Before getting into the actual construction of the storage cabinets, I want to explain a bit of philosophy behind the reason for these cabinets.

Re-usable Benchwork

I have seen individual modelers tearing up layouts and starting over again quite often. I have done this three times myself before this P&C RR version 4. If you have ever torn out a layout before, you know about the urge to try to salvage as much as you can from the layout. Obviously items like trains, electronics, structures, and scenery components that are easy to remove, will be preserved. If you buy commercial track, you may even consider it worthwhile trying to save as much of that as possible. However, most modelers wind up making a trip (or two) to the local landfill to get rid of their benchwork parts. I did that with my previous three layouts.

However, this time around I decided to take a long hard look at where most of my time and money goes with regard to layouts. The things we wind up carrying to the landfill include wood for benchwork, wiring, track, and scenery. I'm sold on scratch-building all of the track for this and future layouts, so the actual cost of those materials is fairly small (ignoring the investment of time). Scenery is relatively inexpensive, depending on which materials one uses. That leaves the benchwork. If one values high quality construction of the layout, some serious money can be spent on the wood needed to build the base of the layout. Looking back on my personal experiences, I realized that I would never really want to be "stuck" with a track plan that I designed a while back (when I was "less" experienced, of course!), and so I saw that trend continue in the future. There will be several layouts in my future and I also understand better what I want out of the hobby and what style of layout I like. Based on these issues and considerations, I came up with the idea of re-usable benchwork.

The concept is slightly backwards from what most model railroaders consider, but the more I think about it (and now that I'm fully into the construction of the layout), it makes a lot of sense. Rather than focus on preserving scenery or track layout, the focus is on preserving the benchwork. The idea is to build cabinets that can be moved by one person (with a dolly) or two people, yet they can be set up more or less like the modular layouts we see at shows around the world. The downside of modular layouts, such as N-TRAK is that each module must conform to some standard for it to match the next person's module. In a home layout this is not an issue. Also, since I didn't want to be stuck with an old track plan, I decided that track and scenery will always be disposable. So, if one wants a new layout, or change things up a bit, one would remove the affected track and scenery, move the benchwork cabinets around a bit (or add new ones), and get right back to work on laying track and build scenery.

Cabinet Standards

At first I thought that an 18-inch deep cabinet would be a nice standard. However, I realized that cabinets of other depths could be used as well. The P & C Railroad version 4 used 18-inch and 4-inch deep cabinets to meet the available space criteria. When I move to a new home, I will take all the cabinets with me, and I can re-create the same layout (in the same configuration) without building any new benchwork. If the next home has more space available, I can add more cabinets. If the aisles are going to be wide enough, I can eliminate the 4-inch deep cabinets. If there is enough space, I can put two 18-inch deep cabinets back-to-back to make a 36-inch wide peninsula that comes off the main line area. The layout can grow (or shrink) over time. Best of all, when one has a collection of these cabinets already built, the focus from then on (after a move) would be to get right back to laying track and creating scenery, rather than spending 6 months or more doing nothing but benchwork.

The idea is quite simple, but is this a solution for every modeler? Absolutely not! First, if one does not like around-the-wall style layouts, the cabinets may not be a good idea. Second, these cabinets require a good deal of time to build. A certain level of woodworking skills are required. Tools, time, and money are needed to build these cabinets. The big advantage is that these cabinets can provide a tremendous amount of storage space. Something that we needed desperately when I started P & C Railroad version 4. Another tough issue to consider is whether or not the modeler wants a double, or triple deck layout. The upper levels typically need to be mounted to the wall studs for supports, which would negate the benefit of re-configurable benchwork cabinets.

Is it Viable?

Ultimately the proof, as they say, is in the pudding. I started implementing this concept in this layout. Starting in October, 2008 I was able to build a new layout on top of these cabinets. I was able to fit all ten of the cabinets into a spare bedroom in another house (!) that doubles as my office. The cabinets allowed me to quickly start work on a new U-shaped switching layout in a different scale (!). I am firm believer in these cabinets.

Benchwork Design Diagram

The diagram below shows the side profile and the front view of the concept. The layout support or infrastructure cabinets will house the electrical wires, Tortoise switch machines, and various electronics that are needed for the layout.

The drawing below shows the break-up of the various cabinets to be built. These are the almost 4-foot tall base cabinets upon which the layout support will rest. There are twenty-eight 18-inch deep cabinets, four 4-inch deep cabinets, and one workbench to build.

Here is a 3D view of the above. For clarity, the exterior and interior walls are not drawn. This diagram shows the toe-kick and storage cabinets as one blob in the diagram. The light-colored wood board represents the workbench surface.

The next view shows the addition of the layout support cabinetry (lighter shade of wood). This will be an open-framed set of cabinets. The top of these 3D blobs represents the surface upon which the track and scenery will lie.