Looking for suggestions for "edging" of layout

For something a little different I've seen flexible trim moulding used and it adds a classy look to a layout. Bends around curved sections and comes in a variety of shapes and sizes. Check Lowes or any building supply house.

My edging would be large enough for controllers.  It extends about 3/4” above the layout and I have not lost anything over the side yet.  It's a 5 1/2" wide trim board and finished off with beadboard underneath.

John

I stayed pretty conventional and used 1" X 6" X 8' pine covered with a 4' X 8' X 1/4" sheet of luan plywood cut into 8" wide strips that I stained, poly'd and attached to the pine with construction adhesive and brads.

Since the nominal 6" wide pine is actually only 5 1/2 " wide, the luan extends down past the bottom by a half inch, but also extends upwards an inch or so to keep everything on the layout. The luan gives a nice finished look while the pine gives a good structure to install switches, controllers, toggles, etc.

I also installed some black curtain material in some areas to hide boxes, etc. stored under the table.

I used bead board topped off with a trim piece. The bead board varies in height....some goes all the way to the floor.

Donald

I used a piece of clamshell trim. Painted the same color as the walls to satisfy the CEO. The file cabinets are in use regularly so I couldn't go lower. The lip extends about 3/4" to finish off the ground cover.
If you plan to mount controllers then I would use 1X stock as others have done.

Richie,

Your Luan edging looks great!

Are you sure it was actually Luan, as opposed to Sure-Ply or Ultra-Ply underlayment?  The reason I ask is that Luan comes from woods in Southeast Asia, and contains a natural dark oil that "perks-up" from the wood over time.  This is why you can't use it as underlayment beneath a sheet vinyl floor.  (The oil eventually comes up through the sheet vinyl and turns it brown.)

Since Luan has that oil in it, I am surprised that you got it to stain so well.   Did you perhaps "strip" it first by wiping it down liberally with Mineral Spirits?    Or maybe you used an oil based stain, which simply mixed in with the natural oil of the wood?

Thanks for  any info.

Mannyrock

My recollection is that the 1/4" thick plywood is either generically advertised or described at the big box stores as "luan" plywood, unless it is an actual wood veneer like oak, maple, poplar, etc.

Much like a 2" X 4" is not really a 2" X 4", it could be that it was actually Revolution-Ply, Sure-Ply or some other name. It was a few years ago, so I don't have the sale slip to check, but I think I still have a couple extra strips left over. I'll check tonight and see if I get lucky and there is a brand name on the reverse side. 

I did not strip it before staining - only rubbed lightly with a tack cloth to get any dust, oil, debris or dirt off. I used a common Minwax oil stain (I tried several variations before settling on one - I don't recall which one, but it may have been Ipswich Pine) followed by several coats of Minwax high gloss poly and finished with two coats of semi-gloss.

Thanks for the info Richie,

About 5 years ago,  both Home Depot and Lowe's started stocking Sure-Ply and Ultra-Ply  (in addition to Luan).  The Sure-Ply is almost double the cost of Luan, and the Ultra-Ply is about 25% more expensive than the Sure-Ply.

True underlayment sheathing has zero unfilled  knotholes contained in both the exterior and interior layers of the sheet.

Unless you buy cabinet grade Plywood, regular Plywood not have the interior open knotholes filled.

Mannyrock

I did a inexpensive way with a cabinet grade 3/4 ply for doors and a OSB for the walls. It's top is 1/4 molding. Then painted with a good black enamel.

I guess I have been lucky . Never had anything run off the track k to the extent it hit the floor.

Larry

Eesh,  painting all of those cabinets with black enamel must have been a tough job.  Looks great though.  (I hate painting cabinets.)

Hi. I am just starting to work on a permanent layout. I used mainne benchwork, which I stained and finished.  I added a small trim piece to top that i can attach controllers to for the grandkids.  Hope to be able to work on the layout over the xmas holiday period.

Red Oak with an OG top edge.

Hi All,

Thank you for the suggestions so far.  All of the layouts are really nice and I've picked up some good ideas.

Adirondack RR, your pictures don't come up without purchasing some sort of file viewer.  Can you just post the JPG's?

Sorry. My IT skills are about up to par. Trying to post now from photo album.

Left over laminate from the floor, capped with  one inch moulding trim.

I installed 1x3 wood stock (painted Lionel Orange) as a fascia board around the perimeter of my L-shaped layout. The top edge of the fascia extends up above the layout platform about 3/4-inch -- never had a trains "jump over" it to the floor. The 3-inch face of the board is ideal for mounting control buttons in alignment with operating accessories. I favor Lionel #90 control buttons, but some accessories have their own unique control button, so I'll use it.  I apply a PC-generated "address label" to the top edge of the fascia as an identifier for kid operators (and a reminder for me).  Pix attached.

