Best material to use for a holiday set up?

mdmeyers1982 · December 11, 2011, 03:14:16 PM

Hey guys,

I am currently planning out a set up for my HO scale track. I have some old porcelin houses that light up (holiday stuff passed down from the family) and I am going to make a standard 72''x45'' oval

I have the EZ track as well.. never used it before so I don't know what to expect..

Is there a preferred type of wood/building material that you guys can suggest? I was going to go with 3/4 inch plywood but I live in Texas and the humidity may warp it during the warmer season (storing in a garage) ... so.. any input?

Thanks!
-Mike

Johnson Bar Jeff · December 11, 2011, 04:16:20 PM

Well, I'm not familiar with the Texas climate, but I would think that you should be all right with the plywood for a base, provided you attach the plywood table top to a good frame of 1 x 2's or 1 x 3's. Use screws to attach frame to the table top, not nails. You're talking basically a 4' x 6' table top. Kalmbach published a nice little book called Small Railroads You Can Build that has instructions for building a 4' x 6' table, and even a list of materials. I don't know whether that book is still available, but your local model train shop will probably have a number of good books with instructions on getting started, including building a basic table.

Jeff

Nigel · December 11, 2011, 06:18:37 PM

If you can get it; 2" thick extruded polystyrene (usually pink or blue) is very good, stable over temperature and humidity; and it is strong and light. Paint it with latex paint to simiulate dirt, then add scenery and track on top. Aileene's Tacky Glue works well to hold things (track, buildings, scenery, etc) in place, and yet still is removeable.

You can frame the 2" thick foam with Masonite® (hardboard) - just glue it to the foam, and tack on wood or metal corners.

ForThemPanzerz · December 11, 2011, 10:17:32 PM

foam insulation sheets are good they can support a lot and we use them with our 3 loops on our Christmas layout so it is probably holding about 300 lbs. and it also can be cut into to hide wires and makes the snow look more real

Doneldon · December 12, 2011, 12:56:19 AM

mdm-

Something about your post makes me wonder if you are planning a train layout for under your tree. If so, I would suggest that you use 1/2" exterior plywood with a 1x2 frame. That will be plenty strong enough and yet easy to handle. Be sure than you have solid support under the tree stand or leave the middle open so the tree sits directly on the floor. Extruded insulation is an excellent base material but I wouldn't use it under a Christmas tree. It's really not strong enough for that. At a minimum it will get serious dents and possibly tippy. As for the track, I suggest that you eliminate the 18" curves and 9" straight and replace them with 20" or 22" curves. Your operations and appearance will be better. the 20" curves will easily fit on your 45" wide base; 22" curves will need just a little more. Assuming you are considering an under-tree layout, the narrow space along your tracks shouldn't be an issue because your trains will only be able to fall a couple of inches. If you are building at table height you should consider at least two inches for a safety zone between your track and the layout edges or a 2" barrier, perhaps made from clear plastic, along the edges of your railroad. Be careful that you aren't so close to the edges that trains moving into or out of curves strike the protective walls.

Good luck with your layout and welcome to model railroading. It can add a lot to Christmas and be enjoyed throughout the holiday season and then all year long.
-- D

mdmeyers1982 · December 13, 2011, 02:01:30 PM

Thank you all for the replies.

I settled for a 3/4 '' thick 4x8' sheet of plywood... it is sanded and smooth and looks fairly straight. I would have gone with the foam, but I could not find it at either the Home Depot or Lowes in my are (I thought that was a bit odd)...

Doneldon, I *was* going to do the layout under the tree, but the fact that my entire family is a tall and our tree sits on the floor, I figured I would build a table top set to occupy the dining room area =) I appreciate the advice on curve size, I went ahead and purchased 2 starter kits (The Overland Limited and the Empire Builder) so I hope I can work some cool layouts into the 4'x8' space with those larger radius curves... If not I guess I can try and add more surface area.. (or purchase 20'' track... whichever is more cost effective on the wallet)

Doneldon · December 13, 2011, 05:41:05 PM

mdm-

You purchased two excellent starter sets. You can run a second loop inside the 22" loop with some 18" curves. That would be too tight for your Empire Builder passenger cars but the freights should work just fine. You can run each loop with its own power pack as long as there's no conection between the two loops. If you do connect them, you'll either have to limit yourself to one train at a time, limit how much control you have or electrically isolate the two loops so you can run two trains simultaneously with your two power packs. However, do not ever allow more than one power pack to be connected together or to a common track. Check with us here if you want dual control for two loops connected by a crossover. Separate loops just require their own single feeder from their own single power pack.

Happy Trains and, um, Happy Holidays, too.
-- D

Jhanecker2 · December 13, 2011, 08:55:14 PM

To mdmeyer1982 : Hi !!! To cut down on Warping paint or varnish both sides of the plywood & the edges to reduce moisture transferance. The Overland Limited came with 22" radius track and the 4=8-4 locomotive needs that size curved track or greater. Doneldon is correct about the passenger cars . Unfortunately EZ track does not come in a 20" radius curve. Also get a Book on Model Railroad Wiring , Kalmbach publishes a couple, it will save you alot of Grief. Welcome to the Hobby. Happy Holidays . J2.

