N Scale Coffee Table

kf4jqd

Active Member
Hello:

I am planning to build an N scale coffee table. Our local rr club has one. They tried to sell it to me for $300! I would rather build one instead buying a prebuilt one. Has anyone built one before. Anyone has plans for the wood work and wiring?

Any ideas?

Andy
 

billk

Active Member
Andy -
I have a book that you might be interested in. When I get home I'll let you know its name. Hang in there.

Bill K
 

Drew1125

Active Member
Hi Andy,
I'm not sure if Bill has this book, but I have a Kalmbach book called Model Railroading In Small Spaces, by Mat Chibbaro. There are two plans in this book for N scale layouts enclosed in tables, with detailed instructions for everything from woodworking, to scenic detail.
It's an interesting book for any modeler.
Good Luck, & remember, we want pictures!:)
 

Drew1125

Active Member
Andy,
Remember too, when considering a track plan, that a 4x8 HO plan translates into about 28x57in. in N scale. Possibly not too large for a coffee table, & if necessary, by going with slightly smaller curve radii, you could shave a couple of inches off of that. Just keep in mind that the vertical dimention is critical too, if everything is going to fit "under glass".
 
My layout is going to fit into a dinning room table. My wife saw an artical in Model Railroader about a coffee table layout and thought it was a much better idea than using half of the back bedroom for a layout. I convinced her that it was too small and offered no oportunity for switching operations. (24" x 48")

The result is a dinning room table layout 33" x 62" with a glass top that overhangs 7" on each side for a table top deminsion of 47" x 76" (close to 4' x 7') large enough to seat 8 comforatably and 10 in a pinch. the layout section will be a completely seperate drop in. I had to limit the base to 3/8" plywood to ensure less than 6" vertical from the bottom of the base to the top of the trains at the highest point on the layout. I am at 5 & 3/4" now.

If you are interested, I will post my plan and progress pics. I have not yet started laying track.
 

kf4jqd

Active Member
Thanks

I would like to thank everyone for their help. I will be ording the book that was mention. I'll keep everyone psted. This is a project that I will start after we move in June.

Andy
 
I scanned all my pictures and my layout plans but I can't figure out how to get them below the 100K requirement for attatching to a post. Adobe photoshop may be a great program but it sure isn't intuitive.

Any suggestions?
 

kf4jqd

Active Member
Coral Photo House

Yakko:

I use Corel Photo House v 3.0. It can change dpi and even change the type of photo it is. Example: If you have a jpeg you can change it to a GIF!

Also you can use it in junction of your scanner. When I work with this stuff, I use my scanner to scan pictures. Corel to change them. And my Iomega Zip drive to save them. (Takes alot of pictures to make a cd!)

Andy
 
Thanks Andy. I actually broke down and (gulp!) read the instructions. (gasp! screams of terror! "Oh, the humanity!") so, here is a layout track plan.
 

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it fits into a 33"x62" area. and takes up less than 6 inches from the bottom of the base to the top of a train running on the highest track elevation.

another iteration:
 

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kf4jqd

Active Member
Thanks

Billk:

I baught the book yesterday. It is good but I didn't see and plans for a table. Everything else was great!


Yakko:

Thanks for the plans. I copied them to my harddrive. Your layout looks great!



What I am going to do is, my next visit to the hobby shoppe. I am going to take some pictures and get more ideas. I will even post them here to you too can get me some ideas that I have missed.

My Dad's best friend is a retired carpenter. He has built many homes in his time. I think a table should be no problem.

Andy
 

Drew1125

Active Member
Andy,
Are you sure you got the right book? Model Railroading In Small Spaces, by Mat Chibbaro?
Chapter 4 is titled The Brooksville Division, it's an N scale layout built into an end table...diagrams for building the table are on pages 55 & 56.
The other one is chapter 6 - The Rocky Gap & Dickerson Ry. It's an N scale layout built into a bar top, but has alternative plans for a coffee table base. (guess that depends on your drink of choice :D)
Diagrams for this one are on pages 80, 82, 88, & 90.
 

kf4jqd

Active Member
Wrong Book!!!!

Charlie:

I baught the wrong book! This book is publish by Model Railroader: Small Railroads You can Build. I am emailing a segment of your article to my hobby dealer. It's ok that I have this book. Lots of good ideas! :)

Andy
 
Andy, it took quite a bit of time on paper to figure out a track plan that would give continous running and some switching operation in a small area like that. My origional dream was an 11 foot long 3 foot deep shelf with a 2 foot radius protrusion on one end and a 3 foot by 5 foot 'L' on the other... but my 17 year old brother moved in with me taking the room and my wife was... (how should I put this...) "reluctant" to allow my vision into any of the common areas. I was still going to build this starting in about 2 years but I have turned my attention toward a garden layout for the future.
 

kf4jqd

Active Member
Keep on railing!

Yakko:

Jessica(future wife) and I are moving to Tennessee in June. We are looking at house plans for 4 bedrooms with a den or office. We are making sure we will have enough room for our hobbies. My other hobby is Ham Radio (KF4JQD is my callsign given to me by the Federal Communication Commision). Jessica is into craft plus she loves helping me with the layut. Also I should mention she is a Ham radio Operator. So, we will have one room for ALL our hobbies. The house we want is a log cabin home. Wouldn't it look great to have a G scale steam train running around the ceiling?

Eastern Tennessee doesn't allow basements like here in Wisconsin. So, we will have to make every space count. Besides living in the Great Smoky Mountains, 2002 will be a great year for us and model railroading!

Andy
 
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