A Permanent Right Of Way

It takes a long time for the inconvenience of a floor layout to outweigh the enjoyment it gives. If you keep your train on the floor for some time, you can minimize the inconvenience of frequent assembly and dismantling by mounting several sections of track together on thin boards. Your track gains a permanent roadbed and is protected while retaining the advantages of portability and easy storage.

Let's assume that you have purchased a few additional sections of track and perhaps a pair of switches to make a layout offering some variety in train operation without taking up too much space. (You will find layout suggestions in the next chapter.) The idea is to mount this lay- out on a sectional roadbed, each piece holding three or four sections of track. Track ties measure 17/8 inches across, so the board must be a little wider—from 23/4 to 31/2 inches.

You can use plywood or 1" x 3" boards of pine or fir. These boards will actually be 3/4inch thick and 23/4 inches wide, since board measurements are given for rough lumber, and planing at the mill takes about 1/4" off each measurement.

Boards of half-inch thickness will serve as well if the lum- ber is dry and seasoned so as not to warp.

The difficulty with ordinary boards arises when you make the roadbed for the curved sections. The boards must  be cut in short arcs and then fastened together. While this may be satisfactory for permanent mounting on a table, it is not suited to the present purpose. Plywood, on the other hand, can easily be cut in straight or curved sections of any length you need, so it is recommended. It is not likely to warp and will not split Plywood comes in panels four feet wide, and you can usually buy it in four-foot, six-foot, or eight-foot lengths. Thickness of a quarter-inch will do, but you will find three-eighths or half-inch plywood more rigid and a better footing for nailsand screws. Don't buy the most expensive grade, which has a perfect finish on both sides; you need only one good side or can manage with panels that have some imperfections on both sides. How much plywood willyou need? That depends upon  your   layout,   of  course.

.

You can figure it out by making a diagram on paper, drawing a rectangle representing a panel of plywood and al-lowing one inch for every foot. If your roadbed boards are to be three inches wide, they will be represented by a quarter-inch on your diagram. For diagramming curved sections, use a pike planner (Fig. 17), a kind of plastic ruler outlining straight and curved track sections, half sections, switches—all types of track. In S gauge, it is also scaled one inch to the foot and can be obtained from the train store or manufacturer of your train. It will prove a tremendous help, almost a necessity, in laying out your pike or planning changes later.

When you have diagrammed the pieces of wood you need, you can calculate the size of plywood panel required and mark it off for the most economical cuts, as shown in Fig. 18. A good folding ruler will help you measure your cuts accurately. If you plan to mount three sections of straight track together, the piece of wooden roadbed must be thirty inches long, as each section of S-gauge track measures ten inches. If your sawing is not exact, cut the board just under thirty inches rather than over; if the board is too long, the rail ends of your adjoining sections will not fit snugly. It's better to have a little space between board ends and a tight fit on your rails.

To cut the curved pieces, lay out three sections of track, fitted together, on the plywood and mark the curve to fit them properly. For extra care, use a homemade compass or trammel (Fig. 19). A circle of S-gauge track is forty inches in diameter, its radius twenty inches. A piece of string twenty inches long with a pencil held at one end, the other end held as if at the center of a circle, makes a kind of compass that helps you draw an accurate arc. For sawing straight pieces, use an ordinary crosscut saw, for curved pieces a keyhole or compass saw (Figs. 20 and 21). When the wood is cut, sandpaper the edges smooth.

If you have used half-inch plywood and want to make the boards look like real roadbed, bevel the edges with a small plane, sand, and cover with emery paper to simulate the ballast on a track. Glue will hold the paper in place. If you follow this suggestion, it might be better to make the boards 31/2 inches wide, which is scale width in S gauge for a single roadbed. Later, when you lay out your pike on a table, you can use these sections there.

If, however, your aim is just a safe and handy way to mount track, don't bother with the ballast. Nail the track sections to the boards with nails or brads one-half or five-eighths of an inch long, through holes in the ties. A tack hammer is easier for such small brads, but a regular hammer will do. You don't need two nails in each tie, even if the holes are there. One in every other tie will probably hold the track securely to the board. Don't hammer the nails down too hard, lest you distort the shape of the track.

