@0-Gauge CJ posted:...
Going back to your first reply, Mallard, can you share some additional insight on the cookie-cutter method? I looked around for some info and I saw a reference to it in a HO video when they were discussing a grade. The sense I got was that they cut out the wood table where the grade started up until where the grade was complete, at which point a brand new piece of wood became the base for the upper level. Beyond that I did not get a clear idea of what cookie-cutter refers to.
If my guess about cookie cutting is actually correct, then I may do be open to some cookie cutting, but I don't want to do it for the whole layout. A driving motivation for having a two-level layout is storage track hiding under the upper level. The lower storage level will allow for very primitive railroad operations without taking things off the track. Is it still possible to keep an 8" space between levels with L-girder benchwork? I am going to commit to researching L-girder track and give serious thought to designing it either way, but I would like to know ahead of time if I am going to need to factor in a layout design change.
Your guess about cookie-cutter sounds like it's essentially correct. You can build the lower base from L-girder and then make your upper platform with 1x2 and a 1/4" plywood top. (Building the upper section with L-girder would rob you of clearance for your staging area, and it would be way stronger than needed.) Raise it up with a few short 1x2 or 2x4 supports, and use plywood subroadbed for the grades from one level to another.
In case it helps, here are a couple of pics of my benchwork. The leg sets are made from 2x2 (2x4 ripped in half); the gussets are glued and screwed - the glue keeps it from racking. The decking is 3/8 or 1/2 plywood (can't remember). No sags, no problems.
