Hi! I am mon who is new to this but my son loves trains and I love him so I am trying to help him get his first real layout started! Right now he has his HO train set up on the carpet in the basement and of course we are having trouble. I have an old kitchen table and about a 6 foot by 8 foot area in the basement that we could build in. I thought maybe I could put plywood or the dense foam on the table? I only have a Ford Fusion so I have to buy smaller pieces of plywood I guess… I am doing this on my own so any guidance would be greatly appreciated As to size or how to make a starter table. My son is 13 so tall enough to reach over the table to build things. Please advise om size and the most common mistakes to avoid. THANKS SO MUCH!
For HO trains, the radius of the curves for a beginner type layout is usually in the 18" to 22" range. Assuming an oval type track plan (I suggest getting a track plan book for some ideas) that means a table 4 feet wide. Anything much narrower than that is really asking for trouble. A very common size of beginner layout is 4’ x 8’ plywood because plywood comes in that size at the lumber yard. You’d probably brace it with 1"x4" pine lumber, with a couple of supports in the middle or it will sag. 1/2" thick plywood is likely a bit too thin and will sag without lots of pine joists supporting it. 5/8" thick plywood is better. But heavy.
Getting that piece of plywood home in your car will be a challenge. Maybe they deliver? It would require more pine lumber bracing but the lumber yard might be able to cut the plywood in half so two pieces each 2’ by 8’. I am not familiar with your car so I cannot say if it is possible to push down the back seat and have that lumber run out the back of a trunk.
If you do have a 4’x8’ layout, that is still too wide to have one entire edge along a wall. And end against a wall may be OK. You need good access from both edges and at least one side. I really wonder if your space is enough for that. There are some layouts that can fit on a 4x6 top. Anything much narrower than 4 feet and you are probably better off thinking of N scale rather than HO. But he already has the HO it sounds like. With 18 inch radius curves you can go a little narrower than 4 feet but I really wouldn’t advise it unless there is no alternative.
For all of these things saws, drills, etc are needed.
There are easy to assemble modular benchwork pieces that can be purchased. Pricey but they fit together like dominos and thus, can be changed around in the future. Not all layouts have to
Hi and welcome!
Dknelson has given an excellent summation. With such limited space, your options are a bit limited. You don’t say where you live. Many of the more populous areas have one or more well-stocked hobby shops. Go to a shop that truly specializes in hobbies and has someone on staff who knows trains. Ask to be introduced to other experienced hobbyists (i.e., regular customers) who might be able to help. They may have a truck that can be used to haul your plywood; they may be able to help get it down to the basement; they may be able to give help and advice regarding layout design and construction. Membership in the NMRA can provide contacts of this kind. Check Kalmbach’s web site to find apropriate books that can help in these areas. There’s a lot to learn, but there’s also a lot of fun to be had. Best of luck to you both.
Tom
The standard 4x8 layout is what most people use in HO which, if you did a double track loop, it would handle 22 inch (outer) and 18 inch (inner) radius curves. By todays standards in HO, those are fairly sharp curves and can limit what you can run if you like modern trains with longer engines and freight cars, and/or passenger train cars that are scale length. So if you are ok with running shorter engines and train cars, it will work ok with those tight radius’s.
If your son wants to run modern and longer rolling stock, its wise to increase the curve size just a bit and go with larger radius curves - and if you don’t like flex track, KATO Unitrack makes curves that are larger such as 24 inches and up.
Of course larger curves mean a wider table OR build a layout from a framework where the operator can be on the inside with the trains going around a larger oval - basically a hollow rectangle - which would fit in your a 6x8’ space and allow you to have 24 and 26.5 radius curves. Something to consider.
A lot of lumber yards stock plywood in sections cut from the larger standard 4x8 size, often in 2x4 sections or they wull cut a full sheet for you. This will help it fit in the car if you don’t have a pickup, etc. It costs a little more, but not much. If you just want to lay it on the table temporarily, that may work better for you. The sheets could then by recycled to build a more substantial layout with standard methods later (or for some other project if the model RRing doesn’t hold his interest.)
