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Tips for Building Your Layout Part t. 2: Construction Tips for a Layout No Matter What Size

Building Your Benchwork

Getting the Layout Built Before Laying Track

One glaring error practically ALL of us make at this stage is not building a base for our future layout that will support whatever we choose to place atop it. I will touch on your first “Layout on Plywood” on a 4X8, 4X7 or whatever size, piece of Plywood.

The reason I stress having good “Benchwork” is so that you avoid problems with warpage, cuppage and other frustrating anomalies that conspire to play natural games with wood. This applies to the first layout you build on that sheet of plywood you bought at the Local retailer.

Your layout “top”, where the tracks will be laid, needs adequate bracing underneath, and this even applies the 4X8 sheet of plywood. This is the reason one goes the extra length to build your layout to try to withstand the on march of time. One of the biggest faults of the first 4X8 layout is the lack of bracing. One thing that impresses or puts me off about someone’s layout is whether or not the person took the time to build good Benchwork. Too often, the first 4X8 layout lays atop a 4X8 panel that nothing has been done with beyond laying track on an un-treated surface, perhaps 1X2, 1X3 or 1X4 boards were nailed on around the edges to make the layout have a better appearance, but most often, nothing more was done and the layout sits atop a pair of sawhorses or inadequately-built, hinged legs. Sometimes the builder thinks far enough ahead to add some cross-bracing underneath.

In any case, the panel will end up bearing most of the load, and in almost every case, sagging sets in, which is worse if you merely set your layout on a pair of sawhorses---no matter the thickness of the plywood, or if you have tried using some sort of bracing that turns out to be inadequate.

Building Benchwork to support your layout is tantamount. It’s very easy to dismiss doing so---we did so with the Hub City Central and in very short time it came back to haunt us. The thinking was that in a 2X4 foot module frame, the 1X4 sides and ends with a 1/2 inch thick top would be mostly impervious to warpage problems because of the smaller size. Well, it didn’t work out that way. Only 4 straight sections remained relatively flat while everything else warped, cupped and humped. A big part of these problems came from lack of Benchwork. The other was lack of priming all the pieces before assembly.

Let me intone here that a moveable, modular layout faces far more extremes of weather, temperature, humidity and stress than your stay-at-home home layout ever will. However, it does not obviate the need for good Benchwork! Also, you still need to go the extra mile and prime each piece before you assemble everything into what will become your layout. One thing that 99% of you will dismiss and avoid is my personal mantra that before you assemble all your wood into your Benchwork that it should have no less than three coats of primer! You need to seal up the wood’s pores, because wood never truly dies no matter what size it has been cut into. Not only will you have good, sturdy Benchwork, but you will have Benchwork relatively immune to the forces of moisture.

Keeping in mind what I’ve written above about Benchwork, it will most likely breed the question: Should I use Benchwork on my first 4x8 layout instead of a bare plywood panel? I would say “yes”, but keep in mind my purpose here is to provide tips, not guide anyone by the hand and lay strict ground rules. In the end, these decisions are to be made by you, not me! We make our own mistakes, and sometimes that is the best way to learn. I will inter here that keep in mind what I’m writing here is from seeing and making my own mistakes and I’m trying to help you avoid that. But, it still boils down to what YOU choose to do.

