Reply to "UPDATE: WE ARE LIVE !!! - Office Lobby Shelf Layout"

Neal:  My curves are all slightly different.  Most are between 050 and 060, but there are a few near 045.  It's all flextrack with gargraves screws.  080 should be fine for your big engines, but make sure you check their ratings if you put any monsters up there.  I don't have any large engines because mine is double-tracked and those long Superliners (or long engines) would have trouble clearing the consists on the opposite main, when into a curve.

For your brackets, I would check to see if you can bend them with your hands.  If so, I recommend you exchange them for something thicker.

This is the first 8X10 I ever put up there.  It was a test for overall strength.  I even took a hammer to the thick brackets to see if I could bend one before I screwed it to the board.  This board convinced me I had enough support for the whole project.  You can see there are only four brackets holding it up, two big and two small.

Putting a bracket that won't bend on every 16 should give you plenty of support.  Your other ideas about additional support should solve any issues that come up.  Plywood is fine, most guys use plywood on their layouts.  I couldn't because it had to match what was already there, and I like the look of the stained and sealed boards.  I put a lot of time into each one, sanding and sealing three times.  Oh, yeah, since this is my basement, I make sure the dehumidifier is running, spring, summer, and fall.

This pic shows one way to put things together.  You can't dowel perpendicular boards at both ends, so you fasten one end with these small connectors.  You can also see the large bracket coming under the roadbed, and the gaps in the roadbed for that bracket and the next board.   I glued the roadbed to each board, and screwed down as much track as I could before putting it up.  Pre-drill the ties where screws will go, slide the connecting track together, then use a short handled driver to put them through the roadbed and into the wood.  In my case, I only have 7 1/2 inches to work with up there.

Yeah, I'd never doweled anything either.  You need that doweling tool.  You'll find packets of dowels where you buy your wood.  I recommend 1/4 inch by 1 inch.  Three dowels in each board.  Not only does it add overall strength, your pieces should fit together perfectly with no sagging edges between boards.

Sounds like you're about to have a great experience doing this project.  Looking forward to seeing it....

Jerry