Hollow Core Door Layout

[medelman]

Hi Everyone,

This is my first post so bare with me. Per the links that some others have provided I found some plans here and there. One partiular site that I can't recall the url that has all the Atlas Righttrack plans on it. I decided that I was going to pick up a hollow core door and I did and when I came home realized that I got one that's a little larger then what most plans use. I got the 36" wide door versus the 30". Needless to say this gives me more room to play with, but at the same time, I need to find another plan to work off. In the end I will probably just modify an existing plan for a normal size door of 30" but was wondering if anyone else had any specific plans for my size. I plan on running N Scale using mostly Code 80 Atlas track with flex track. If I didn't already have a decent supply of Code 80 track, I probably would have went for Code 55, but this is my first layout I'm building and it sounds like 80 is alot simpler to work with. I've seen a few people use those legs that you can buy as a kit and attach to a piece of wood, but I have yet to find them in any stores. If I do attached something like that, do I have to worry about the fact that the door is hollow? What about wiring. Will I have problems with this using a Door? I plan on running DCC with a zepher starter set. I apologize if I sound like I'm starting to ramble. I'm 28 years old and I've wanted to create a layout since I was a kid and now I'm finally going to do it!! Needless to say I'm excited yet am cautious. I bought one of the Kato sets last year, but decided that Kato Unitrack is too expensive for my taste, and I already have a collection of snap track started. Anyways.. lunch is over and I need to get back to my job. I'd appreciate any info/advice and look forward to finally getting INTO the hobby.

Sincerly,

Matthew

 

[3phase]

Hi Matt!!

You are probably better off changing a plan to fit your 36" door. What i would do is take a few days and decide what type of scenery you want to do, city, small town, train station, mountain, train yard, or maybe all of them....

Either way you have to plan wisely to save space and make it look good so you are pleased with your work.

This is my layout so far. I decided to go for the mountian layout, I might have a small mining camp set up top somewhere and a few hiking camps every here and there but over all there is no room for houses, trainyard, ect...

If you have a bunch of track to use by all means use it, I have found that for me flex track is the way to go.

I'm 25, this is a good hobby and it's not childeish to dream. You will find members here from 12 to retired. We all have a few things in common, but moste important we all like to share what we learn and enjoy doing.

I hope i gave you a few things to think about before you start nailing track down.

Oh yeah, as far as the wireing, just drill all the way through the door and tack your wire to the bottom to secure it. If you have problems pushing the wire through use like a 1/4" bit and insurt a coffee stir stick as a guide.

 

[medelman]

Thanks for the reply. I've been watching your post intently. I know my layout certainly won't have the stability yours will!! But I need to keep it somewhat lightweight as my current living quarters are smaller and temporary. Right now the door is out in the garage waiting for me to bring it in. Since this my first layout, I'm probably going to have a little bit of everything in it when it comes to operation. I'd like to get a nice passenger train going if I can get a wide enough radius but at the same time I'd like to understand switching and just railroad operations in general so industry would be really good to have. I haven't really put much thought yet into what timeframe or what part of the country I am going to model. I actually have a bullet train from KATO japan, but realistically that is not going to fit in among american Diesels or Steam. Besides the cost of importing Japanese Prototypes, I really don't have alot of background on how their trains run, etc. I've always been interested in their culture and someday wouldn't mind going there and riding their rails. If only we had the trains they do!. My girlfriend lives up in the Twin Cities and if things go the way we planning, I'll be moving up their after we are engaged. I am in Milwaukee myself. Minneapolis has this cool new trolley/streetcar system that is very cool. I haven't ridden it yet, but I saw them when we were downtown one night. I am going up their this weekend and maybe I can convince her that we need to ride them =). Anyways.. I'm anxious to get started on something, but little things here and there get in the way. I don't want to rush, but I want to at least get the base stuff done right so I can run some trains and setup my dcc system,etc.

Matt

 

[3phase]

I'm glad i could help. Something as simple as saw horses or an old coffee table can be the base and legs to your door layout. I desined my layout table to come appart so when it is time it could be easiely moved. I decided to go with a mountian because i grew up around mountians, a little over a year ago i moved to florida and needless to say there are no mountians here. It is just something I miss and would like to see again every day and i need something more than a painting.

After i move my layout is going to be based on my home town, but everyone i grew up with will have there own business. And i get to modle THE NAZZARETH SPEEDWAY that i rember before it was a asphault track, yes, it was a dirt track behind the old laneco next to the kepple.

For me the layout will capture my childhood along with what i immagined it would be when i grew up. Although things didn't go as planed i can modle it in my home.

If bullet trains and large cities are your thing, go for it! No one will say your wrong.

 

[3phase]

Who could forget stuff like this,

old nazareth speedway

martin guitar!!

Mario Andretti's house, Nazareth, Pennsylvania

The bethlehem steel co.

There is so much more!!

 

[Papa Bear]

Welcome to The Gauge, Matt! You can use the extra width to increase the curve radii from your 30" plan - helpful if you plan to run passenger equipment. I've built some layouts this size. You can really put a lot into them, yet it's not so large as to be overwhelming.

3phase, love the track pictures! That would make an interesting model. Wal-Mart has some monster trucks that you could use.

 

[ddavidv]

Welcome to The Gauge.
I am also doing a layout on a hollow core door. I started mine last year and it is presently 'stalled' while I build an Ntrak module, but I have enough done that I can probably give some advice.
The doors are great, in that they are so light, it is easy to pick up and move. I purchased folding legs (I think on Ebay) from either Harbor Freight or Northern. Only thing I don't like about them is when they 'lock' they are really tight and difficult to fold back. Attaching them was a challenge, as just screwing them into the door isn't adequate (the screws will pull out). What I did is made 4 strips of plywood that spanned the width of the door. I screwed these to the door at the outer perimeter (where there is framework inside the door) and used construction adhesive to hold them to the center portion. When it was dry, I attached the legs with screws to the plywood pieces.
For the topside, I glued foam board to it to quiet things down. I only used the really thin foam board (3/8"?). In retrospect, I should have used a thicker board or stacked it so I could cut out valleys or streams in it for bridges. Duh. The challenge with any platform type layout is to make the finished product look anything but flat.
My unfinished challenge is how (if at all) to mount the Tech II to the table.