Hi,

4 months ago poor health forced me to move into an "over 55s lifestyle village" - which has actually turned out to be fantastic place.

I'm now ready to build a layout in half of the double car garage - that gives me about a 6.0 x 2.4 space to work with. I have obtained approval for a layout and also air conditioning of the garage which should happen on January 13th (Australia - its currently 42.6C outside - absolutely no chance of a white Christmas but did I spot two eastern brown snakes here last week as consolation - second most venomous snake in the world).

Where I'm stuck is a condition that says the layout cannot be permanently attached to any wall and must allow 500mm access to the walls OR be able to be moved by one person.

Being able to move the layout myself during construction and maintenance could be a great help and possibly allow for a larger layout because of the improved access.

Are there any recommendations on the best way to go? Is a movable layout just a really, really bad idea? I have access to LOTS of the tables as shown below - would they be suitable as a base to build on? The concrete floor is flat and very smooth so things should roll quite easily.

Cheers and thanks, Mark.

Thanks cookee,

That desk is available in both locking and non-locking varieties - so good advice there - will make sure I get the right type. They are pretty rigid and the floor is very smooth and level.

I would bolt/screw 1200x600x9 or better marine ply sheets to the tables and lock them together with 50x25 or so runners. I used 2400x1200x16mm marine ply sheets for the last layout - all free and I thought it was a good idea but it was super heavy and damn awkward to handle. I'll go full digital over C track so should only need a few track feed points to run under the woodwork.

My doctors tell me to keep it simple and be realistic so I think something quick and simple will be the go.

Cheers and thanks,

Mark

2.4-0.5=1.9m, Unless my math is wrong that gives you half a metre of scenic between the half metre gap and an R5 loop. Why not just leave a gap and use an island of fixed benchwork?

My whole board depth is 0.26m, so I see 1.9m as quite generous. ;)

I wouldn't worry about putting boards on top, but what I would do is use suitcase style latches underneath to hold the tables together so they move as a single unit. Something like these is what I am thinking of. That way when you move the layout the whole thing moves as a single unit, but can be broken down if needed.

If you are looking to do proper scenery over the joins between tables some duct or masking tape across the join will allow the scenery products to glue down. Another way is to have scenic breaks (mini tunnels?) at the joins so each table becomes a modular scene that could potentially be used standalone, in a manner similar to the N modular standard in the USA or the Fremo standard in Europe.

I would suggest thinking along the lines of the Fremo standard as you plan what you could do, and then modify that as suits you.