The Birth of Benchwork

So lets start building a layout. The B&SW (above) has 4, 3'x5' sections to make the overall 6'x10' layout. Lumber is all 3/4 inch birch plywood ripped into 6"x8' strips.

8' strips were cut into 3' and 5' long pieces that were constructed into a box (pictured above)

Since this layout is my first I wanted to try a few different construction techniques. The B&SW has two different tops, half the layout has a 2" foam top and the other half has 1/2" plywood with 1/2" foam top.

The picture above gives you an idea on how I braced the 2" foam top, the other half is braced similarly just feature the plywood and foam top.

The top down view shows the other braces in the opening in upper right that will have the branch built at a 2" higher than the rest of the layout.

This picture shows the finish section with the hardware for the folding legs from Lee Valley Tools (PN 00T16.10). It also shows how close the legs are to touching to allow just enough clearance to allow them to close.

Final this gives you an idea of the simi-finish product, you can see the plywood top on the left and the foam only top on the right.

The final product is seen above with the foam top glued down. You can see the fasttracks skeleton switches on the layout. The height of the layout is 50", this is based off of my Free-mo experiences and I think can give a more realistic viewing height.

B&SW Philosophy

I think it is important to have a philosophy for a railroad, it helps to set a time, place and feel to a model railroad layout. I have always found that a layout with a good philosophy and good direction is more believable. This layouts namesake was a shortline railroad and then a branch of the Eire and Erie Lackawanna railroad that ran from Buffalo, NY, south to Jamestown, NY. This layout will be similarly located in the Buffalo area in the time from of 1960-1968. The railroad will be own and operated by the Buffalo Creek RR and will see locomotives from the EL, NYC, LV, PRR and Buffalo Creek RR. The layout is 6' x 10' consisting of an interchange (top), a yard (right) and 3 towns. This layout will be my first so I am trying out a few things. First the layout will need to be portable since I am in the Air Force and will be moving every 4 or so years. That being the case the layout is section in 4 3'x5' sections allowing it to be moved. This is also why the framework is made of 3/4" birch plywood riped into 6" strips.

The layout will also feature a few different benchwork types, the two sections on the right will be made of a plywood top with 1/2" foam top where the two on the left will be just 2" of foam. Track will be code 83 on the main, 70 on the yard and siding with a few places of code 55. Ties will be the central valley tie strips on a combination of campers tape and homabed roadbed. This is an idea given to me by the latest Model Railroader special Realistic Reliable Track.

Construction started on 11 Nov 2009, Veterans day.

So it begins

After much armchair railroading for many a year, it is time to jump in and here is where I will document what I am doing