Folding Tables for Layouts?

When I was a kid in the late 1970's, the folding "ping pong" table was an excellent surface for a layout.  Just dont use any track pins at the folding point and install jumper wires between to carry the power to the other side.  Another option is what I did, where my 4x7 layout folds up against a 10" deep frame mounted to the wall, so anything that height or lower can be mounted to the table an stay in place when the layout is folded shut.  This was how my best friends layout was back then, it folded down over his bed, was strong enough for 2 boys to crawl on top of it and play trains, yet the two of us could fold it closed before it was time to go home.  AD

Yes, I do have a 6’ x 7.5’ Standard Gauge layout with an oval of USA Track with 57” diameter curves. I put it up so I had a place to run, test run, and display my Standard Gauge trains and accessories that I bought to run with the SGMA club. (A floor layout with me on my knees got old fast) I couldn’t just let them sit on the shelves or in boxes between shows. I also didn’t want to give up the room space for when I have people over to watch the permanent layout of O Gauge trains, or for special projects. Nothing is screwed down. The layout goes up and comes down in 15 minutes. I haven’t taken it down in a couple years.

The layout is just track and accessories, laid on a bedsheet, over 3 6’x30” “Lifetime” folding plastic tables I bought at Home Depot. I think the 3 table cost less than $150, total.

We use 6' X 30" tables at the Strasburg show which are very portable.  Some enterprising guys uses PVC telescoping pipe extensions on the legs for added height.

Another consideration:  HD sells plastic saw horses with extendable top edges.  I used four of  them for a 3' x 21'  three module display for quick set up take down.  Just placed the modules on the HD saw horses.

My xmas loop, 4ft x 7ft was split at 3.5 ft.  No pins, soldered power wires to each side, joined them with spade terminals, wrapped wire from the terminals with electrical tape out to 12 inched to avoid stress.  Base was 3/8 inch plywood (always set up in the floor) with a piano hinge on the underside plus shims glued to level the board.  Easy to move, set up was a breeze.  Sold it on craigslist when the boys got older.

I use the plastic folding tables for my Christmas layout with a 2 inch piece of pink foam on top.  The nice thing is that I can move them around and add more of different sizes depending on the layout I am doing.  And dropping cords through is as easy to threading them through the gaps between the tables.

I completely recommend them for a permanent layout.  My only issue is that it's hard to attach a skirt around it without having wood.

@towdog,

Good to hear.  One question, what do you do with transformers?  I can see having at least 3 of them for my layout.  Do you put them on the layout table, or do you have a smaller table for them and move the whole thing under the layout, or something else?

A skirt would be nice but not necessary.  It could be very light material, and I would have guessed that good double sided tape would work, but I've never tried it.

@texgeekboy posted:

@towdog,

Good to hear.  One question, what do you do with transformers?  I can see having at least 3 of them for my layout.  Do you put them on the layout table, or do you have a smaller table for them and move the whole thing under the layout, or something else?

A skirt would be nice but not necessary.  It could be very light material, and I would have guessed that good double sided tape would work, but I've never tried it.

I built a shelf and masonite panel to mount things on:

Sorry I don't have a recent picture with everything in place.

-Greg

Many years ago my friend always used folding tables with Lionel layouts around Christmas time. Worked perfectly. For more permanent style layout simply clamp them together. Very easy to create different configurations.

We use plastic folding tables as our base for the Christmas layout we do for Carmel, Indiana. We also cut PVC pipe to extend the legs to get the layout up higher for better viewing.

We wanted to put something up quickly for Christmas a few years back. I had seen the Mianne benchwork at York that fall and also picked up a book on building benchwork. Without a real idea for a layout, I decided not to invest in either and bought a few used lunchroom folding tables (6'x30") from a rental outfit for $10 bucks each. We screwed homosote to the top of the tables and put up a sizeable holiday layout. The rectangular tables limited the design, but they did the job. There was some warping so we had to do some leveling else you got dead spots in the rails, especially with switches, but over the course of a few days we got it all working. It's been taken down since and I'm back to contemplating a build or Mianne buy. This I know, I miss having something up no matter how imperfect - it's fun to run the trains.

The Northern Michigan RR Club's G and S travel layouts use banquet-table legs under custom framing, which really isn't much different from tabletops, functionally.  There can be some minor leveling issues, which are easily addressed using wood shims, when the display venue's floors aren't uniformly flat.  Quick setup and takedown make these much easier to deal with than the O layout, which uses 2x2 legs in pockets.

@Mooner,

Nice looking layout.  I concur about getting something running for the fun.  I have mine on the carpet right now, and it's becoming a bit of a pain.  I hope to start in the Spring.

This post has given me food for thought on what I should do. I have a lot of stuff collected over the years. I go back and forth from wanting to build a large layout from the ground up or build something small and expand it when I can. After reading this I am leaning towards just building a 4' x 14' folding table footprint and see what comes next (I have all I need for this table and plywood wise).  I will start a post as I start the process.

Thanks

Hello everyone'

What would be the largest radius on the 3X6 standard folding table?  Would 31"R curve work?

@bptBill,

Wow!  Good luck.  I wish you the best of luck, and am looking forward to seeing you work.  I hope to have my collection ready for temporary storage before Thanksgiving, then shortly after the New Year put in new carpet in my trainroom (aka the gameroom).  At that point I'll be ready to get some tables and start my layout.  I have some plywood for the table tops already.

@Quarter Gauger 48,

Well, wouldn't a 31R track leave 2.5 inches on each side of a 36 inch platform?  I think that's enough overhang for trains designed for 31 inch radius, and perhaps slightly larger, but you need to get input from people that have actually done that.

I use folding tables with fitted cloth table covers to create my layouts. I have had not issues and can modify a layout as I see fit to do so.

While I have a large collection of 4ft modules used at club shows, I find 2ft x 4ft folding tables a good solution for holiday layouts that are not on the carpet.  The smaller tables fit better in many situations and support foam boards if I need a layout of different dimensions.   I like the adjustable height of these because the lowest setting has the table height below window sills:

Lifetime 80387 4-Foot Commercial Adjustable Folding Table

(available on the river site)

What I like about the plastic folding tables is that they are all the same height and they have different sizes.  So you can buy tables and fit them together like a puzzle piece to create the size layout you want that year.  I switch it up every Christmas this way.  Also, by having a thick layer of foam on top, it's rigid enough to have large gaps between the tables and not lose rigidity.

@towdog

Would you define you foam layer. I am looking for a recommendation for my folding table setup

Thanks

Bill