Building my N scale layout as of 5-22-21

Before actually buying the materials, the actual conditions and limitations need to be thought through.  

First is what exists in the room at the beginning of the build.  The four corners of the room are shown in the following chart:

As shown in these pictures. The top of the window molding is 14.25 inches from the ceiling.  The to of the door molding is 12.5 inches down.  The door molding is 2.5 inches wide. So the shelf could be place 15 inches from the ceiling and not infringe on the door walk way.  

Here is a quandary.  

1. Shelf height is 1/2 “
2. T-track module height is 2 3/4” (minimum)
3. Ceiling
   1. 11 “ above track bed for shelf at window molding top.
   2. 13.5” above  for shelf at bottom of door molding
4. Either limits sky board

Previously have been thinking that 1. Was the right choice.  Now it is clear that 2. is a much better plan.

The next thing to think about is what is actually there to support the shelves.  Fortunately, we built the house in 2017 and were around to take pictures during the construction.  You never have the right picture, but something removes a lot of guess work. The following chart shows the walls before the wall board was installed.

The room is a 13 x 9.5 space between the kitchen on the east & the garage on the west (the directions are relative to the layout schematic.  The window wall on the north is an outside wall made from concrete blocks, a moisture barrier with furring strips.  The south wall has the door coming from the laundry room.
The west wall adjoining the garage has wood studs with close to 16 inch centers. The furring strips on the north wall also look to be close to 16 inch centers. The east wall adjoining the kitchen has metal studs that look to be on 22 inch centers. The south wall has a packet door. The is wood framing for that. The vertical studs appear to be metal(it is hard to see what they are exactly).

1. determine how the shelves are to be hung on the wall
   1. this includes
      1. the wall bracket
      2. The bracket spacing
      3. the number of brackets required

To facilitate the understanding the following charts were developed:

Here the north wall cross section is examined

• the shelf brackets in this case are 8 x 6 right angle brackets set at a nominal 15 in from the ceiling. The actual height will be set at one place, & the shelves will be held level around the room.
• the shelf in this case is 1/2 in thick 12 inch wide plywood. The length of the shelf will be specified later.
  
  • the shelf system will be level in all planes & joined with metal end brackets (TBD).
  • the shelves & brackets will be painted the room wall color before installation.
  • the number of wall brackets is still TBD.
• At this point. The thought is that all modules will be built on a base board. Nominally, at this time a 3/4 in MDF board is likely an appropriate choice. Again the board will be painted before use.
• the staging module is shown in black. It is a total of six inches wide & 2 3/4 high(the minimum T-track).
  
  • thus is thought to be a permanently fixed structure.
  • likely made from the same MDF material as the base
  • should only be two modules covering the 13’ length of the north wall
• the green module is an 8” T-track notional module
  • the exact configuration will vary from module to module.
  • on this wall they will be 8 in deep x 2 3/4 high.
  • these modules will be made mobile
    • a robust bolting arrangement required.
    • all electrical connections shall be a reliable quick connect type.
    • all objects on surface will be permanently fixed.

in several instances the T- track by module can be 14 inches wide. The chart above shows this situation. With 12 inch shelves, this appears to be sufficiently supported.

the chart above shows the cross section for 8 & 12 inch T-track module options. Clearly if the 14,inch is fine, than these would be also. In doing this, the realization that it is desirable to have the same width shelf. In the previous charts it is clear that a 12 inch shelf is desirable. In that case that sets the minimum module width. So for all but the north wall the modules are 12 to 14 inches will be the choice.

during the evolution to the full layout, the return loops will need to be supported with the same shelf system. The above chart shows the worst case overhang. It is marginal. Since these modules are considered mobile but temporary, the structure can be reinforced to minimize the droop.

5-10-21

due to a blog dicussion on MRH: https://model-railroad-hobbyist.com/node/42657

the width & number of staging tracks have been increased. Because of this, the north wall shelf has been changed to 14 inches. The new staging module width is 8 inches. The number of staging tracks has Ben increased from 3 to 5. Two east bound & 2 west bound & one through for now. When layout is complete it will be assigned as direction.

5-14-21

spent the last several days working the material issues.

1. Decided the shelves should be 3/4 plywood.
   
   1. 12 inches wide
   2. except the north wall which will be 14 inches.
2. Still pondering the modules & possibly the staging.
   1. Currently favor the staging be a mix of plywood & MDF. (5-22) staging will all be plywood
   2. But the MDF could be OSB.
3. The shelves require 2 sheets of plywood. This is enough for the shelves & allof the staging, with some left for potential module bases.
   
   1. plus additional module pieces.
4. There is a lot of support for using 3/16 in foam core for the modules: https://model-railroad-hobbyist.com/node/42683

The plywood cut lines are shown in the following chart:

the first piece takes six cuts & the second takes eleven cuts. This configuration yields the entire staging and 2 24 inch module bases.

at this point there are lots of options for the modules. It seems prudent to build a few of different kinds to see which work best in this layout.

need to make the decision on the shelves & staging material & get it installed.

the staging track plan is shown below:

the initial build of the layout is shown in the following:

The next steps are:

1. Acquire the plywood pieces
2. Acquire the shelf brackets & gussets.
3. install the shelves at the base of the door molding.
4. Decide on the design of the staging modules
   1. attachment
   2. automation techniques & materials
   3. wiring scheme for DCC
      1. materials
   4. Acquire track for staging
5. assemble the staging area.
6. Test as appropriate
7. Initiate work:
   1. first corner module
   2. return loops