Any suggestions? Max. Curve 042. O gauge tubular track. If anyone has an 042 switch they want to get rid of just throw it over here. 
any old plasticville items as well. If it's free I'll take it!
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Simple to do. River City 3 Railers has a three section 6' x 11' modular layout w/ tubular track that we have been using for a few years now. A 4' x 8' (to be portable) you're looking at two pieces. You may want to consider scrunching it to 47"x 95". That way you can top it with a single 4' x 8' sheet of plywood. Use a Trim Bit in your router to flush-cut the plywood to the frame. Works like a champ.
Pick a track. Decide on 1-3 loops. Design a track plan. Have at-it.... 027,031,036 and 042 curves all fit the bill. Were it me, I'd be looking at a couple of loops of FasTrack. One 031 and one 036.
Google "FasTrack 4x8 layouts". There's a bunch of good stuff out there....
Our modules are framed with 1" x 4"s with 1" x 3" cross braces w/ 3/32" Luan tops. By using smaller cross-braces, the wiring is easily tucked up inside the module(s). The tops are attached with screws and Liquid nails panel adhesive. Frames are fabricated with Kreg pocket screws and Gorilla glue. This makes for very light, yet strong modules.
Legs are 2x2's with fabricated sockets in the corners. Budget wise, you're looking at about $500 to build this.
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To get more action in that space, I definitely wouldn't go bigger than O36. I would stick with Plasticville structures too, which means "traditional size" (not scale) trains, unless it's a small switcher. Most traditional locos are pretty happy on the smaller radii. I would probably use Ross O31 or even Atlas O27 to build this.
At least 2 panels and maybe three. (A 4x4 panel with framing, wiring, track, etc., can be quite heavy for one person to handle, unless you're a pro wrestler or an NFL hopeful. Everyone drives SUVs these days, but if you don't, it might not load into your car!)
Good luck and please post some photos of what you built, how you joined the sections, and what the finished product looks like all set-up!! Thanks for sharing!
Thanks guys but I've had the table built for about a year now and it's on top of a collapsible table. The table was built for that purpose and was given an outer frame for support and a layer of 4x8 foam insulation board on top of the 4x8 sheet of plywood
