Rebuilding a railroad

I will be remodeling my basement in the next two months or so which has meant disassembling my
HO scale pike of 16 years. It is 19'x 13', with about 3 scale miles of running rail, lots of rolling stock, the works.
I have some preliminary designs for the rebuild, but the prospect of reconstruction is a bit daunting
in that I'm 16 years older, and don't have the energy for a lot if heavy lifting when it comes to bench work, cutting drilling, etc.
So I am wondering what the options are besides trying to do it all myself, specifically the bench work part.
Would appreciate some helpful info.
EPS

50 views and no responses....Curious.

Have you looked into custom made benchwork? I see ad's in Model Railroader as well as vendors at the shows who make benchwork to your specs with holes already drilled for wiring, panels, etc. Pricey, but an easy way to get a lot of benchwork down in a hurry.

You might try Benchridge.

http://www.benchridge.com/

Benchwork does not have to be heavy or cumbersome. What exactly are you saving from the old layout? Your original question was not very specific, so what exactly are you trying to do differently this time around?

-otto-

After taking a good look at how I assembled the current layout, while not perfect carpentry, it has been sturdy - no wobbles and shakes. It is an assembly of 4'x8' s, some cut down in smaller sections
and screwed together, with a 1"x 3" frame running around the perimeter.

The issue is that I used 1/8 inch plywood on top, because I could not handle anything heavier. That required a lot of additional under board support to prevent sagging. And that plywood resisted track tacks - had to drill tiny holes just to tack the track and cork roadbed down. Doubled the work.

I will probably save most of the existing benchwork and legs with added cross bracing, but I need a more cooperative surface area, or quarter inch plywood. Of course if there are better materials
for the surface, I am open to suggestions.

You could use the "blue foam board" as a base to mount track on,just use "Liquid Nails" to glue the board to the plywood.
You can find it where Insulation products are sold at Lowes,Home Depot, and the local Lumber Yard.

My model railroad uses a double layer of blue foam insulation board over a framed 1/2" plywood base. The base is in the form of flat-topped tables. The legs are braced, and the tables are joined with c-clamps. Drill a hole in the bottom of each leg, and install a cage nut to hold carriage bolts for leveling.

The double layer of insulation can be cut down or built up to provide land forms. You will need a long drill bit to make holes for wires.

Control panels, terminal blocks, and wire guides can be screwed to the table framing.

Les

Does the blue foam have enough 'give' for cookie cutter applications? I like that style of table top.

The blue foam unless it is really thin, should work in a "cookie cutter" unless you put a lot of weight on it.

Les

Built mine out of 1x3 l girder with 2x4 legs. Then attached it to the concrete walls with tapcons. Covered that with 1/2 in plywood (OSB) and 1/2 in homasote, not the lightest weight construction. Im a little over two bills and have sat and walked on it durring scenery construction with nary a creek or moan. My buddy used the same method for his On2 layout and has never had a problem for well over 20 years.

One more item. Seems that Acme model engineering company's frame mounted 16 switch panels
are no longer available. The last time I bought on was in 1996 when I first constructed my layout.
wondering if there is anything like it available.