S Scale Train Display Shelves/Cases - Dimensions

Here is a shot of one I made.  It is 24" high and 82" long, purely to fit my space, and the shelves are 6" apart on center.  I find this to be perfect spacing.  But you could maybe squeeze one more shelf in, depending on how big your hands are and how coordinated or clumsy you are!  The shelves are made of 1X4s, making them 3-3/8" deep. This seems to me to be optimum also for S scale.  The 24" height makes attaching 2' X 4' 1/4" plywood as a back easy.  Very little sawing was involved.

I notice you are considering grooving the shelves rather than laying track.  That is an excellent idea if you have the tools to do it neatly.  In such a case, you probably could squeeze in one more shelf, given that the AF track takes up so much vertical space.

Hi TrainsRMe,

Thanks for the reply.  Great looking display.  I especially like the size comparison to the g scale passenger cars above!  I guess I should try to make the shelves as long as possible to fit more cars in a row.  I do like using the idea of using track on the shelves, but in order to save some space and the cost of additional track I thought grooving the shelves would be a good way to go.

Mike A.

"but in order to save some space and the cost of additional track I thought grooving the shelves would be a good way to go."

     I groove the shelves on my wall storage but only groove for the wheels closest to the wall, this lets the cars lean back a bit( like superelevation) so they are less likely to fall off if bumped while sorting the cars on the shelves. My wall shelves are 1 by 4 pine about 8 inches apart,they were built to hold O scale stuff so could be spaced a little closer for S scale. I'd use the height of the tallest S scale car plus the height of your hand when holding it so you can slide them in easily.  ...DaveB

Excellent idea. Thanks!

daveb,

I agree with Gary.  That is an excellent idea and thanks for the response about the height.

Mike A.

Mark,

That is some phenomenal work!  You are very creative and a true craftsman.  Well thought out and I really like the doors and lighting.  Thank you for posting the pictures.  I hope you don't mind me stealing some of your ideas!

I also like the stepped displays.  They help squeeze more cars in vertically and are a brilliant way to showcase that impressive collection of SHS reefers. 

One question - do the transformers in the first picture operate anything?

Mike A.