This was my attempt at creating a dust cover for the railroad. Yes, there's a 4'x6' HO scale railroad under that sheet. I say 'was' because I have scrapped this idea altogether. Getting the sheet up and over the hoops then off again would have wreaked havoc on the poor occupants of the town below, knocking down trees and sending people and autos and maybe even locomotives to the floor below. That will never do.
Here are the wire hoops, minus the sheet. Had the sheet been easier to put in place I could have shortened the hoops to cover the ends fully. But that wasn't the only problem. The end hoops were being pulled inward by the weight of the sheet. Reinforcing the hoops somehow would run counter to the simplicity and ease of operation I was shooting for. This idea, in theory held up but in practice, wasn't sound.
Finally, here is an image of the brass tubing I used as a hoop guide to keep the wire from enlarging the hole over time. Removing and installing the stiff wire hoops was not difficult. However, with four hoops evenly spaced, two of the tubes ended up in streets and one in a future parking area. Sure, I could place an auto over the hole, but I'd have to move them each time I wanted to install the wires. Not ideal.
So what to do? I called in my wife and we put our heads together. After a brief brainstorm we arrived at the same conclusion. I will build a lid. The lid will contain lighting. LED lighting. I will install pulleys and a winch to raise the lid and it will become a valance. Yes, I know, I detest valences. This one will be different. Hopefully.
Galen, this is Russ Bellinis again. Why not build a light weight box to go over the top of the layout? Use luan plywood with 2x2 braces in the 4 corners, and handles on the ends to lift it off. You could use aluminum angle pieces in the corners if you would prefer. The height would only need to be an inch or so taller than the tallest item on the layout.
ReplyDeleteYes - this is exactly what I'm thinking. I have some Masonite but Lauan would be lighter. Instead of lifting it off by hand I will rig it with pulleys and a winch to raise it. This way I can put LED light strips inside the box. There's a convenient plug in the rafters just above the railroad.
DeleteMaybe corrugated plastic sheeting for either a lid or valence? Maybe consider adding an edge to the layout's perimeter so the lid will have something to hold it in place. I've seen 4'x8' sheets of this material.
ReplyDeleteJim - I will look into the corrugated plastic. It would be lighter than Lauan, though I may want to use wood for the sides just for the appearance and the plastic for the top to reduce weight. The trim strip I installed on the fascia is wide enough for a lid to rest on, I just need to make sure the edge of the lid has a strip around it to align the lid with the fascia. The challenge will be the custom cuts on the corner where the scenery dips down.
DeleteI've seen sheets of corrugated plastic at the local Home Depot.
DeleteMade a trip over to HD to check prices and availability. Ours has the corrugated plastic in 4'x8' or 3'x6' sheets. The 4x8 is just over $20, while a 4x8 sheet of 1/4" lauan ply is $22. I haven't yet made an accurate plan but I may end up getting both - the corrugated material for the top, and ply for the sides, with lathe strips and quarter round for the framing. One advantage of the plastic - the self-stick LED strips prefer a smooth, glossy surface rather than a porous surface like wood.
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