I am looking to assemble a layout in my Shop that is very simple to start with. I am looking at using an “O” gauge. I want o build a 36’ x 24’ x 36’ x 24’ loop around the wall of the shop. The track will be running on shelving mounted on on the wall about 12" from the top of a 9" ceiling. Is there a good book that explains the basics I would need? What parts I would need, which peices are low end, top end, etc. What I should use for a foundation to mount the track on. I have helped build 2 houses and two additions on my house so the construction does not scare me. I just want to make sure I don’t buy cheap parts that will wear out in a year. I also don’t want a brand that has a bad reputation for what I am trying to do. I have been using newsgroups for years and have found them to be full of good information.
If you want advice on layout building then I would recommend the Kalmbach books regularly advertised in Model Railroader, the series covers everything from Layout Design-Baseboards-track laying & wiring and Scenics. There are a lot of different books in the series and while they mostly use HO examples most of the stuff is relevant to O gauge too. Have a look at the mag and see which look the most interesting. If you know about woodwork then you should have no problem with baseboards just make sure they aren’t going to warp, In my experience if you build it so you can sit on it then you’ll have no trouble! Make sure you allow for wiring and any bridges you want as you build. 1/4 inch hole drilled in the cross members are a good way of retaining wiring or if you make the fascia a bit deeper than the crossmembers use plastic conduit screwed underneath, (easy to change things later with this).
I model in HO and G so not a great expert in O but I’ve seen stuff from Atlas and it runs and looks fantastic, they do track too, ( The quality of their HO & N gauge stuff is certainly very good).
Paul
Hello Christopher2, and welcome aboard the forum…
I wish I could be more help to you, but all I have to offer is what I remember about a restaurant that had a train that ran around the entire place on a eight inch wide wooden overhead shelf that was held up with metal shelf braces. Where ever there was a curve, plywood had been used that was the same thickness as the shelf boards and was cut to fit the corners on the inside and curved on the outside. I think the train was G gauge (?).
Good luck to you.
Tracklayer