An example of Benchwork not done correctly

One small point that always impressed me about the Late John Allen’s infamous Gorre & Daphetid layout was that it started as a 4X7 oval layout, and that first layout was built with some impressive Benchwork underneath it. The first G&D 4X7 oval was re-used twice more and proved to be better built than most of the third version of the Gorre & Daphetid was! This point was driven home after John Allen had died and his home suffered a fire ten days after Allen had passed: The Late Lynn Wescott, long-time Editor of Model Railroader Magazine and a friend tried to “save” a portion of the G&D that hadn’t suffered “much” water, smoke and fire damage. After spending 5 hours sawing and sweating, as Wescott and his friend tried moving the section away from the wall, it collapsed, because this portion had no Benchwork behind it to support it. Looking at photographs taken by John Allen during the construction of this section revealed that John had only supported the roadbed with 2X4 upright stubs cut to fit the grade of each level, which merely sat on an earthen “bench” sculpted out of the soil in John’s unfinished basement area. This sad fact has made me a bit cynical about John Allen’s layout building ability through the years. While the third and final version of the Gorre & Daphetid was the most impressive because of the scope and sweep of the modeling, it was a sad horse in that it had very little Benchwork underneath most of its impressive scope.

The “L-girder” system

I have always leaned to the “L-Girder” layout Benchwork designed by the Late Lynn Wescott. Some modelers eschew the “L-Girder” concept and have “simplified” it by using 2X4 lumber in place of the 1X2 strips screwed together to make an “L-Girder”; while my own inclinations would tend to view this as unnecessary weight (which it is), it does provide more than adequate strength. Some modelers have even gone so far as to do away with the 1X2 cross-bracing atop the “L-girder” lengthwise supports and use 2X4 lumber there as well. Most of this comes from the relative inability of anyone to be able to find un-warped 1X2 lumber, anywhere, be it at Fleet Farm, Menards, Lowes, Home Depot or an actual Lumber Yard. I understand this frustration, having spent over an hour myself, sorting through stacks of 1X2 lumber trying to find the “straightest” pieces in a bundle. There is something to be said about Kiln-dried lumber, not all of it positive.

Benchwork such as the “L-Girder” type will not only provide you with necessary bracing beneath the top, but also a place to attach “risers” if you plan on gradients, and a point to attach your edge fascia. In the case of the Hub City Central’s 2X4 ft. modules, the L-Girder takes the weight of the module as it stands on its legs instead of the top or sides bearing the weight, which avoids some of the warping/cupping/humping. L-girder provides the needed bracing to keep the layout somewhat impervious from natural stresses due to humidity.

To be fair, L-Girder construction of your Benchwork will end up taking one more time to construct, particularily if you follow my mantra of making sure you use THREE coats of primer paint over each piece of your Benchwork---BEFORE any one piece of it has been assembled! This point is something I adopted by listening to my friend, Gene Greenwald, and the added work of doing all this painting along with this more-or-less more complicated Benchwork actually produces layout Benchwork that is nearly impervious to water. Portions of my layout have gone through actual FLOODS and were UNDER water; they HAVE NOT WARPED! These as-yet un-used 2X4 modules remain as level and straight as you can ask for. Someone must have done something right in this design (referring to Lynn Wescott, not me).

Support under the Benchwork

A necessary part of your Benchwork is, but of course, legs. This may read as strange, but I have little to offer as to what one could do for equipping your layout with legs. I will say this: because of my exposure to the Hub City Central modular layout and the wide variety of problems associated with a moveable layout (not completely in reference to the HCC but every, modular model railroad I have looked over), I prefer folding legs that fold up out of the way and are attached to the L-Girder mainframe under the layout, making the module more-or-less “self-contained”. On a more-or-less “permanent” home layout, you may want to follow the lead set by the Late Lynn Wescott when he designed L-Girder construction. My still a-building layout is partially 2X4 ft. modules based directly off the same type of construction as our Club layout; this was done because I don’t expect to be at the same place where I’m living now and “portability” in case of having to move was a concern. Additionally, should I pass away, removing the layout for whoever would be taking care of the task of cleaning up whatever I had left behind, would be easier. Call that “thinking ahead” or “negative thinking”; what-have-you, leaving the possibility open to moving your layout for whatever reason should be a design concern no matter the reason. That translates into leaving a provision open for a legging system that provides being able to be removed or otherwise folded out-of-the-way.

