Sorry that my pictures got posted before I could comment. I’ve the advantage of having a friendly neighbor who has lots of top notch woodworking equipment in his shop and knows how to use it! After we built the 16x8 layout, he decided a red oak rail around it would add a finishing touch. So of course when I asked about shelves, we made those out of the same material. The shelves are 110” each, and hung on the wall using industrial rated z-bar (400lb rating). I considered grooving the shelves, but I really wanted to be able to power the locos on the shelves, so we ended up using FastTrack instead, and I’m glad that we did! The look of surprise on folk’s faces when the locos on the shelves start up and light up is priceless! They’re all Legacy, so they stay put, and I don’t move them even an inch! I was also concerned about flat spots on my traction tires, but then realized the shelves are more of a staging area for my locomotives and not a display space. I typically rotate them out every 3-4 weeks, and so far, I’ve had no issues. The next project (we start tomorrow) is to build shadowboxes (6” depth) under the two ends of the display. Each will be 85” long and 28” high, with only 3 shelves. I know that I could have fit 4 in each, but I like to have more room to see the rolling stock (and dust it) so I’m splitting the space between only 3. Will send pictures when those are done. I’m planning to use LED Lightstrips in aluminum channels mounted on the shelf above to illuminate the trains. It will likely take a few weeks to finish, as we’re both pretty meticulous. I’ll end up with another 42 feet of display space though, so it will be worth it! Sorry that this didn’t make it on the same post as the photos.
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