If you have switches or a crossing on your layout, you must mount them so their rails will be at the same level as the track. Trace the correct shape on the plywood, saw out, sand, and nail the pieces in place. Now you have a layout in demountable form, but with fewer pieces to handle than in your original train set. If it has thirty track sections, you now have only ten mounted sections to fit together when you set your track up on the floor. You may have even less if you mount four track sections to one board, as you sometimes can.

There is one advantage to having a train on the living- room floor—the whole family enjoys it, becomes interested in it. By the time you make a permanent layout, therefore, you may receive considerable help from others who have become as hypnotized as you by watching the trains go round. You can, of course, have a carpenter make a table according to your specifications, or use a Ping-pong table. The first is expensive, the second probably not steady enough, but the weightiest argument against these ideas is that you miss the fun of making your own. There is no feeling quite so heart-warming as that which goes with the proud statement: "I made it myself."

Do not be daunted if no one in the family, including yourself, is even an amateur carpenter. Your railroad table need not be a thing of beauty. Its top will be covered with track, trains, accessories, buildings, and, in time, scenery. Hang a plain dark cloth from the edge to the floor, and you hide the legs and braces. All you need to worry about is making the table strong and level.

Not many tools are needed for the job. Absolute essentials are probably on hand already—saw, hammer, screw- driver, ruler. A sharp pencil and some sandpaper, and you're in business. A try square will enable you to cut your lumber straight across the ends. If you want to carry wir- ing beneath the table, and you probably will, you need a brace with bits of assorted sizes. Get a screwdriver bit, too, and you will be thankful whenever you use screws instead of nails.

Your table must be level for efficient operation of your train, so it helps to get a carpenter's level, although you don't need an expensive one. You can, however, make a good guess in leveling the table by putting some water in a soup plate or other flat dish, filling it nearly full. The water will tell you which way the table tips, if at all.

You probably have a pair of pliers, useful in dozens of Ways. Later, when you go in for more extensive wiring, you may buy long-nosed pliers, and electrician's pliers. Other tools are helpful if not essential at the outset— a speed drill, keyhole saw, coping saw,  ack hammer. When you really fancy yourself a carpenter and want very smooth boards, or beveled edges, you will get a plane, but hundreds of good pike tables have been built without one.

There are many other tools, of course, that you will see in hardware stores and hobby shops. You can decide, when you get into the construction business seriously, whether or not you need them. The best idea is to start with just the essentials and add other items when you are convinced that their cost will be compensated for by convenience and time saving. When you buy tools, get good ones. They make your work easier; they last longer; they are safer. And take good care of them.

What about lumber? Sizes and dimensions will be considered under the different tables and benches described later, but a few general suggestions are in order. Good, clear, expensive lumber is not at all necessary. Old lumber that you might have around the place or wood from a secondhand lumber yard serves perfectly well, perhaps better than new wood because it is seasoned. If you must buy new wood, get nothing better than No. 2 or No. 3 pine. There may be some knots, but they will not trouble you. If the knots are too big or loose, cut the pieces so as to eliminate them.

Where will you build your table or bench? If you live in a house, there are many possibilities. Perhaps you have a spare room, although that seems to be a thing of the past in today's homes. Even if a spare room exists, perhaps there are other demands upon it. Trains, however, can easily share a room with sewing or other household occupations, using a space three or four feet wide out from two walls for a fine layout on a shelf.

There may be a guest room in your house, used only on occasion. You don't want guests to clamber over your trains, of course, but there are ways of accommodating both comfortably. The rollaway pike described later may fill the bill.

If there is no spare room or guest room, what about the attic, cellar, or the garage? Don't start your construction in one of these places on a mild spring or fall day only to learn that the cellar is too cold in winter or the attic too hot in summer, or the garage both. The attic must be insulated, the cellar dry, the garage heated. And electric out-lets must be available. These three locations are excellent if they meet such requirements; construction hints about them will be given later in this chapter.

