My New Lego Train Table

[Hhmarshall]

So my first table were odds and ends of plywood joined together by plywood scraps underneath and placed on my dining room table.

It was, in a word... rough.

With the removal of the dining room table, an opportunity arose to build a new table in the basement under the stairs which doubles as the dogs "pound".

The goal was to maximize space while leaving clear paths to get to the laundry room and the dogs area under the stairs. Also, there was a pillar to deal with.

I started by staring at the space until my eyeballs ached. I really didn't want to make mistakes after cutting.

Finally I came up with this sketch:

Everything looks right on paper though. I decided to tape it out, to be sure it would work:

The dimensions worked out to be 7.5 x 9.16 feet with an access space of just under 3 x 3 feet in the middle. I decided to abandon the "L" shape in favour of a square.

Time to cut wood! Specifically, 3/4 inch plywood from Home Depot. I hate warping and uneven surfaces so I went thick.

In deference to my family, I made the decision to add some rubber shelf liner material for noise reduction

My last table I painted the plywood green. This time I went with vinyl cloth. My wife did an amazing job wrapping it for me.

A table needs legs. These came from my local Canadian Tire 2 to a pair. To prevent bowing, I added a third leg to the long sections.

The short sections got one leg each. The braces were added to level the connecting edges.

Finally, as a finishing touch, it was decided to add skirting to the table.

Ta Da!

Now to the Nitty Gritty: Budget. The total cost was $426. It was more than I budgeted, but I was willing to spend a little more to make it look good. The skirting in particular was a bit pricey, but I figure If i'm going to blow all this cash on plastic, I can at least have a good space to put it on, especially since I don't use base plates.

So overall I had a great experience making this. I am NOT a handy person, but I pulled this off (with help from my wife) and I feel very proud whenever I come down and see what I built with my own hands. I also like that it is modular and can be added to (or rearranged) in the future.

for now, it's time to plan my layout! Here's what I've got in mind (note the bridge):

Thanks for reading!

Edited December 1, 2013 by Hhmarshall

[AussieJimbo]

Great job.

The vinyl top is an excellent addition.

:classic:

[timmyc1983]

Wow, you have a great space and the table/s look really good, much better than my bodged together shelves I made for my layout

Greta work and I look forward to seeing some shots of your completed layout, happy building

[eurotrash]

Are you confident you can lean far enough over the layout to reach the rail sidings area? Otherwise you may want to flip the design and have the sidings area closest to the bottom right of your diagram? But good job on the build - it looks solid and robust!

[dr_spock]

Good work. I like your vinyl top idea. Does it work as a non-slip surface?

You must be a fellow Canadian if you shop at Canadian Tire.

[Garrcomm]

I'm looking forward to the bridge design.

Also, I have to agree with eurotrash, can you reach the back? :)

[zephyr1934]

To my eye the sidings look like they can be reached when needed. However, if you are switching out by hand, it might get a little old having to crawl under the tables and avoid the bridge every time you want to swap out cars.

At some point you might want to modify your layout such that you have two independent tracks either with a loop inside a loop (double track) or changing the way you segment the current large loop (right now it looks like all combinations of switch alignments will route you through the lower left corner). Then again, juggling two trains together on one line can be a fun challenge too. I presume you are using PF trains, otherwise, some of the loops would short out 9v.

In any event, if you find any facets of your design to be frustrating in operation, you can always go back and layout your track in a different way in the future (your tables will allow for a lot of quick changes).

The bridge across the hole is a great idea.

[nesquik]

Great work! It's always nice to do some DIY and to bask in the glory

[skriblez]

Very nice table and layout for the track :)

[LEGO Train 12 Volts]

Wow brilliant work!

I want to see your progress...

[WaysofSorting]

I'm green with envy. About the same shade as the vinyl. This is great. Can't wait to see it built up - please keep the forums updated.

My collection has been perpetually in transit, it seems for the past 7 years. I keep moving and packing and moving and packing - I really can't wait until I settle into a space where I can build a table like this!

Good inspiration!

[kieran]

Love it, looking forward to the final result