If it helps, when I buy sheets of plywood I have them cut it into thirds (32" x 48") so that it fits in the back seat of my car (Honda Accord sedan).
Correct me if I am wrong, but it sounds like you already have the track and train. Can you tell us the size of the (I am assuming) oval track, and the size of the kitchen table?
First, [#welcome].
Now, the space available is 8’x6’, correct? Is that space open on all sides? At least 3 sides? Only 2? 1? Or, (worst case scenario) is the room a 8’x6’ area? HO scale layouts in 4’x6-8’ are possible, but, if that is a closed in area, (walls on more than one side of the space), it will be extremely tight for a oval style layout. (I am not saying impossible to do, but, very tight quarters, extremely hard to opereate that way, let alone build.) If this area is open on at least 3 sides, no issue. 2 sides are walls, tight, but still doable. But if a 4’x6’ or a 4’x8’ layout is touching 3 walls, you (and your son) might be more happy with a smallet point-to-point layout. These are more for industry switching, but several options in that size space. (If you must have a oval style layout, again, it is not impossible to do, just extremely tight.)
For proof of the fact it can be done, my last layout, in HO scale, (recently partly disassembled for a remodeling project to add more space for layout…) was a 4’x10’ layout, in a 8’x10’ room. This meant that 3 sides were against walls. The biggest problem? Laying track. The “back edge” was really hard to get to. (I solved it by building the layout strong enough to support itself, and myself, while crawling on top of it while track work was being done.) So, it is possible, but… It will be difficult to do.
Welcome to the forums and to model railroading.
Could you do a shelf around your space? Two feet wide on one side would give you some workable layout area and a narrower opposite side would leave you some room to move in the middle. You might want to build it higher off the floor and have a place to duck under to get to the operating area in the center. Since he is young, he shouldn’t have a problem and I doubt you have joined the non-ducking senior crowd yet. With a shelf you can have wider curves and a 2’ reach is quite doable.
Our host has books on shelf layouts. You can go to your local hobby shop or go to the top right corner of this page find SHOP, then go to Books. There is a world of knowledge there.
If you can go to a local train show, you might be able to find used books and there should be plenty of folks there to answer some of your questions. Most have layouts set up, so you can see and they can show you some of your answers using the layout. You can find local events by going to the same area above, but click on RESORRCES, then Coming events. Enter your zip code and a milage you can travel, see what is available. In that same section, click on Model Railroad Groups to see if there is one in your area. Even if you are not ready to join the group, most groups will have some folks willing to help with your questions.
This is a great place to ask questions, so, when you begin to form your ideas, ask away. Many very knowledgable folks here ready, willing and able to help.
Have fun,
Richard
Hi Mom!
Welcome to the forums, both you and Sam. [#welcome]
You already have had some good questions asked about the details of the space you have available so I won’t repeat them, but I would add a few suggestions.
First, as far as transporting materials, if you have a big box lumber store close by, they usually offer short term vehicle rentals for very low fees so you can transport materials yourself. Delivery is often pretty cheap too. As was suggested, you still may want to have larger pieces cut down so you can handle them in your home.
There is a track plan data base available here. Just scroll up to the black header bar and select “How To”. You likely won’t find an HO layout that will fit on your table, but you will find plans that are designed to go around the outside of your space with a hole in the middle for the operator.
There is also free track planning software available on line. Here is one example:
http://www.scarm.info/index.php
You can also do your planning on paper but the software is fun and you can tell if things will actually fit before you start laying track.
If you decide to build your own benchwork instead of using the table, one book you may wish to buy before starting is “Basic Model Railroad Benchwork” from Kalmbach(they host this website). You can buy it direct from them but, without wishing to offend our hosts, you can pick one up on Amazon for less than 1/2 the price. In addition to construction methods it will also give you an idea of what tools you will need. Very sturdy benchwork can be built very easily without using tons of materials.
The last suggestion I would make is to get Sam onto these forums along side you, or on his own. There are lots of good people here who are willing to answer even the most basic questions.
All the best!
Dave