Many modern houses are built without cellars, without usable attics, or with carports instead of closed garages. Some, however, include game rooms or rumpus rooms which are ideal for model railroaders, with room to spare for other activities aplenty.

What if your house has none of these facilities, or what if you live in an apartment which hasn't even enough closets? Do you give up and keep your layout on the floor forever? Of course not. You build a pike that rolls, folds, slides, hides, or hangs somewhere out of the way.

No matter what you do with it, the platform on whichyour trains run is the basic unit to consider first. Every- thing else is a variation or extension of it. Let's assume that for lack of space or a need to build up your railroad system gradually, you start with the minimum size, which is 4' x 6'. Nothing but a circle can be laid out in a smaller space, so you need that much for an interesting layout. This area offers far more possibilities than most people think, but 4' x 8' will increase the potential variety of layouts immensely. The same principles of construction apply to both sizes.

If you are going to move your railroad's home often, the platform should be made of plywood; wallboards of differ- ent kinds may be satisfactory for a permanent table with plenty of support, but they haven't the strength for much folding or moving. So your first move is to buy a panel of 4' x 6' or 4' x 8' plywood, good on one side. You can manage with quarter-inch thickness, but you will find three-eighths of an inch much more satisfactory, even if heavier and a bit more expensive. Some people use half-inch plywood, but it is not really necessary, especially for a small pike.

It is possible to nail your track to the plywood panel and let it go at that. But in this case, the wires will be carried on top with the track, and the only thing you can do with such a panel is lean it against the wall. You cannot make a rollaway or hideaway pike unless the plywood  panel is framed. Since framing is not difficult, you will no doubt want to do it. For this you may use two by twos (actual measurements about 13/4" x 13/4"), one by twos, or one by threes. A 2" x 2" is strong, but probably heavier than you need, unless you are going to subject the platform to considerable strain in the method of lifting or hanging, so 1" x 2" is suggested as the best all-around size for framing lumber. If you want the apron of the frame deeper, for any reason, use 1" x 3". The principle of construction is the same.

First, nail together the four sides of the frame, as shown in Fig. 22. Note that each board overlaps the end of the next board—that's where they are nailed together—so these boards are not exactly four feet or six feet long, even though that is the size of your plywood panel. Each is that length, less the thickness of one board. This is usually three quarters of an inch in what is called one-inch stock.

Cut two boards 3' 11%" long and two boards 5' 111/4" long (for a 4' x 8' panel, the long boards are, of course, 7' 11 1/4" long). Put them together as shown in Fig. 22, nailing with sixpenny common nails (2" long). If the wood has a tendency to split, use box nails with a thinner body; coated box nails hold particularly well.

You now have a frame, but it will give and twist at the slightest touch. Don't let this worry you. Crosspieces will add strength and rigidity. Check measurements from one side of your frame to the other before sawing, but if all boards are actually 3/4" thick, your two crosspieces will be 3' 10 1/2" long. Nail each one two feet from each end of the frame. (For 4' x 8' panels, use three crosspieces.)

If the frame still gives a little, don't be concerned. The third factor for strength and rigidity must be added—the plywood panel. Lay it on top of the frame and line it up, then drive nails through the plywood into the frame and crosspieces, using threepenny or fourpenny finishing nails, one every eight or ten inches. For wiring underneath, you will cut out or (preferably) drill holes in the crosspieces and one hole in a side piece for the main power lines to the transformer.

This platform should not give or twist, but if you still have doubts about its strength, use screws instead of nails, or screw metal angle-irons inside the four frame corners.

To this platform you add legs for a table, casters for a rollaway, ropes for a lift-up-to-the-ceiling, hinges for a fold-against-the-wall layout.

Many model railroaders like to have a rim around their layouts, not only for appearance but to keep derailed trains and other equipment from falling to the floor. If you want a rim, use 1" x 6" boards for your frame, end boards being 4' 3/4" long, side boards 6' 3/4" long. (Always add two feet to length measurements if you use 4' x 8' plywood.)