Doneldon · December 13, 2011, 11:20:24 PM

Quote from: Doneldon on December 13, 2011, 05:41:05 PM
You can run a second loop inside the 22" loop with some 18" curves.
[/quote

J2-

See above.

-- D

mdmeyers1982 · December 13, 2011, 11:40:33 PM

Haha I'm starting to think I may have a radius problem coming up.... because if the Empire Builder cars need to be above 18" then I need to run that train on the outside... HOWEVER... my other train, the Overland Limited... seems to need 22" radius as well (or so I have read).... looks like I may need some more wood (doh!)... any suggestions on this guys?

On that note... of both loops are 22" radius... how can I fit one inside the other? Is it possible? How about if I added small sections of straight track somewhere in the loop?

Terry Toenges · December 14, 2011, 12:21:56 AM

The small s ections of straights will work. You can put them between the curves or the straights.

mdmeyers1982 · December 14, 2011, 12:35:47 AM

So basically I just need to buy some extensions to make the diameter a bit larger... hmm... how many straights would you suggest I buy and how long? I noticed on the Bachmann online catalog there is a bit to choose from....

Terry Toenges · December 14, 2011, 01:12:33 PM

A 22" radius EZ Track circle is 46" wide on the outside, so you need to go wider than 46".
3" straights would give you 49" on the outside, but you need to worry about the inside.
EZ circle is 42" on the inside, so 3" str. would only give you 45". Thus, you would have to use longer str. 4 1/2" str. would give you 46 1/2, but that only leaves 1/2". Divide by 2 and and you only have 1/4" between tracks.
The next step would be 3" plus 2 1/4" str. which would give you 5 1/4" in st. or 47 1/4". That gives 1 1/4". Divide by 2 and you have 5/8" between tracks. Still pretty close.
Two 3" str. (6") would give you 48" with 1" between tracks. With long rolling stock, that's pretty close on curves.
I would say that a 3" and a 4 1/2" would be the minimum. That gives you 7 1/2" (49 1/2"). 49 1/2" - 46" = 3 1/2". Divide by 2 and you get 1 3/4" between tracks. That should work.

mdmeyers1982 · December 14, 2011, 10:22:08 PM

Well... I got my Empire Builder in the mail today

Set it up as soon as I got home from work... it runs nice and smooth. I've been operating it for a while now at different speeds as the instructions say to do... hopefully that is the safe way to break it in. I was a bit unhappy to find that the domed passenger car does *not* light up... oh well... maybe I can find one that matches with lighting.. I know they are out there.

As for my radius issue... well lets just say I read your post Terry, before my morning coffee and it made my head spin... but I THINK I got it now.. I just need to extend the outer track so they stay a distance apart... I am keeping them both 22" radius, so I went to Home Depot and found a 3/4'' 12'x1' white painted shelf. It is a dense, heavier wood ... so screwing or nailing will be a pain in the butt (I think I'll use glue for most of it anyways) ... I have a door hinge system I am working on at the moment to attach that extra length, and at the same time making it easy to fold under (figure that would make it just a bit easier to move)

so I guess here is the preliminary show while I wait for my Overland to arrive (hoping tomorrow.... because I'm leaving to New Orleans on Friday and will be itching to get home to set it up before Christmas time)

Doneldon · December 15, 2011, 01:15:12 AM

mdm-

Adding straight tracks doesn't change the radius of the curve. While the width of the curve is larger, the curvature remains the same. A short straight section in the middle of a curve is a good way to widen it to get more clearance for an inside loop but it won't let you run longer locos or cars.

If you are upping your layout size to 60" wide, I'd suggest using 26" or 28" curves. When it comes to curves, the broader the better. You'll still be able to have reasonable curves on the inside, at least 22". A second alternative would be to increase your curves just a bit and use one long side of your layout for a yard and some industrial sidings. You can also do a twice around mainline with a crossing, sort of like a figure eight with one loop folded inside the other. The tracks can cross at grade level or you can build the roadbed up so the upper track crosses the lower on a bridge. You can build up the grades with wood and shims, pieces of styrofoam or the preformed graded subroadbed materials from Woodland Scenics. The WS product isn't cheap but it's fast and reliable. It will also let you easily control the steepness of your grades. (Steep is bad; gentle is good.) Layouts with changing elevations are inherently more interesting than those all on the same plane but the downside is that you will need to do a little more scenery and you'll likely find it a bit more difficult to work sidings and spurs into your plan.

If weight is an issue, you can save a little by cutting off the corners. It's usually pretty hard to make good use of all four corners and it doesn't sound like you are interested in setting up switching operations. Also, I suggest that you firmly attach your add-on shelf and lay your track. Only then should you install the hinges. Doing the track work before the hinges will help you have a perfect alignment. Use butt hinges for interior doors which are not only strong but they'll let you remove the shelf all together should you need to do so.

The bad news: I'm convinced you have the bug (only an infected someone would be planning on a larger layout before he even has all of the trains!) The good news: You won't be sorry.
-- D

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Best material to use for a holiday set up?