Just remember: if one choose to go with folding legs, your Benchwork sides will need to be low enough to assure the legs are, truly, up and out-of-the-way. This is the reason I stopped with my layout; I erred in not accounting for the legs hanging down underneath in folded-up position. I should have used 1x6 sides instead of 1x4.

The one point of Benchwork I haven’t touched on this far is: Benchwork makes adding the later scenery much easier. Rivers, Creeks, Hills and Mountains are that much easier to add on later, particularily where you have to “cut in” to the layout to put in a river or some such natural occurrence. The Benchwork will give your river and riverbed something to rest upon. Or, it can be used for other natural phenomena, like bogs, lakes, etc. Also, if it comes to the task of adding Grades, the Benchwork gives you something to attach your risers for pushing your track and roadbed upwards.

Personally, I prefer to make the Scenery go “up n’ down” and keep the track as level as possible, but that’s for another installment.

A possible alternative

One last point about Benchwork: I have always leaned quite heavily to “Shelf”-type layouts----layouts built along---and suspended from---the wall. My own plan for my never-to-be-built extravaganza was to be a “Penninsula-Shelf-Penninsula” arrangement, making frugal use of open area, the wall, and another open area. I’m not certain of the use of a “Helix”, which I will touch on briefly farther down in this novel. In a situation where you need to accommodate some other activity besides your layout (such as Laundry), you actually gain something by using the shelf concept (mostly more running room). A number of modelers have used the Shelf concept for their main and staging yards. I have found that you can transfer the Benchwork ideal to Shelf-type construction, which becomes a point of contention with too many modelers---if your shelf is going to be 3 feet wide or less, the old---and wrong -----“rule of thumb” thinking is that such bracing isn’t needed in a short space when it is to be suspended from a wall. Also included in this line of thinking is that, since you plan on using shelf brackets that you don’t need many of those same said brackets and that one can “cheat” on the number as you go. Part of the Late John Allen’s Gorre & Daphetid’s Benchwork was on hand-made, wooden shelf brackets suspended along the walls, and I note here that Mr. Allen “cheated” on the number he made and their spacing.

When it comes to a multi-level shelf-type layout, there has been disagreement as to how high each level should be from each other. To provide adequate headroom between levels is a difficult thing to address, and I’ve noticed that many multi-levels, shelf-type layout owners eventually abandon the idea farther along.

I will make bland mention here that one of our members that resides farther south in Wisconsin built a layout of mostly shelf construction but had NO significant Benchwork under it and it was suspended from his basement walls on flimsy shelf brackets spaced too far apart. The inevitable happened; within a short time everything along the walls was extremely warped! It made for some interesting looking rolling hills, however. Said member used pre-fab metal shelf brackets available everywhere---Lowe’s, Home Depot, Menards, Fleet Farm, etc., that were not of adequate strength or length. I had considered fabricating my own shelf bracket out of tube steel with provisions for the roadbed for a hidden, continuous loop trackage in it, but the cost was extremely prohibitive.

Your layout “top” or “base” surface

After all these years with the Hub City Central, my own recommendation for a layout surface is one I “discovered” mostly by accident: ¼” plywood with ½” Homasote atop that. Homasote, used with Cork Roadbed, has a unique sound-deadening quality that you’ll never get with just cork alone. Homasote works very well for later additions of your scenery. However, I don’t recommend using a basic flat surface over your entire layout, based on what you might deem what you intend to do and how big of a layout you expect to build. Simply put, you’ll put a lot of weight atop this and if you have mountainous area you intend to build, Open-grid Benchwork is still the best way to go. In a situation like what I wanted to model, a basic flat surface was perfect because I want to model Wisconsin, not the Bitterroot Mountains, the Cascades or the Saddles. Since I like to use extruded insulating foam for basic scenery, having a basic flat top doesn’t hurt.

Remember Your Curves!