Nail the four framing pieces together as described above.
Crosspieces, each 1" x 3", are nailed flush with the bottom of the frame. Identical pieces must also be nailed to the end boards so that, with the crosspieces, they form a kind of recessed grid inside the frame, as shown in Fig. 23. Drop the plywood panel down into the frame so that it rests on this grid, and nail in place. You now have a strong layout platform with a rim above the level of your track and an apron below.

Before going any further, you may want to consider alternate materials for the top on which trains run. Plywood is strong, but it is noisy when track is nailed directly to it. Trains pounding over the tracks make a drum of the big expanse of plywood, especially if it is thin. For this reason, most small pikes are too noisy. While it may not seem important to you at first, the pleasure of a silent road- bed will be apparent once you have heard trains running over it so that the clickety-click of the wheels over the rail joints brings to mind a real train.

There are several methods of making a silent roadbed when you lay your track, with strips of rubber roadbed or other sound-absorbing material between track and ply-wood (see Chapter 7), which may appeal to you because they also elevate the trackbed to make it resemble a real railroad right-of-way. On the other hand, this involves more work than merely fixing the track to a flat base of some kind. If you want silence without this work, consider using wallboard instead of plywood for the train  platform.

Celotex or similar wallboard is made of pressed fibers that deaden sound. It is not as strong as plywood and needs more support underneath. It does not hold nails or screws as wood does; you can pull them loose, tearing the wallboard, without much effort. An adult who handles his railroad system with care will encounter no trouble, but wallboard base will not stand rough handling.

Plywood thus has the advantage of strength, wallboard the advantage of silence. If you are not familiar with the different materials, visit your lumber dealer and look at them; his advice will aid you, too. Wallboard comes in panels four feet wide, like plywood, and usually runs a half-inch thick.

Whatever you use, let's assume that you now have your platform. What you do with it next depends upon the space you have, whether or not you must put it away when it is not in use, and where you will put it. You may leave it just as it is and, for train operation, place it across two sawhorses, or with the ends resting on a desk and table of the same height, or on the seats of four chairs. You may buy ready-made folding legs or folding brackets for legs you cut yourself. When not in use, the platform may be placed upright against one wall, with two clamps to hold it in place. Some people use their platforms on double beds, but this foundation is a little unsteady and rarely perfectly level.
Many books say confidently that you can put your platform away in a closet, but very few closets will handle something 4' x 6' or 4' x 8'.

If you have space for a regular table, you will put legs on your platform and leave it up for work and enjoyment all the time. How high should it be? That depends upon your wishes, but most model railroaders prefer layouts close to eye level.

Otherwise the view angle is too high, as if from an airplane, and much of the beauty and realism is lost. But if a table is too high, you cannot reach to the middle of it without a stool. The best height is that point as far from the floor as will allow you to reach any spot on the layout. Most tables and desks are about thirty inches high, too low for the best view for anyone standing beside them, but good for one seated. A thirty-six-inch table, the height of kitchen counter tops, is preferred by most hobbyists, and some go as high as forty to forty-two inches.

Table height should depend in part upon the height of the people who will work on and play with the trains, of course. But remember that children grow up. You might build a thirty-six-inch table and supply low stools for the small fry until they are big enough to dispense with them. To turn your platform into a table, use six legs for either a 4' x 6' or 4' x 8' layout. Two-by-twos may be adequate, but two-by-threes are stronger. It is not necessary to use two-by-fours, although many table builders do. Cut each leg to the proper length, which depends upon your decision as to the height of the table. The broad side of each two- by-three is placed against the long side of the frame, as shown in Fig. 24—one at each corner and one in the middle on either side. While it is possible to nail them in place, screws or bolts are stronger and have the advantage of mak ing dismantling easier.

.
If you use screws, get them YW long, with fiat heads. For each screw, drill a hole with brace and bit slightly smaller than the screw size and one inch deep. This allows the screw to go in without splitting the wood, but leaves something for it to bite into. Two screws go through the framework of your platform into each leg. For tightening the screws, you will find that the screwdriver bit on your brace gives you great leverage.

For bolts, drill holes the exact size of the bolts, which should be carriage bolts W in diameter and 3M" or $W long, with washers to fit under the nuts. If you are making a permanent layout that will never be dismantled, you can strengthen the table by applying a layer of wood glue between the leg and the frame before screwing or bolting, but don't use glue if there is any chance of your having to take the legs off for moving.

