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A fool’s errand for sure.
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Whatever you thnk it will cost… triple it.
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My wife has been very understanding. My budget has always been more of a “per month” thing than a “total project cost” thing.
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I am over $1,000.00 into this future landfill occupier, and she has not left me over it.
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-Kevin
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OK, so you said you need help with the shopping list, let’s go through what you have,
You’ll get all of that probably at the same place, a lumber yard, or a big box thing like Home Depot, or Lowes, or Menards (If you have one in your area), I would add maybe add 3 or 4 tubes of white latex caulk, to use as a adhesive for the track bed to foam and the track to track bed. Track nails won’t work with a foam base.
There are a couple of options, cork is probably the most popular, and the easiest to find.
Go with Atlas track, joiners and switches (turnouts), go with code 100, nickel silver.
I don’t know what you have for hobby stores in your location, but you’ll probably find it all in one place.
I suggested Atlas because it will be the easiest to find.
I think you could use 22 ga. It should be fine for your needs, and easy to work with, get the stranded wire, not solid. Get red and black wire, so you can keep the wiring seperated the way it needs to be.
Atlas also makes track joiners that have a feeder wire already attached, those would be handy for you to use instead of any soldering.
For a power pack, I would go with MRC. The 2500 would be biggest I would get, but you could probably use the 1400.
No special tools needed, maybe a wire stripper, easier than a knive, some electrical tape, maybe even some small wire nuts to make your connections, and speaking of connections, there are many options, I’m just suggesting the simplist ways.
If I think of anything else, I’ll post again.
Good luck, and above all, have fun!
Mike.
I would urge the OP to pick up a couple of the Kalmbach “how to” books (Ebay always has a ton of them) and get a feel for what it takes to build that first layout - be it shelf or empire.
Asking the Forum to put together a shopping list just isn’t a workable request.
What mobilman said.
Without more specifics it’s hard to tell if you have it all listed.
But you probably have it covered.
Price it all out, small layout so shouldn’t be much. Add $20 to the total for stuff you’ll decide you need as you go. Then get started.
Good luck
Paul
Hi arvanlaa,
Dave makes a great suggestion. In fact our club, the Barrie Allandale Railway Modellers, will be at the show and I will be there both days. I would be happy to spend some time with you discussing your project. Ask for Dave Warnica.
As far as your original question is concerned, do you already have the 2x4s? If not, I would suggest using 1x3 select pine or poplar. Even if you do have the 2x4s, they may warp after you rip them. I would let them sit in the layout area for a few days after you rip them to see what they will do before starting to build the frame.
You have already listed most of what you will need, but here are a few additions:
wood glue for the frame joints and cork roadbed
2 1/2" wood screws and a proper size drill bit
PL 300 foam adhesive
black marker for drawing track center lines
push pins or weights for holding the cork roadbed down while the glue dries
track nails or adhesive caulk. I would recommend track nails, at least at first, so it will be easy for you to make adjustments.
solder and the necessary equipment
something to keep the wires attached to the bottom of the subroadbed. Self stick Velcro works well. Just don’t peel the backing off one side:
Benchwork is easy, all you need is 1x4s, construction screws, 2" foam and siloconized latex caulk. Tools are screw gun and circular saw (HD has a Ryobi combo set on sale now for $79), framers square and caulk gun. For the size you are going for it might cost you $50 for materials (you will have leftovers), Tools total will run less than $100.
Thank you everyone for your responses! I greatly appreciate it 
For those who were able to help me out with more details on the exact layout, I really appreciate your time helping. For those who would like to know before offering up suggestions, I will be making a Work in Progress thread once I start out and will keep everyone updated there for those who are interested. Dave. I plan on attending the Lindsey show in April and I will definitely seek you out and connect!
That’s great. I look forward to meeting you!
Plans have changed a bit. I will be there all day Saturday but I won’t be there on Sunday until probably after 1:00 pm. Our club’s show committee has to view a new venue for next year’s show and sale on Sunday morning. It will still be at Bradford Green Houses in Barrie but in a different area.
Dave
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Easy for you to say.
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If I want 2" foam, I need to go on a 500 mile road trip. Homasote requires a 1,000 mile trip.
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-Kevin
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2" beaded foam in 4x8 sheets are at local home depot by r-tech in florida, same stuff I used on my layout.