Many people design and build a table to place their model railway on top of. This can be difficult. Some people use a piece of plywood or a table top, but they have limits.
Many model railroad designers want to use many landscapes and track designs. Plywood and table top tracks impede, since you can only run the track on a flat surface. For this reason, many model railroad designers decide to build their own model train table.
The first step to building your own table is deciding what size it will be, how much each section will weigh, and what your track layout will be. Sections of your train tracks that feature lots of scenery may need additional support. Using an L-girder has become the standard way to support specific sections of your track since it is adaptable to your needs and provides more than enough reinforcement and strength.
Building your bench with L-girder supports is a good choice because it is very strong, inexpensive, and easy to configure. Such a structure is made of a platform that utilizes girders, joists, and cross braces. These pieces work together to support your model train design. Joists do not have to be spaced at equal distances, but they tend to be separated by eighteen inches each.
You should be careful when choosing what lumber you will use to build your structure. For both the support piece and the tabletop itself, you need flat pieces that will not interfere with your train's move. Since some of the lower priced lumber that you can buy will actually warp, it would be in your best interests to purchase a better grade of wood.
Since you may have to transport your model train set and its accompanying display table to another location, a layout that is greater in size than one 4 x 8 piece of plywood should still use the parts that are not any larger than that. You can do this by placing joints in between the bench work cross members. Also, leave access to the wood screws and support risers from underneath your table.
Building your model train table in this manner will keep your scenery from getting damaged when you are trying to hunt down a lost screw. Be especially careful to not make the wood split where you place your supports. That means not using screws that are too large or placing them in the wrong location.
If you want to be able to get to your scenery easily, you can make cuts in the wood, but these need to be carefully planned out and taken into consideration when designing your supports. Some people cut holes in the wood before setting up the track, while others choose to do so afterwards.
Making a model train table that you will truly love requires a great deal of planning, but if you take the time to do so you will be extremely happy with your finished product.