Whether legs are nailed, screwed, or bolted, they will need some bracing, for a model railroad table must be solid, without swaying or tilting shakily. The simplest bracing consists of one-by-twos nailed from leg to leg about four inches above the floor, but this will not steady the table dependably if people lean heavily against it, push it around, or put it under much strain. Cross-bracing from leg to leg, however, will make your table as strong as Gibraltar.

Some people try to run cross-braces from frame to leg, but these pieces of wood are in different planes so it is not easy. Best procedure is to run braces from leg to leg, for if the legs are sturdy, the platform resting on them will be sturdy, too. While good carpenters prefer to mortise their joints, you can do an excellent job without such advanced carpenterial operations.

Looking at the side of your table, with legs in place, nail a 1" x 2" brace from near the top of the left-hand leg to a few inches from the bottom of the middle leg. Nail the next brace from the top of the middle leg to bottom of right-hand leg. Then nail crisscrossing braces on the other side of each leg, as shown in Fig. 24. Brace the legs on the other side of the table in the same way, then nail criss-cross braces between the end legs.

You may find it simpler to assemble all your legs and braces before putting the platform in place and bolting its frame to the legs. If you ever have to dismantle, just knock off the end braces, unbolt the legs, and remove them from the platform in assembled form—two sets of three legs with braces. Thus you have only three good-sized pieces to move, plus end leg braces, and reassembly is quick and easy.

When your table is complete and you find that it is not exactly level, do not necessarily blame your carpentry work. Most floors are uneven. You can level the table by driving small wooden wedges—easily made from wood shingles—under the legs that are too short.

No matter what size table you make, the above prin- ciples apply to its construction. You can build much more elegant tables, if you want, but not many will be stronger.

And this book is based on the assumption that the reader is more interested in railroading than in carpentry, that he may have neither the experience nor the inclination for more finished cabinet work. Some hobbyists may display tables with considerably less strength and bracing than that recommended here. You may get away with a light table, but it invites trouble and, in the end, double work. If one side or end of the table is anchored to a wall, of course, or the legs to the floor, it requires less bracing.

In most instances, this is not possible. The table must stand—or fall—by itself. Make it sturdy enough to stand- steadily.

If you have no space for a permanent table, you must find a way to store your train platform in a convenient but out-of-the-way place. The simple method of leaning it against the wall has already been mentioned. It need not be the eyesore you think. Make the framework without crosspieces on the bottom; run wires on the surface with the trains. When you place the platform against the wall, therefore, you see only a smooth expanse of plywood. This can be painted, stained, or decorated in many attractive ways. A large picture may be mounted on the board, or perhaps a pictorial map of your own railroad line.

Wires on the surface of the trainboard will not be messy and confusing if you gather them together in a kind of cable stapled around the outside edge, to the rim. Use different-colored wires for different purposes, so you can readily trace any that you need to work on later. Or you can run around the edge two heavy wires that serve as bus bars, one from the base post of the transformer and one from the fixed-voltage post. Accessories can be spliced into these wires at any point. (Details about bus-bar wiring will be found in Chapter 8.)

If you still wish to run wires beneath the board without showing that maze to the public, use wallboard for a false bottom and decorate this as you wish. With a train platform that you roll or hide away, you must, of course, remove all rolling stock plus buildings or accessories that are not fixed in place. In most instances, all tall structures must be removed and put on a shelf with locomotive and cars.

Since you may need shelves, you might combine them with a hinged trainboard that folds against the wall (Fig. 25). Hingeing the trainboard along the four-foot side will require fairly high ceilings. A 4' x 6' board that is 30" high when in horizontal operating position will extend up 8 1/2 feet when folded; a 4' x 8' board will require 10 1/2-foot ceilings. It is likely, therefore, that you must hinge the board along its six-foot side. Thus your shelves will be six feet long and four feet high, the bottom shelf 30 inches above the floor. Most ceilings will allow an even higher operating level, if you want it. A hinged board of this sort can be let down over a bed without touching it.

