look. Personally, I'd probably go with a short curtain, because then you gain a convenient shelf under the layout where you can keep throttles, car cards, uncoupling picks, etc. handy, off the layout, and out of sight.
Thanks for the comments so far. I will make sure there are modular braks to assist with nmoving the layout when/if that time comes. I don't think I need portability built in, so wheels and things will be left off. I think I'm going to match the trim in the house already for the base portion of the layout. the goal is to make the base look like and be a functional book case with storage under the layout. I will probally also put drawers in one section for rolling stock. I'm not good with computers. but I'll post something soon like a sketch of the benchwork so you guys can see where this is going.
Lance Mindhiem is one of the best people to speak with. His East Rails layout fits your needs. http://www.lancemindheim.com/east_rail_progress_photos.htm
In Model Railroad Planning 2011, there's an article on using cheap IKEA cabinets under a sectional layout. No fuss, no muss, no sawdust and they look decent for IKEA stuff. I think the owner did say he had to shim the sections in a few places to allow for some cabinet height variations / unlevel floor.
Here's mine, a shelf integrated into our basement family room. Looks quite nice: http://dmirhillcitysub.blogspot.com/2011/01/finally-finished-fascia.html
Not being the graphic artist that some of you here are, I sketched a pic of what I intend to do as my layout base. Of course not to scale, but you guys now have an idea of where I'm going with this.
In my last house, my layout room was my office so I built a wall-mounted shelf layout and put some cabinets underneath for storing supplies, magazines, books, tools, etc... I used Knape & Vogt heavy-duty shelf standards and brackets for the mounting.
There is not much that I can add to whats been said. Post #11 is a good example of how to proceede. There are two things I would suggest; add sliders to the bottom of the cabinets so it is easy to slid them out, Use a method to clamp the different cabinets together yet be able to unclamp them. So you can slide them out to work on the layout. See ya Ron
