Entry posted by ifoulds
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After leaving the shed for a few weeks once the weather sheeting and siding was put up, I was pretty confident I now had something that was going to withstand the elements and I could start on the benchwork.
I chose to work with 1" x 3" lumber for all the benchwork, partly through research and partly from experience. With my first 8x4ft build many years ago, I used 2x4s. This was down to utter lack of research, admittedly, and figuring 2x4 was strong. It was strong, but it was also very heavy and totally unnecessary. One my second 8x4ft build, I went with 1" x 2" for framing underneath the board itself, and found that was pretty robust, but wouldn't be enough for legs. I was simply resting that board on top of an old table in the garage, so I didn't need much more than that.
For this build, I knew I was going to be building out actual benchwork. A lot of benchwork. A good balance seemed to be with 1" x 3" lumber in that it was relatively cheap and lightweight, but also strong enough to support a layout. I purchased bundles of 8ft lengths for about $22 per dozen boards. For this first part of the benchwork covering the two primary sides that Newcastle station itself will sit on, I think I used 23 x 8ft lengths. There was very little waste as all the supporting pieces for the legs came from the offcuts of the longer lengths.
Here's the first set of benchwork down the right-hand side of the shed. The north side of the station and Castle Keep will be on the right hand side, entering in to the station which will sweep around through the top left-hand side of the benchwork:
The benchwork is set to 40" high, which was a little bit of a compromise on two fronts:
- I have two young girls that really like going to train shows and will be interested (hopefully!) in seeing this layout develop, so I didn't want it to be too high for them to enjoy
- I have some visions of running a shelf layout or two more at eye level, so didn't want to raise Newcastle Central too high and cause problems down the road for any additional layouts
The right-hand side benchwork is 36" deep. The back side benchwork is only 12" deep as it would essentially be the King Edward Bridge (although I'm not going to model that). It's really just to bring all the lines together out of the throat of the south side of the station and then split out for the branchlines that will then run around the perimeter of the layout and what will enter the Tyne Yard. After adding the back benchwork, I then added the diagonal length and supporting benchwork to provide for the curved station track and platforms that give Newcastle station its rather iconic look:
And here I ran in to my first problem.
When I'd been going back and forth on various designs in SCARM over the winter months, I knew the curve of the station was going to cause a problem in terms of eating in to available space and compromising on the fact the grade I listed station building itself was going to up against the shed wall and not really visible. I was okay with that, but didn't really grasp the true scale of what I was going to build until I had this benchwork in place. It's very, very deep when you're standing on that diagonal length looking over where the station will go. I'm tall, at right around 6ft, but I'm looking at almost 6ft to the very back corner. Way too much for m to be able to comfortable model.
I went back in to SCARM and did some measurements. Thankfully, the actual platforms themselves "only" sit about 40-42" back from the front edge of the benchwork. I would likely be on some kind of stool or bench anyway, so this is more manageable. I'd just need to take care in modeling the far side and working towards the front. I think that's possible, knowing up front what I'm getting in to. There shouldn't be anything back there that will require maintenance once the layout is built out, so I'm not concerned about needing to reach electrics or anything. Go big or go home, I guess 
But, I did want to make sure I had all bases covered, so I added a couple more supports and decided to stress test the benchwork...
Not bad for some 1" x 3" boards If needs be, when I'm doing the early scenery work on the far side, the benchwork can comfortably take my weight, provided I'm careful with any track work that has been placed. In hindsight, there's not much I could have done - there's not enough room, or need, for an access hatch. It may be possible to slide that benchwork forward for me to access behind it if needed, I'll see if that's necessary. The great thing about building with 1" x 3" is that this entire segment is light enough that I can lift it by myself. When I add the plywood baseboards, probably not, but it won't be completely unwieldy.
Throughout, I also had my helper - Kenai:
He's been around power tools since he was 10 weeks old, though without opposable thumbs he's less helpful than he thinks he is!
I need to move some of the electrical outlets on the left hand side of the shed where the Tyne Yard will be (and remove some old kitchen appliances that laying down to form a nice workbench for my miter saw!), but I hope to have that completed in the next week or two. Then I can lay the plywood baseboards and really see the layout take shape!
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