Since the shelves carry the whole weight of the board when it is folded up, they must be strong and securely an- chored. Walls with wooden studs—usually placed every sixteen inches—give excellent anchorage. If you must fasten to plaster, drill holes with a star drill, insert lead plugs, and screw shelf supports in place. Your hardware dealer can show you these items and give you the correct sizes. Shelf supports-l" x 3"s or 2" x 3"s-are six feet long. If you have three shelves, as Fig. 25 shows, you will affix three wall  upports. Build the set of shelves on the floor, lift into
place, with the back of each shelf resting on a support. Screws driven through the shelves into the supports will hold the structure firmly in place.

If you doubt the strength of your wall or fastenings, carry the shelves to the floor, or place legs or braces beneath the bottom shelf, running to floor or baseboard.

Finally, screw three or four hinges to the front edge of the bottom shelf and to the frame of your trainboard. When the trainboard is folded up against the shelves, hold it in place with hooks and eyes on each end. When it is let down it can rest upon a table, a desk, or sawhorse of the right height. You may prefer to attach legs, using the kind of folding braces found on card tables or the extension shelves of typewriter tables. You can buy them at your hardware store.

With this arrangement, all rolling stock and unfixed structures must be placed on the shelves before the board is folded up. Some structures can be permanently mounted to the trainboard, their height depending on the depth of your wall shelves. If shelves are 10" deep, you can nail or screw in place fixtures up to that-height, and build scenery to that height. f wires run beneath the board and you do not like the looks of them when the board is folded up, cover the entire frame with a false bottom of wallboard and paint or decorate.

Perhaps your room is small and contains too much furniture, including a double bed, to allow for a folding board and shelves. Then roll the platform under the bed.

Nail six wood blocks under the board, one at each corner and one in the middle of each side. To these blocks, screw casters whose wheels extend a half-inch to an inch below the bottom of your frame. Now you can roll your 4' x 6' pike under the bed, removing only tall structures before doing so. The guest room is a good spot for the rollaway pike; the trains will not get in the way of any friends staying in the room, but they will always be readily available for your use in a place not likely to hamper normal house- hold routine.

It was only natural for model railroaders, in their search for space to store layouts, to turn their eyes to the ceiling— a large, unused, unobstructed area completely out of the way. There are two problems in utilizing this space. The layout, which is fairly heavy by the time it is completed, must be so securely held that there is no danger of its falling down; the method of raising and lowering must be simple, foolproof, and not too demanding so far as brute strength is concerned.

These problems are most easily solved in a garage, base- ment, or other location where bare joists are available. At- tach to your basic trainboard suspension struts instead of legs (Fig. 26). Use two-by-threes for strength, and cut them to the proper length, which will depend upon the height of the joists from the floor and the height at which you want your layout to hang when it is down for opera- tions. If the joists are eight feet high and the board is to be three feet from the floor for operating purposes, then the struts must be five feet long. One near each corner of the board will suffice.

First, attach the struts to joists in proper positions above the corners of the board, using strong hinges with screws big enough to hold firmly or, if you are doubtful of them, drill holes and bolt the hinges to both strut and joist. Hinges must be attached so that all struts swing up in the same direction. And remember that you need an unobstructed ceiling area not only as large as your trainboard but at least five feet longer (if this is the length of the struts), to allow the board to swing upward against the joists.              
                    
When struts are fixed to the joists, raise the train platform on sawhorses or boxes to the proper height. Attach the bottoms of the struts to the trainboard with hinges as shown in Fig. 26. If you are concerned about structures on your layout that extend up above rim height, remove them before raising the board, arrange them so they come between joists when the board is lifted, or just refrain from lifting the board all the way to the ceiling.

How do you lift it? By means of one strong hook, two pulleys, and a rope. The hook is bolted to a joist five feet or more away from the end of your trainboard, in the direction in which it swings when lifted. A pulley of about three-inch diameter or more is fastened beside or below the hook. Another pulley is bolted to the end of the train-board. Tie the rope securely to the joist hook, pass it through the table pulley, then up through the joist pulley, and down to the floor. Somewhere near this spot, on wall, beam, or floor, you must fix a cleat to hold the rope. Now, pull on the rope and your trainboard swings sideways and upward toward the ceiling. When you have lifted it as far as you want, attach the rope to the cleat and your table is out of the way.

