Aluminum Display Shelves

That will work just fine. In the attached picture, the second train from the bottom is a standard gauge Hiawatha. That engine weighs close to 20 lbs. It is sitting on Glenn Synder aluminum shelves which are much thinner than 3/8".

Thanks! I was inaccurate in the original post, thickness is 1/8" not 3/8".

I like the Glenn Snyder shelving, but unfortunately it has been unavailable for an extended period.

Even at an 1/8" I think you'll be fine. Yeah, it seems like GS has quite the backlog.

When I installed my aluminum shelves, I found that GRK cabinet screws worked really well. Drill a 5/32" hole in the shelf where it will hit a stud, and the cabinet screws go in very easily, especially if you have an impact driver. I put screws in every stud, which probably was overkill.

As for the 1/8" thickness, I have no idea if that's enough. If I were going to use it, I'd install a section and test it with something other than a train to see if it can handle the weight. If it works, your shelves will look great with the GG track.

In attaching my shelving to the wall, I found that screws designed for attaching metal siding to a pole barn worked the best.  The screws have hex heads, a rubber grommet between the head and metal and you can buy them in a variety of lengths and in bulk.  I got my screws at Menards.

Thanks for the suggestions and perspective. I may just go with steel, no way that is going to flex under the weight of the engines. Aluminum would certainly be easier to work with though. The plan is to paint them black to blend with house trim like door levers and ceiling fans.

One other unsolicited tip: get a package or 2 of shims. As soon as you start attaching something that is perfectly straight to a wall, you'll find that most walls are not perfectly straight. I found that the shims helped in some places, especially when it came to mating 2 sections of shelving together.

Good suggestion. I've done enough trim work to recognize the value of that thought.

Because my train room is an addition to the rear of our house, the east and west walls of the room are brick. I mounted several Glenn Snyder aluminum shelves on those walls using a masonry drill bit at the mortar joints and screwing the shelves into the anchors.  Plenty strong enough! Pix attached for reference.

Mike M.   LCCA 12394