Building an N Scale Layout as you get older

[rschaffter]

I just noticed that the one I posted is missing the hook.  I use a simple hook and eye bolt (Home Depot).  The eye hook is screwed into the underside of the benchwork, the hook goes in the end of the plywood block and it can be lifted and hooked on parallel to the underside of the benchwork.  Just make sure to leave enough play in the wires.

That's an interesting idea.  To cut costs, one could likely use some Velcro instead of the hook 'n eye...

[ednadolski]

Is this the ultimate access tool or what....   



http://www.micromark.com/topside-creeper-step-ladder-support-system,8854.html


Ed

[Philip H]

In my case . . . .or what   

[Brakie]

Guys,Here's my plan since my back isn't as young as it once was.

The 1'x10' benchwork for Slate Creek  will be very simple and will fit on a 8' folding table..In order to do the wiring I will simple turn the bench work upside down on the table-the track will be protected by foam.

I know that won't work for conventional loop layouts but,should work for small ISLs and HCD layouts.

This wasn't my idea-a wheel chair modeler told me how he wired his HCD layout and I thought(and still do) it was a keen idea for smaller layouts.

[rschaffter]

Is this the ultimate access tool or what....   



http://www.micromark.com/topside-creeper-step-ladder-support-system,8854.html


Ed

Jim FitzGerald had a similar access ladder on his N layout built in the late 1960s.  It was in a long skinny room, and he had a wooden rail behind the layout that he could lay a ladder he constructed on to reach the rear.

[haasmarc]

One thing I haven't seen mentioned.  On my multi level layout, I built the upper level first.  Makes getting underneath it much easier than squeezing between decks.  Once I have the upper level electronics finished, I can start on the lower level.

Marc Haas

[robert3985]

Interesting thread goin' on here.  Although my layout design was not engineered with getting old in mind (I'm a healthy, flexible 62), I have found that making my entire layout modular, then pulling out the modules when I need to work underneath 'em has certainly sped things up!

My basic modules are 6' X 3' (I'm not going to do a multi-deck layout), with some being smaller and some being longer.  The construction is L-girder with cross-braces and risers supporting splined Masonite subroadbed with extruded Styrofoam scenery base.  The railhead to floor height is a minimum of 52", so, even if I don't want to unbuckle 'em to do some wiring, I am able to do it pretty well since they are so high off the ground.  I simply use a roll-around garage stool I bought from Harbor Freight Tools to sit down and do the job.

One nice benefit is that I can tear down part of the layout and take it to shows!  In fact, it's been so successful that several N-scale modelers in the area are doing the same thing and we put together a modular layout at the shows that's about 36' long and 18' wide.  Lots of fun!

Cheers!
Bob Gilmore

[shark_jj]

There are a couple of other ideas that the guys in my N Scale group have been trying out to make layout building and maintenance easier.  The photos in this post were taken on my friend Justin Parry's large N Scale layout, the Atlantic Superior Transportation Company whose mainline runs across Northern Ontario.

In designing the latest incarnation of the layout, Justin started out with 3 large staging yards in an adjacent room with a capacity of approximately 110 - 30 car trains.  The layout as designed was intended to be 3 level but that kept trapping us in the wrong corner of the room to return to the staging yard area, a fourth level was necessary, or else about 50 to 60 feet of hidden trackage.  Justin, myself, and our third partner in crime , Craig, were brainstorming this problem when one of us mentioned seeing "shadow boxes" cut into hidden trackage to periodically show it as one option.  This led to a broader description of why hide the trackage at all, and talk about layouts like the Maumee Route which were very narrow.  We collectively bought into the idea of "exposed" hidden trackage.  At our next construction session Justin had already started to construct it.  The photos below show this concept in action.  It will make maintenance and access far simpler since the track is in the open.  Our big concern was how would it look.  To our eye it fits right in even though it is only 4 inches deep and around 5 inches high.

The first photo shows the "hidden trackage" in the middle with an engine, two cars and a caboose on it.  There is no scenery in the foreground of level 3.



The second photo shows the same scene from the opposite direction but the foreground scenery is installed on the upper level.



In the third photo we have moved back and you get a broader view of the entire area.  The yard is the second level of the layout.



In the next post, I will share some ideas on what Justin is doing with scenery.

[shark_jj]

The scenery ideas portrayed here are entirely Justin's but I certainly intend to copy them.  From time to time Justin's back acts up on him and working on the third level can prove troublesome at times.  The nugget of this idea started when he was building some test sections of scenery to try out some tecniques and then placed them on the layout to take a look at them.  These looked so good on the layout that he then considered the idea of actually building the scenery on the bench and dropping it into place.  He cut some pieces of hadrboard to the shape of the scenery and then built up pink styrofoam landforms on top of that and then did all of the scenery you will see in the photos on the bench where you are sitting in a chair, with good lighting, and all of your tools at hand.

All of the scenery you see in the following photos was built on the bench and is fully removable.  To get a good joint between sections Justins matches up the styroam almost like a mortice and tenon joint in woodworking.

In this picture we can see some of the background scenery installed but none of the foreground scenery.



In this photo the foreground scenery is in place



Photos of the scenery sections on the bench being worked on.

[shark_jj]

In this post, I will share some photos of the area where the 2nd level, the 3rd level (exposed hidden trackage) and the 4th level all come together to enter the helix which joins them.  This show how the level can be sceniced together and again demonstrates scenery which was built on the bench.

[shark_jj]

Amazing, I was just reading the May issue of Model Railroad Hobbyist and Railwire Member M.C. Fujiwara's excellent article on kids and the hobby and I noted Joe Fugates Editorial which deals with this exact same issue and his conclusion that if he were to start over again he would avoid the permanent benchwork model of layout building in favour of sections that could be built on the workbench.

[Freight Train]

This is a very interesting read!
    It looks as one gets older or just more experience at building layouts one can workout the potential problems that arises during the build and work out all the kinks a head of time with careful planning. I too like the drop down panels for wiring...way to go shark_jj!!