Garage Layout

DeckRoid

DeckRoid

Member
Apr 28, 2007
223
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16
Caldwell, ID
Hi folks

Last year, I decided to turn the garage into a little studio. We cant use the garage for our vehicles as cars built in the late 20s/early 30s required smaller openings.

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Then I got back into the hobby and bought a 4x8 sheet of plywood to set a layout on. My daughter loves the "choo-choooooo" (she's 2), so I thought I would make a larger layout, but didn't have the kind of space that some of those books from Atlas and the like described.

Then I read the June issue of MR and saw the 9 x 11 layout that took 2nd place in the midsized layout. I really enjoyed the article but I changed it up a bit to make it fit within my two drop cloths, 8 x 12. A buddy of mine is working construction this summer and 'found' me some wood.

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And I went and picked up 5 or so pallets that were in the 'free wood' area of Wally-World...

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Which I cut up to use as ribs and struts for the legs.

I am still in the process of assembly, but it IS coming together.

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This is my first benchwork in 30 years, and I was the 'helper' when I was 8 and dad was doing most everything, but I am surprised with my progress. I need to put in a few more ribs and then find some 2 inch styro for the top. Oh yeah... then I need to finalize what I want the layout to be like... Aaaaand get someone to help me move the monster a foot west and a foot north to snug it in. That way I can open the garage door and have sunlight in on the layout and get some great pics when it's running.

Whaddya'll think?
 
COOL!! :cool:

You're at about the same point I am with my HO layout!

Mine is in the basement, not the garage...But I also had to move my guitars & amps out of the way to build the benchwork! :)
 
*** UPDATE ***

Father's Day brought some train goodies into our house. More on that later, but first:

The benchwork is coming along. I glued some styro tiles on top of the plywood and painted it a khaki-esque as a base.

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You can tell I still am in need of some leg supports to keep em straight.

And just for fun, or my fix (I have had no layout at all for 2 weeks!).

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Even got an action pic with the wife!

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For Father's Day, I was taken, by force, to our LHS and told to pick some stuff out. Seeing as how our club as a nice 12 x 18 DCC layout, I picked up a decoder for my Dash 8-40CW and some ballast and 2 2% grade Woodland Scenics Incline kits. One for up and one for down.

Here's a quick Q for those in the know... can I use my Spectrum Dash 8-40CW on my DC track with no ill effects to the decoder? I am still trying to learn about DCC, but it is a bit confusing. Luckily, the guys in our club are patient with all my noob questions.

George

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http://myweb.cableone.net/geoker/studio/9.jpg
 
DeckRoid said:
*** UPDATE ***

Father's Day brought some train goodies into our house. More on that later, but first:

The benchwork is coming along. I glued some styro tiles on top of the plywood and painted it a khaki-esque as a base.

9.jpg


You can tell I still am in need of some leg supports to keep em straight.

And just for fun, or my fix (I have had no layout at all for 2 weeks!).

10.jpg


Even got an action pic with the wife!

8.jpg


For Father's Day, I was taken, by force, to our LHS and told to pick some stuff out. Seeing as how our club as a nice 12 x 18 DCC layout, I picked up a decoder for my Dash 8-40CW and some ballast and 2 2% grade Woodland Scenics Incline kits. One for up and one for down.

Here's a quick Q for those in the know... can I use my Spectrum Dash 8-40CW on my DC track with no ill effects to the decoder? I am still trying to learn about DCC, but it is a bit confusing. Luckily, the guys in our club are patient with all my noob questions.

George

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http://myweb.cableone.net/geoker/studio/9.jpg
Click to expand...

Regarding your question about running your dcc equipped Dash8-40CW on dc, you will need to read the instructions that came with your decoder. If it doesn't say anything about dc, you will need to contact the manufacturer of the decoder and ask the technical dept. Some decoders are designed to sense the dc with a lack of a dcc signal on the track and work in a dc default mode, others won't and the decoder can be damaged by trying to run on dc. My understanding is that dc compatibility is not part of the NMRA dcc protocall.
 
I think I messed up!!! My styro is the soft white bead kind, not the pink or blue tougher stuff. I will try to stiffen it up.

2% Woodland Scenics inclines are next.
 
How about this for a possible solution...

I have sheets of fiberglass mesh I use to repair my R/C airplanes. If I glued that on top of the bead styro, would that make it stronger?

More photos coming. I took a day off. Hey, don't look at me like that! The laundry's got to get done sometime!

sign1
 
DeckRoid said:
How about this for a possible solution...

I have sheets of fiberglass mesh I use to repair my R/C airplanes. If I glued that on top of the bead styro, would that make it stronger?
Click to expand...

Be careful there. All the fiberglass resin and compatible (epoxy) glues I know of will "melt" or "eat" beaded foam in an instant. The only bead board-compatible glues I know of are water-based (white, yellow, acrylic caulk) and ones specifically marked as foam-compatible (Liquid Nails for foam projects). These foam-compatible are unlikely to do a very good job of adhereing to your fiberglass mesh to give the combination foam and mesh the necessary strength.

I know there is a type of foam that is compatible with fiberglass resins and cloth - it's used in boat building all the time for composite cores. But that foam usually goes by trade names such as Airex and the like, and it ain't the same thing as white bead board.

words of caution
 
Boy howdy, did you say a mouth full. I once tried to repair a 'foam plane without checking what kind of epoxy I had. Melted one whole side of the fuselage. I do, however, have some polystyrene friendly epoxy. I had to order it online from an R/C site.

I will, however, still do a small sample test area before I continue. Just to make double sure.:mrgreen:
 
That solution seems like a lot of work and money just to salvage a relatively inexpensive piece of foam insulation. You may as well use a piece of plywood and forget the foam. I know that anything involving epoxies is not cheap.
How about reinforcing the foam from underneath?.
 
I forgot to mention that some of the guys in the modular club have used bead board for modules. They just put a 1 x 3 or 1 x 4 frame around them and a piece of door skin underneath to support the bottom, and they made very light weight module bases that they glued the track and more foam to make hills or other terrain on.
 
Hmm... all my pics went away.

Anyhoo... About the foam:

I glued the foam ontop of my 1/2" plywood that I put all around the benchwork. I had this crazy idea that if I ever moved, I could take it apart into two pieces. 2 L-shaped pieces to be exact.

So, as I was applying canvas to the woodland scenics incline, to cover the spaces before I put in the roadbed, I had a thought. I still have a 1/2 gallon of white glue and enough #10 canvas to cover my entire benchwork. This would solve many issues, while giving me a khaki color base. I am not really all that worried about the bead board, except to say that I don't want my tunnels and such to sink into the board and make them lopsided. (I read that last on an old post)

I will re-post the pics and even include some new ones.

George
 
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