Mike Mottler   LCCA 12394

that.

Bead Board

Well... pvc bead board from lowes.  Fast, easy, inexpensive and it BENDS easily.  it's a 3 Pack, 8' footers about 27.00 per pack.

There are not any straight edges on my layout so I used flexible plywood.  The following are my layouts modules in various stages of attaching to my around the wall pike:

I used thin plywood for the fascia board around the edges of the layout. My brother-in-law cut the 4 x 8 sheet of plywood into approximately 5 inch wide strips for me.  There are various double  pole double throw and single pole single throw switches located on the fascia board around the layout.

John, Nice shots!  Are there other photos of your work on board here?  Your work is so very realistic.

Scenery is around the next around corner for me and from what I see from your work I am both encouraged and intimidated. More pics on their own thread please.

Thank you all for your wonderful input and suggestions.  The layouts you guys have created are stunning.  I feel I'll never be able to get there as I don't have that sort of vision.

Strange from someone who makes his living creating new flavors and fragrances.  I guess I'm better at chemical/commercial artistry than visual arts.  Probably goes along with comments from my wife like "You aren't really thinking about going out dressed like that, are you?"  Which we all know is a statement rather than a question.

The issue I'm still dealing with on the edge of the layout is the legs of the Mianne benchwork.  I'm not coming up with ideas as to how to attach something to these legs as they stick out from the rest of the edges.  I've included a picture.  Please ignore the lack of straightness in the track.  As I explained, visual and mechanical arts aren't my forte.

Well, from what I can see, and from a carpentry perspective, I think the easiest solution is for you to buy 1 x 6 red oak boards from Lowes, put a light coat of wood conditioner on them before you stain it in red oak, spray the dried boards with two light coats of canned satin finish polyurithane, and then cut the butt ends at a 45 degree angle to fit into the 45% outward sides of the legs.   Nail the top and bottom edges of the boards into the top and bottom ridges of your train sides using #6 finish nails, countersunk and filled. Be sure that the top edges of those boards are flush with the top of your train table.

The outside edges of the legs will still be a light color, but the whole thing will flow nicely.    Do not try to stain the legs with a Red Oak colored stain.  The white wood will not take the stain well and it will look blotchy.

You can then buy thin, flat, wide pieces of red oak at Lowes, that are about the thickness of a yard stick.   I think you can get them in up to 4 ft. strips.    Finish those just like the side boards, and gently nail them on top to cover the gap between the top of the table and the side boards, using #3  finish nails, countersunk and filled.  I think that these strips are about 4 inches wide, but if you can't buy them wide enough to cover the gap, then you will need to buy more 1x4 boards, and cut them lengthwise (rip them) to the proper width.   Not that hard to do if you have a table saw or you tack the boards down on long piece of 2x6 pine and then cut them into strips  with a 7 1/2" circular saw, using a shallow blade depth.  (Just go slow and be very careful you are not cutting very deep into the pine board underneath.)

Red Oak is not cheap, but as you can see from Mike CT's photo, it can be quite beautiful when properly finished, stained and sealed.

Hope this helps.

Mannyrock

Lionel Flyer,

Mannyrock offered a very good treatment.

Another consideration would be to simply get some unfinished 1/4 round either from the lumber department and paint it or choose some finished 1/4 round in a variety of decorative colors from the flooring dept of any big box store and install it in the Mianne edge plumbers crack.

If you go the 1/4 round route I would suggest to take a back saw and cut a 30+/- degree  chamfer on the outer exposed edge of the aisle legs and palm sand the cut edges for a softer appearance.

Your dilemma is very common, I am thinking that one of these days Mianne will probably offer something to cover that raw edge.

I have always liked a short plexiglass barrier to guard items from falling off the table.  I haven't done it, but I like it when I have seen it.

I wonder what the plexiglass market has looked like since Covid has come onto the scene and required many stores/restaurants/etc to use plexiglass as a barrier.  Is more plexiglass being made and available?  Is demand outpacing what the market is supplying?  As we get past this pandemic, there may be a lot of plexiglass getting tossed out for us scroungers.

I used Luane plywood which is 5mm thick a bit less than 1/4 inch and it is somewhat flexible.  I ripped 7 inch wide pieces, stained it and and screwed it into the my 2x4 joist ends.  Works good for me and gives me room to mount standard single pole residential switches into  the fascia.

@lionelflyer posted:

Thank you all for your wonderful input and suggestions.  The layouts you guys have created are stunning.  I feel I'll never be able to get there as I don't have that sort of vision.

Strange from someone who makes his living creating new flavors and fragrances.  I guess I'm better at chemical/commercial artistry than visual arts.  Probably goes along with comments from my wife like "You aren't really thinking about going out dressed like that, are you?"  Which we all know is a statement rather than a question.

