Building a new 4 x 8' layout.

Trains, I love them. I've wanted to build a permanent pike for the last 25 years or so, so when I opened up SPTrains.com, I took the plunge and devoted a 4' x 8' area of the store to an HO Layout. The first step in the process was to create a layout table. I used 10) 2 x4 x 8' and cut one of them in half this allowed me to run 3 of the 2 x 4' s along the full length, and then the 2) 2x4x4' pieces on the two sides.

I cut the rest of the 2 x 4's in half and ran cross braces every two feet, so I ended up with a grid that looked like

+----+----+----+----+
|    |    |    |    |
+----+----+----+----+
|    |    |    |    |
+----+----+----+----+

Each open area is 2'x2' so there is plenty of support for the lightweight scenery shell. The remaining 2x4's I cut to 40" long and put 2 of them together to create a 4 x 4 post, anchoring these to each side to create legs. I chose a 40" height because it works well with a stool, and keeps the trains out of reach of young children, while providing a great viewing height for standing as well.

I used 1/2" MDF for the top and for a shelf that I use for controls and electrical elements.


Here is how the table turned out sitting in a corner of the store.
I added casters on the bottoms of the legs so that I can move it around easily.