Two pulleys increase the leverage of the rope and decrease the strength needed to lift the trainboard. But if you find it heavy, attach counterweights to the rope, as near as possible to the joist pulley when the table is in down position. Weights like those on old-fashioned scales work well, but you can tie a pail or large paint can to the rope and fill it with lead scraps. If the counterweight exerts a pull only three pounds less than the table, then you need only three pounds' worth of effort to pull it up.

If you are worried about the strain on the rope during the time the table is lifted—although you need not be if the rope is strong and all pulleys and hooks are securely fastened—you can arrange some kind of locking brace that bears the table's weight in the up position. A strong hook and eye will do, but this means standing on something to reach the joist. A two-by-three from the next joist that slides in place under the end of the table will hold the table, or a two-by-three pole from floor to table, forced into place as a prop.

The weight of the layout will probably hold it fairly steady when it is down, but if you find that it sways too readily, run a stabilizing rope from the end opposite the pulley and snub both ropes tight to cleats. Or you can have folding legs from the trainboard to the floor. They need not be strong or heavily braced, as they will serve to stabilize rather than bear much weight.

If joists run parallel with the length of the trainboard instead of at right angles, as shown in Fig. 27, you can still make a ceiling layout. Standard spacing of joists is 16 inches, so the distance from one joist to the third one after it is 48 inches, exactly the width of the trainboard. Instead of hinges for the struts, you can have them swivel, top and bottom, on bolts.

There are several variations of the ceiling layout that you may want to consider. Instead of struts, ropes or cables may lead from each corner to pulleys on the joists overhead and thence to a master multiple pulley from which descends the pulling rope, with  ounterweight. It is a little difficult to get all four ropes lifting evenly, but it can be done; if you use wire cables and turnbuckles of the type that support masts on sailboats, you will get plenty of strength and easy adjustment. Folding legs to stabilize the table in the down position are almost essential to eliminate all sway and swing.

It is possible to make a ceiling layout in a regular room, but attaching hinges and pulleys to a plaster ceiling is much more difficult than fastening them to bare joists. You cannot avoid marring the plaster, which must be consid- ered if the layout is ever to be removed. You may be able to locate joists beneath plaster and lath, which will give you a firm anchorage. If not, lead plugs and screws give more strength than you might believe, provided the ceil- ing plaster is tight. But amateurs will hesitate to try this method. You can hire a workman for this aspect of the work, of course, if the ceiling layout in a plastered room appeals to you. The under part of your trainboard may have a false bottom with decorations of some kind, or paint to match the ceiling.

If ceilings, walls, and spaces under beds are not available, you can still find some way to make a train layout. You may have no place to hide a 4' x 6' or a 4' x 8' board but be able to handle pieces half that size. This means making the trainboard in two sections (Fig. 28). Cut your 4' x 6' plywood in two, giving you two pieces 4' x 3'. Frame each one as outlined before,  except for cross pieces, which are not needed in this small size. If you have a rim around the edge, omit the piece on the sides where the two sections but together. All track may be nailed in place except for those sections that come where the two boards join. One section of track lifts out at this point when the boards are separated and is fitted into place again when you join the boards for operating trains. Wiring connections between the two boards may be made by means of radio jacks or small electric plugs. Hold the two sections together firmly with hooks and eyes on either side. You may follow the same procedure with a 4' x 8' board or larger, or with, aboard that you wish to cut  lengthwise.

You may hinge the two board sections together if you wish, so they will fold together. In  his case, make a partial rim on each adjoining edge to which hinges are attached,as shown in Fig. 29. Gaps in the rims allow for passage of track from one half to the other. If you lay the track care- fully, and use one hinge for each rail crossing the dividing line, you can eliminate the necessity of removing one section of track. Remove pins from track joints that come ex- actly where the folding board separates.

