I have the space and (hopefully) some time during the cold winter months to start working on a portable model railroad. Measured the space and the best thing seems to be two separate foldable tables. I have 12 feet of space length wise, and about 8 feet in width, so I am thinking 6 x 9 is the way to go. Plan is to have the tables be 9’ in length and 3’ wide, with door hinges at 4 1/2’ to fold the tables down to a 4 1/2’ x 3’ size. Legs will fold up underneath. I’ll also be able to attach a separate 2 1/2’ x 4’ section that I am going to use to model an industrial area. The question I have for someone out there is, what kind of stability will the hinges give me? I plan on attaching the tables together with carriage bolts when I am operating the layout, but will I need to attach some 1 x 4 across the bottom for additional stability? Any help would be appreciated. Thanks!
john meet john 
its not the hinges im concerned about as they can be had plant strong but what are the tables made out of? most i see nowadays are the pressed wood stuff. you might be better off with a couple of solid core door s to get the meat you need to secure the hinges??
if the table s are solids and not pressed you still might have to use backing plate and big flats on bottoms and maybe even added stringers to prevent flex. might you be better to go with shelf type layout and run the entire length and leave it securely fastened?
im not trying to be any kind of negative im just concerned that once you get it all complete some structural thing will break and ruin your trains or even hurt you.
hinges can always be concealed with a building on the top so thats not an issue but the structural integrity of your base is a major concern.
im glad you got the layout plans and you sure in right place to find advice to make it so.im a noob but there are many vets here that have great wisdom. keep asking questions. best regards, john
John,
It sounds like you are re-inventing the wheel. Many modular layouts have been built in the last 20 years or so. There are standards that insure one module will attach to another module. The modules are small enough to be portable. They are very sturdy.
What you want to do can easily be done with modules. You don’t have to follow all the standards unless you want to hook up to someone else’s modules. Use the standards as your starting point and modify them to suit your needs. Look up some information on module construction and see if that will make things easier for you.
Darrell, quiet…for now