When planning your layout Benchwork, you need to decide just what radius curvature you plan on using for your main line. This affects your Benchwork; you need to plan for the room those curves will take up. In Part Four I will touch upon curve radius, but for simplicity sake, let me just mention briefly here that using a minimum radius curve of 26” is possibly the best route to go for everything concerned. Model trains suffer the same problems from sharp curvature that the real railroads do, believe it or not. This particular point is a must. Spurs are another issue entirely. Real Railroads curve the track any desired sharpness they need to get the track into an industry, but main route curves are kept as wide as possible----it’s an issue of trying to reduce resistance and make things flow as freely as possible. The same thing applies to the models, and should be figured in to your Benchwork planning. Wider is better! Keep in mind you can not always follow “wider is better” because of space constraints and you might be forced to compromise whether you like it or not.

For an example of the real thing, take the Green Bay & Western. The curvature on their main line was as wide as the railroad could get away with, but House Tracks, Yard Tracks and Industry Spurs had sharp curvature. Even the east and west Wye legs at Green Bay were festooned with tight curvature. The example here is: try to keep your main route curves as wide as possible, where you can, but you have extreme leeway with everything else.

Remember your Scenery!

I can not stress enough here that at this stage you should be aware of the kinds of Buildings you plan on using on your layout. The building’s perimeter---known as “The Footprint,” should be in your mind as you begin your Benchwork. Nothing is more frustrating than starting your layout and finding that something doesn’t fit because you didn’t plan for it. Adding on Benchwork to your Benchwork is a shabby thing to do, and it will never have the same support the rest of your layout has. This causes innumerable problems later on that you’ll also come to regret, also later on.

Helixes and “ramps”

The use of a Helix comes into play when you want a larger layout of more than one level and more running room/space. I’ve seen several different examples of helixes, from two complete turns to up to six! A Helix, however, takes up a generous amount of room, ever more so depending upon how wide of a radius curve you intend to use (this is where “wider is better” comes into play). I am not against the use of helixes. They are a great way to get “more bang for your buck” in a small space. They are, however, a pain to build---and to build correctly. A Helix requires bracing; you can not overdo it. They require gradients because you are climbing to go from one level to another (or vice-versa). A Helix will actually restrict the size of your trains because of gradient and curve radius (so if you enjoy running long trains they might be out). A helix is best used in a corner of a room, but you have to be ever-mindful of access to all parts of it for maintenance or other reasons. When Jan Trierweiler had his home layout in Waupaca, he cleverly hid it in a closet, as, as I recall, did Roger Hildebrandt.

There is a problem of accessing a Helix from all sides, depending upon its placement and the radius of the curves you use. Nothing is perfect.

A helix is not a preferred method of procuring a multi-level layout by each and every modeler. A number of modelers have chosen to use the “ramp” versus the multilevel, constantly turning Helix. Ramps are a bit easier, and fraught with fewer problems associated with curvature, but, they, too, eat up a lot of space, especially if you are trying to get an easier gradient. One gentleman featured in Model Railroading magazine some years ago, was building the entirety of the Maryland & Pennsylvania Railroad using a multi-level shelf layout but using graded ramps instead of a Helix. In this way, the builder was able to include each and every station on the Ma & Pa’s route from York, PA., to Baltimore, MD. Ramps have their drawbacks; gradient being the most obvious. And, of course, you’ll always want the ramp at the rear of the layout, basically hidden from view, and that creates a problem of accessibility.

In closing

To re-iterate this point, also be mindful of “natural phenomena” you intend to add, like ponds, creeks, rivers and, maybe, a shore of a lake (maybe you want the Atlantic or Pacific seaboard, I don’t know), but don’t forget “dry washes” (i.e., lower proclivities in the terrain nature uses naturally for water flow in the spring and fall that are normally dry). These are all things you need to be mindful of later on that your Benchwork will need to have support under as you progress.

There will be other points you will want to include not covered by this subject that will crop-up later on. With good Benchwork it shouldn’t be a problem to add these at a later date.

“73”

Keith