Solder a wire to the side of one rail and to the nearest hinge. Solder another wire to the other half of the hinge and to the matching rail on the other half of the board. The wires and the metal of the hinge will carry your current across the gap. Do the same for each rail, making certain to line them up properly. If you have two tracks crossing the dividing line, you will need four hinges and four sets of connecting wires. Soldering is explained in Chapter 8.

If the rim is high enough, you can attach many accessories to the layout permanently. Measure the height of your most desired structures to learn how high to make the rim. If you place them so they don't get in each other's way when the board is closed,

you can calculate on double the height of the rim, as you will have that amount of space available inside the folded board. In other words, if the rim is three inches high, you can safely use a structure five or five-and-a-half inches tall, provided you place it so that there is nothing on the other half of the board to conflict with it when the board is closed. The partial rim down the middle may disturb your scenic efforts, but you can cover it with a hollow, removable hill that blends with the rest of the terrain. Chapter 10 will tell you how to build it.

The folding layout can be adapted for table use. Just add legs to one half, put a false bottom on the other half that folds over (this becomes the top of the table), and you have a very acceptable piece of furniture four by three feet in size but containing a readily available model railroad layout four by six. Tapered legs will, of course, improve the looks of the table. Keep the rim of the layout to a minimum, so you will not wind up with too wide an apron between your knees and the top of the table. The folding half, when open, can rest on a gateleg, another table, or an extension brace.

Somewhere among these suggestions you should be able to find the layout table or platform which you can adapt for your particular needs, no matter how little space is available. But what about the fortunate person who has no space problem? Of course, there is no such person in reality, for every model railroader who has enjoyed his hobby for a few years learns that there is no such thing as enough space. Still, let's consider one who has a whole room or a good part of it, half of a two-car garage, a spacious rumpus room, an attic, or a clear, dry basement. He will no doubt run his layout around the walls, sometimes with a relatively narrow shelf, sometimes with wider sec- tions for big freight yards or busy towns. He will use the walls because they give him a solid anchorage and a back-drop for continuing in perspective the mountains, farms,or cities of his pike scenery. He may use two, three, or even four walls, with a lift or drawbridge at the door—wired so as to stop current in the entire system when it is not in position—and perhaps bridges at one or more of the windows. If he has some sections of table so wide that he cannot reach everything easily, he will construct camouflaged pop-up doors at strategic points.

If you have space of this nature at your command, you will figure out your tables and shtlves to fit your wishes and the shape of the area. A few construction hints may help you, however. If you are building where studs or rafters are exposed, your task is simplified because you can nail the main crosspiece table supports to these studs or rafters  as  shown  in  Fig.   30,  with  legs  required only along the outside edge of the table. With proper framing along the top and simple bracing near the bottom, your structure is as solid as you could wish. Where the shelf is narrow, legs are not even necessary; instead, nail braces from the front of the ledge back to the bottom of the studs.

If you are working in a basement with a masonry wall, the best procedure is to fasten a two-by-three or a two-by- four securely to the wall at the height of the table.

Ordinary nails or cut nails will hold in cinder blocks; cut nails will hold in cement blocks or straight cement. If you want even greater strength, make holes with a star drill, insert lead plugs, and use screws (Fig. 31). Crosspieces can then be nailed to this wall beam, legs placed on the outside, and a table top fitted in place. If you don't want to fasten to the masonry, suspend the whole table or shelf from the joists above.

In a room with plaster walls, fasten carrying beams to the walls with cut nails or screws in lead plugs. If the walls are made of Sheetrock or other plasterboard over wooden studs, you can locate the studs—they are usually sixteen inches apart—and screw or nail to them. If you can- not locate studs in the right places, use toggle bolts, which you can obtain at your hardware store.

One final suggestion may be in order for those contemplating extensive permanent layouts of this kind. You may prefer open-top table construction, which has many advantages over solid-top tables for large layouts. Solid tops are probably the easiest and best for small layouts and are essential for layouts that fold, roll, or hide away. Before proceeding with a large permanent layout, however, read about open-top table construction and track laying in Chapter 10.

Are You Ready To Move Onto The Next Lesson? Click Here….