This is the layout that Peter designed to fit in my cabin in Stratford upon Avon, England. He’d previously designed another layout in a different building so when I contacted him some weeks later to say I’d decided to change buildings and I needed another layout design I think he thought it was another April fool ! He once again took on the challenge and this time he managed to squeeze in ALL of the items on my wish list. Top man ! I’m well on the way with the build, starting at the desk end and working my way towards the dreaded staging/helix ! Although I have the drawings for this area this video has been immensely helpful as you can see it’s pretty complicated !🤓 For anyone looking to get a new railroad plan I would highly recommend him. I was very happy with the service and inspired design and a real gent to deal with. Thank you once again Peter.
@@williambryant5946 I was only hired for the design. The customer will be building it himself, so the build videos are out of my hands. Maybe with the customer's permission I will someday be able to present a slideshow of the construction photos he is taking.
@@mpeterll Yes I understood that and that is why I asked under the costumers comment where the build videos where. I was asking him. If I was asking you I would have not commented under a comment rather I would have made my own comment to ask the question. Just a mix up in communication.
William Bryant - no videos I’m afraid, but I will be taking pics as I go along that I will share with Peter. He perhaps might put these on his channel. Cheers.
What can I say Peter !! You are the best.. thanks for sharing and keep up the great work.. can’t wait to get my layout started again in the new shed.. thanks again Lance
Thank you for sharing this part of the design phase. I've always wondered about the benchwork part of a design when I see them. This is like designing 2 layouts at the same time. I totally enjoy your videos and your knowledge, especially when it comes to the stuff that you don't see when it's done.
Yes that's exactly right. Designing a double-deck layout is designing two interconnected layouts that have to work well together and fit in basically the same footprint. Of course, an added complexity is that one has to always keep the structure in mind, placing further limitations on the design. Usually, a problem encountered during construction is the result of something missed during the design.
Great video. I can see you understand the engineering involved. I've already designed my layout, but not so much the actual structural members of the benchwork, but I noticed that some of my general ideas were backed up by what you did, which gave me renewed confidence in my design, but I did get a number of good ideas from your excellent video. One thing I'm going to do, is on the second level above a lower yard on the first level, I'm going to put a sturdy metal beam across a 13-foot gap, with a threaded rod suspended from the ceiling if necessary. I will partially camouflage the rod with the tall chimney of an industry. A local buddy of mine used such a metal beam with outstanding results (without a rod), and it is as solid as a rock. Your use of the term "cantilever" was very appropriate. If taken a step further, and we think in terms of benchwork being basically a type of bridge, and we understand the engineering principles in the construction of bridges, that can lead to very solid benchwork.
I admire the work that you put into designing your layouts. Hopefully one day I will start my layout have the room but not the time. When making radius bends you may want to look into using tapered siding. Depending on how much height you need if you cut a 6" piece in half and flip the ends you can bend this into a pretty tight radius.
Peter thanks for all the ideas about the benchmark, I have been designing my new layout will this in mind to, you gave me even more to think about....thanks for sharing....Jack👍👍👍👍
I want to suggest a great method of deck support. I am American so I am not sure if the products are called the same things abroad. But these products can support long spans, allowing for uninterrupted scenes below up to 10 feet. The first product is called YardMaster. It is a fence post that has a profile design kind of like a top hat. These will not bend in either direction and as fences go, can withstand over 70mph wind. Additionally, they have nail/screw holes along the length. The second product is called Unistrut. It is a thick steel in a U shape. These also do not bend. Unistrut can support tremendous weight. The closest thing I can compare them to are the posts used for roadway signs, such as stop signs, but those are a little bit LESS heavy duty than unistrut. Unistrut has bolt holes, too large for nails or screws. Both products are available in 10ft lengths, some times 12 foot. If supported at each end by resting directly on/through or embedded into wooden legs, they will not sag even over a 10 foot span. They can be costly though, so not something I would use everywhere, but they’re 100x better than cantilever rods above or brackets below.
Interesting ideas. Both products may have their uses. I have before wondered whether or not a piece of 1" square steel tube may be good to incorporate into an area of benchwork where there is insufficient depth available for a conventional wood frame.
There's a TH-camr, OONeal, who makes and sells replacement sleepers out of copper. The idea being, if you have a removable/lift-out/swing-out section of track, especially on a curve, having a solid place to solder your rails is a necessity so the track always aligns properly and doesn't move. Here's the link: th-cam.com/video/u-1JW51rCoY/w-d-xo.html
This is the layout that Peter designed to fit in my cabin in Stratford upon Avon, England.
He’d previously designed another layout in a different building so when I contacted him some weeks later to say I’d decided to change buildings and I needed another layout design I think he thought it was another April fool ! He once again took on the challenge and this time he managed to squeeze in ALL of the items on my wish list. Top man !
I’m well on the way with the build, starting at the desk end and working my way towards the dreaded staging/helix ! Although I have the drawings for this area this video has been immensely helpful as you can see it’s pretty complicated !🤓
For anyone looking to get a new railroad plan I would highly recommend him. I was very happy with the service and inspired design and a real gent to deal with.
Thank you once again Peter.
Wheres the build videos? I'd definitely like to see this complicated design take shape.
Thank-you Nigel for taking me on this fascinating adventure with you.
