Well I have a couple of comics for everyone today. These I think display well my current temperment as I get back into the hobby. (Experiancing quite a bit of excitement as I do!)
Walt – Toy Train Overdose
First Eight Strips
Hope those brought a smile to your face! Now I have to get back to work and stop reading the Märklin forums/groups.
Technorati Tags: Märklin, Marklin, Model Trains, Comics, Model Railroader
Well I haven’t made any progress since building the table. Picking up the train stuff over Christmas break.
One of the best finds I have made is another yahoo group. MarklinBandG. Anyone interesting in Marklin trains – I highly recommend this group. I asked one question – trying to catch up on the change from analog track to the new digital sytem and had multiple answers within a few hours.
As I posted to the group, partly going Marklin because that is what we have, but also biased towards Marklin HO as that is what I remember as a kid. I still remember picking out a train in a Marklin store in Germany.
Anywho – best bet at this point is going to be taking an inventory and comparing model numbers with the group to determin what works with what. (Since I have been out of the loop for 15 years and am playing catchup.)
Technorati Tags: Marklin, Model Trains, yahoo groups
Here is the measurements and layout of the table.
Don’t have a track layout yet, but getting there. Talked about it with my dad and he might have a few ideas there as well. (Might even be able to find the design/specs of the table he had when I was a kid.)
So – getting started… and that has been fun. (Reminder this is going to be a HO scale build.)
Well I ended up having a little more initiative and time today than I thought I would.
Shane was over and helped me finish putting this together. 2×4s for the frame with the quarter inch plywood attached on the top. Screws were spaced around 6 inches apart to prevent any vibrations.
The table was also securely attached to the shelf that is the same level as it. This provided greater stability and will also add a little extra space for track/layouts.
I will keep documenting this as I progress. It was fun today and look forward to coming up with a track layout. (Already been soliciting my dad for ideas 
)
Well I picked up some wood from the hardware store today. I have decided on a 4×8ft table.
The plan is to use the 4×8ft plywood sheet as the surface of the table. Underneath it I am building a square frame out of the 2×4s. Then the 1×4s will be crossbars for extra stability and support. (Screwing the plywood down into the crossbars will also reduce vibrations as well from the trains and any track movement.
Technorati Tags: Model trains, woodworking, design, benchwork
I have been participating in an online group, HOrailroading, on yahoo and have learned some great things on this topic. First of all – the benchwork is the most important part to me right now. Depending on how I build it, the size and shape, is going to dictate where and how I lay track to a point.
One of the guys on the group sent this link, on “Building Model Railroad Benchwork.“ It is an excellent primer (or recap) for a rookie like me. I am covering various things in that article that I vaguely remember by Dad doing growing up, but never really concerned myself with the why.
Past the actual wood base, I have been trying to figure out what else I should know before construction starts. We actually had a very interesting discussion this morning via the group on what goes inbetween the track and the plywood. I hadn’t considered this, but realized the importance of considering this pretty quickly. The noise reduction could be important, but the vibration dampening even more so. (I am assuming that over the long term, vibrations could impact track joints, wiring, scenery, etc.)
Two suggestions came in, with a few variations on them as well. The first being corkboard and the second being homasote. (Some types of foam were suggested as well, but the corkboard and homasote rung a bell with me.) Since I will be building with Märklin track, and it already has a bed, heigth could become an issue with something too think. It was also suggested that cork (or foam/homasote) under the mainline and branch lines, but not under yard/siding works just as well. When I start developing the layout I am going to have to look into that. That sounds like it would be a nice cost saving measure with little to no impact in noice/vibration levels. Height being the one issue I haven’t figured out yet.
The discussion is actually still going, but already I have learned some things, and discovered areas that I should keep in mind as I learn more and work on developing my own railroad.
Technorati Tags: Märklin, Model Railroading, Hobby Trains, Benchwork
