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Reply to "1x4 lumber for benchwork"

D500 posted:

If your layout requires that you walk around on it, you have the wrong design, room or scale. Really. Never mind the lumber. Even - or especially - with layouts, Less is often More.

Inconvenience is the enemy of enjoying a layout, and climbing around on the layout has to top the inconvenience list.

Better to go to HO or S is it helps you access everything.

I, too, totally disagree.  There are many situations that require one to stand on a layout - apply ballast to remote areas, changing light bulbs, routine maintenance, or constructing items closer to walls.

It's better to plan for these activities with access hatches or holes.  Here's an example from my PRR Panhandle 2, now under construction.  I have a Staging Area where someone can swap loaded cars for empties, vice-versa, and make up trains.  The area has storage racks for extra cars;  getting to those requires someone to stand on the layout.  

The Staging Area also has access to the only window in the basement, which has a fan for exhausting smoke and built-up heat.  Reaching the fan to turn it on/off and to open/close the window requires standing on the layout.

The dark, smudgy areas are designated spots for standing on the layout although one can stand anywhere on it.  It's strong enough.  Construction is a ribbing of 2"x2" with a 5/8" plywood table top.  The blue section at the top is the window.  The white areas are holes in the table top for the operator to do his/her thing with cars and trains.  The green vertical line is the divider (with backdrop) between the rest of the layout and the Staging Area.  It has display racks on it.  So does the wall to the extreme right (above the double cross-over).

PRR Panhandle 2.0 v036-Right-Cropped

George

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  • PRR Panhandle 2.0 v036-Right-Cropped

OGR Publishing, Inc., 1310 Eastside Centre Ct, Suite 6, Mountain Home, AR 72653
800-980-OGRR (6477)
www.ogaugerr.com

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