@@williambryant5946 I was only hired for the design. The customer will be building it himself, so the build videos are out of my hands. Maybe with the customer's permission I will someday be able to present a slideshow of the construction photos he is taking.
@@mpeterll Yes I understood that and that is why I asked under the costumers comment where the build videos where. I was asking him. If I was asking you I would have not commented under a comment rather I would have made my own comment to ask the question. Just a mix up in communication.
William Bryant - no videos I’m afraid, but I will be taking pics as I go along that I will share with Peter. He perhaps might put these on his channel. Cheers.
Wow - an engineering marvel. So glad that I have retained you to build my layout.
The more I watch your videos the more I look forward to having you design me a layout.
Then I will look forward to hearing from you. Just contact me through my web-site (link in the description above).
What can I say Peter !! You are the best.. thanks for sharing and keep up the great work.. can’t wait to get my layout started again in the new shed.. thanks again Lance
That's some jigsaw puzzle, Peter. Very interesting and illuminating! Thanks for sharing!
These explanations are fantastic! No doubt there are a lot of useful bits of information in here for anyone building a layout.
Thank you for sharing this part of the design phase. I've always wondered about the benchwork part of a design when I see them. This is like designing 2 layouts at the same time. I totally enjoy your videos and your knowledge, especially when it comes to the stuff that you don't see when it's done.
Yes that's exactly right. Designing a double-deck layout is designing two interconnected layouts that have to work well together and fit in basically the same footprint. Of course, an added complexity is that one has to always keep the structure in mind, placing further limitations on the design. Usually, a problem encountered during construction is the result of something missed during the design.
You have designed some really creative solutions to the benchwork issues.
Thank-you.
Thank you Peter. Your insight is really appreciated.
Great solutions. Excellent job. Appreciate you sharing this.
thank you for great full detail video as well layout planning there all video
from Australia
Great video. I can see you understand the engineering involved. I've already designed my layout, but not so much the actual structural members of the benchwork, but I noticed that some of my general ideas were backed up by what you did, which gave me renewed confidence in my design, but I did get a number of good ideas from your excellent video. One thing I'm going to do, is on the second level above a lower yard on the first level, I'm going to put a sturdy metal beam across a 13-foot gap, with a threaded rod suspended from the ceiling if necessary. I will partially camouflage the rod with the tall chimney of an industry. A local buddy of mine used such a metal beam with outstanding results (without a rod), and it is as solid as a rock. Your use of the term "cantilever" was very appropriate. If taken a step further, and we think in terms of benchwork being basically a type of bridge, and we understand the engineering principles in the construction of bridges, that can lead to very solid benchwork.
Yes I've always thought of model railroad benchwork as a series of bridges.
I admire the work that you put into designing your layouts. Hopefully one day I will start my layout have the room but not the time. When making radius bends you may want to look into using tapered siding. Depending on how much height you need if you cut a 6" piece in half and flip the ends you can bend this into a pretty tight radius.
Super job on a complex design!
Peter thanks for all the ideas about the benchmark, I have been designing my new layout will this in mind to, you gave me even more to think about....thanks for sharing....Jack👍👍👍👍
Some additional 👍👍👍👍 from
me - it was very enlighting and gave some new ideas for my own layout😊
I do. Very cool how you worked this out. I have an area on my layout where I will need to do something like this.
Very useful information! Thanks for sharing!
I want to suggest a great method of deck support. I am American so I am not sure if the products are called the same things abroad. But these products can support long spans, allowing for uninterrupted scenes below up to 10 feet. The first product is called YardMaster. It is a fence post that has a profile design kind of like a top hat. These will not bend in either direction and as fences go, can withstand over 70mph wind. Additionally, they have nail/screw holes along the length. The second product is called Unistrut. It is a thick steel in a U shape. These also do not bend. Unistrut can support tremendous weight. The closest thing I can compare them to are the posts used for roadway signs, such as stop signs, but those are a little bit LESS heavy duty than unistrut. Unistrut has bolt holes, too large for nails or screws. Both products are available in 10ft lengths, some times 12 foot. If supported at each end by resting directly on/through or embedded into wooden legs, they will not sag even over a 10 foot span. They can be costly though, so not something I would use everywhere, but they’re 100x better than cantilever rods above or brackets below.
Interesting ideas. Both products may have their uses. I have before wondered whether or not a piece of 1" square steel tube may be good to incorporate into an area of benchwork where there is insufficient depth available for a conventional wood frame.
bending plywood to that radius, inside the stagging, do you have to soak the wood first so it doesn't break?
1/8" plywood is very flexible, especially in 2" wide strips.
This one looks fairly complicated should be an interesting build
Most multi-deck layouts are fairly complex to build. That is why the client asked me to create these drawings for him.
There's a TH-camr, OONeal, who makes and sells replacement sleepers out of copper. The idea being, if you have a removable/lift-out/swing-out section of track, especially on a curve, having a solid place to solder your rails is a necessity so the track always aligns properly and doesn't move. Here's the link:
th-cam.com/video/u-1JW51rCoY/w-d-xo.html
Interesting plan, but missing (I believe) the overall room dimensions and measuring scales on the track plans for us idiots.
This video is only a follow-on from the previous week's design video which included all the room dimensions.
2 ND :) view
🤠👋🚂🗯
What's a railroad is that an American