I'm starting to plan my first train layout in ~30 years. I'm thinking about doing something similar to the kid-friendly layout in the December 2015 issue of CTT. The basic idea is:
* 7x14 feet, with a duck under and cutout in the center, made up of 4 rectangular pieces of plywood cut from 3 4x8 sheets.
* The rear portion of the layout is covered with a mountain with a second level of track (no grades on layout). This mountain/second level spans 3 of the pieces of plywood that make up the lower level.
Ideally, I would like to have the layout on wheels so I can move it a little bit for construction and maintenance (to build a layout this size I will need to put it in a corner). And I would like to be able to take it apart without destroying it if I ever move. I am not going to disassemble it on a regular basis, I would just like to be able to break it into pieces that will fit through a door and put it back together again if I ever need to do that at some point down the road (like if I move, which I have no plans to do in the foreseeable future).
I can think of some crazy ways to go about building this which may or may not work, and which I'm pretty sure would be laughed at by someone who has actually built a "large" layout before (I know this isn't large by O-gauge standards, but the layouts of my youth were 4x8 HO). Can anyone give me a starting point for how to approach the benchwork, given the desires above? Or am I asking for too much here?
Thanks for any advice.
