Clem, there is a great table making project here:
http://popularmechanics.com/home_improvement/furniture/2001/11/table_manners/
http://popularmechanics.com/home_improvement/furniture/2001/11/table_manners/
Coffee Table plans
- Thread starter clemsparks
- Start date
Clemsparks, as usual I'm probably way too late in providing this info but you might just want to investigate it further.
In the Kalmbach publication"Model Railroading in Small Spaces" by Mat Chibbaro there is a delightful coffeetable folded dogbone N layout.
It is called The Rocky Gap & Dickenson. It measures 2ft x 5ft and is approx 4 1/2" deep. It has a coplete bill of materials and step by step instuctions on how to build every part of it.
The photo below is copyright Mat Chibbaro but I doubt he would object if it sells another copy of his book.
Have fun.
In the Kalmbach publication"Model Railroading in Small Spaces" by Mat Chibbaro there is a delightful coffeetable folded dogbone N layout.
It is called The Rocky Gap & Dickenson. It measures 2ft x 5ft and is approx 4 1/2" deep. It has a coplete bill of materials and step by step instuctions on how to build every part of it.
The photo below is copyright Mat Chibbaro but I doubt he would object if it sells another copy of his book.
Have fun.
Attachments
last night the first loco was test run on my new layout. It is a cheapo bachman unit with little traction and no power. I found two trouble spots right off but both were easily tweaked into a better condition, one I am still unhappy with but it has to wait until tonight for repair.
The feeling of watching that cheap POS loco pushing three cars around the layout without scenery, with few structures and (slightly) out of scale tools everywhere was GREAT!
I am operating under the assumption that pushing cars will expose more potential trouble spots than pulling, Does anyone have experience to debunk that? The final iteration will be unaccessable except through great effort so I want to ensure smooth operation.
The feeling of watching that cheap POS loco pushing three cars around the layout without scenery, with few structures and (slightly) out of scale tools everywhere was GREAT!
I am operating under the assumption that pushing cars will expose more potential trouble spots than pulling, Does anyone have experience to debunk that? The final iteration will be unaccessable except through great effort so I want to ensure smooth operation.
If you really want to find out what can and will go wrong, invite your wife, friends, fellow modelers, and the media to your initial operating session. Be sure to make it a big production and mention something about how the layout is "just like the real thing." Then, just turn on the powerpack, turn the dial, and watch the flaws come out of the woodwork.
It just occurred to me... What if the coffee table gets bumped? I mean, even if the train isn't running, it'd probably fall of the track. Is there some way to help prevent that?
-Rory
-Rory
Rory,
There was an article in a recent modelrailroader that had an article on coffee table layouts,the guy used a plunger to lift the glass of the table to make repairs.
You could rope it off like they do at the train shows
Shane
There was an article in a recent modelrailroader that had an article on coffee table layouts,the guy used a plunger to lift the glass of the table to make repairs.
You could rope it off like they do at the train shows
Shane
The article is in the September issue of MR.
By Harvey J. Simon
The diamentions are 2'X4'X5 1/4" deep.It looks like an oval on top of a figure eight.Its attached on one loop to make it one continuos track.Where the "two"tracks meet is in a tunnel .Its also two levels.
Shane
By Harvey J. Simon
The diamentions are 2'X4'X5 1/4" deep.It looks like an oval on top of a figure eight.Its attached on one loop to make it one continuos track.Where the "two"tracks meet is in a tunnel .Its also two levels.
Shane
My layout will be a dinning table, so it will likely get bumped quite a bit. The heavier an object the harder it is to affect it, so I will be over-building the table by about 10X. I have found a plan in Popular mechanics that lends itself well to both sturdy construction and visual asthetics, I posted a link to it just a few days ago in this very thread. but here it is again: http://popularmechanics.com/home_im.../table_manners/
the Mission Style is (IMO) railroadesque and the table can be easily cross-braced to prvent minor bumps from having an affect on the trains. I'm sure I will get the occasional problem but I have installed re-railers in all of the tunnels and have under table access to all hidden tracks. I have tried to plan for all possiblities but, in the words of alfred Hitchcock:
"It is impossible to plan for the unexpected, by definition."
the Mission Style is (IMO) railroadesque and the table can be easily cross-braced to prvent minor bumps from having an affect on the trains. I'm sure I will get the occasional problem but I have installed re-railers in all of the tunnels and have under table access to all hidden tracks. I have tried to plan for all possiblities but, in the words of alfred Hitchcock:
"It is impossible to plan for the unexpected, by definition."