The issue I'm still dealing with on the edge of the layout is the legs of the Mianne benchwork.  I'm not coming up with ideas as to how to attach something to these legs as they stick out from the rest of the edges.  I've included a picture.  Please ignore the lack of straightness in the track.  As I explained, visual and mechanical arts aren't my forte.

One issue you have now that you have posted a photo is that your benchwork top does not extend over the tops of the legs.  You may need to find a way to extend it prior to installing any type of facia.

@Adirondack RR posted:

Hi. I am just starting to work on a permanent layout. I used mainne benchwork, which I stained and finished.  I added a small trim piece to top that i can attach controllers to for the grandkids.  Hope to be able to work on the layout over the xmas holiday period.

I noticed from your photos that you have casters installed on your Mianne legs.  I do as well and want to caution you to check the fasteners on the framework if you move the layout.

I found that when the layout is rolled that the legs can get loose.

@JD2035RR posted:

I have always liked a short plexiglass barrier to guard items from falling off the table.  I haven't done it, but I like it when I have seen it.

I wonder what the plexiglass market has looked like since Covid has come onto the scene and required many stores/restaurants/etc to use plexiglass as a barrier. Is more plexiglass being made and available?  Is demand outpacing what the market is supplying?  As we get past this pandemic, there may be a lot of plexiglass getting tossed out for us scroungers.

I can confirm that the plexi/ acrylic supply chain is extremely tight at the moment. It was worse over the summer but still a long lead item. Further complicating things for us was fire codes. Plexi does not meet code for use in schools in NYS so we had to find acrylic sheets instead.

@lionelflyer posted:

The issue I'm still dealing with on the edge of the layout is the legs of the Mianne benchwork.  I'm not coming up with ideas as to how to attach something to these legs as they stick out from the rest of the edges.  I've included a picture.  Please ignore the lack of straightness in the track.  As I explained, visual and mechanical arts aren't my forte.

Personally- I like the look of the Mianne as is. I would add something to the top as others have suggested to close up the "plumbers crack" as @Tom Tee called it. (Nice visual image BTW ) Maybe 1" outside corner trim would cover?

Bob

If you're talking about taking up the gap between the existing Mianne edge and the outside of the legs so that you can attach edging and keep it straight, you may get lucky if that gap is around 3/4" or 1" deep. If so, I would get a 4' X 8' sheet of rigid foam at your local big box store either 3/4" or 1" thick, which ever works best. I would then cut some small wood spacer blocks out of whatever size pine board fills the gap and screw it into the edge about halfway between each leg. Then cut the foam board into strips that fill the gap on either side of the wood block up to each leg and attach with some construction adhesive or finish nails.  That should now give you a flat surface all around the perimeter of the layout to which you can attach your desired edging that extends above the tabletop by 1" - 2", with a nailing surface at each leg and the wood spacer block.

As to the top (looking down), seems to me you would have several choices - you can either paint the wood and foam edge with a color that matches the tabletop and live with the small irregularities; fill the irregularities with some flexible patching compound and paint to match; cover the gap with duct tape and paint to match; or cover with an ultra thin styrene or stiff plastic sheeting and paint to match (they make this for attaching to stair railings to prevent little kids from sticking their heads between the rungs).

Thank you all for the latest suggestions.  I remembered that Mianne actually uses spacers that go between stringers when putting in a cross brace.  I had extras and have used them on the sides to create a "stand off" that comes out the same distance as the legs.  I'll use these to mount the bead board as suggested by Dennis LaRock.

Once I have the bead board mounted I will use it for mounting controllers for the switches and operating accessories.  I'll figure out how to fill the gaps later but some foam should work for filling it.

Great info !!!

Thanks to all posters !!!

CBQ Bill

I feel compelled to answer as most questions on the Forum are beyond my limited knowledge. I’ve received so much help here I want to contribute where I can.

The trim for my layout however I have been over thinking for years.

I'm planning to use prefinished trim from a basement remodel.

The trim is 4inch wide birch 3/8 thick mill sprayed medium brown with backside bare.

I will stain the bare either black or medium brown to cover ink jet order numbers from mill. I will use urethane gel stain.

I have installed 1x2 rough pine around the perimeter and will screw trim pieces into that, using wood screws and plastic caps or finish washers. If I get fancy I will use my counter sink drill combo and wood plugs.

The  corners will be either cornices or L trim saving the headache of miter cuts.

The trim will be decorative and offer protection from derailment and guests. It will be removable for track and ballast work.

The big box stores have many wood trim profiles to choose from in pre finished or unfinished.

I have this laying around so I’m going to use it. If I didn’t I’d use  clear cedar.

Thanks for reminding me, I need to get staining before the weather changes.

Hope this helps

Steven

To all you people who use/used 1/4 ply, how did you finish the upper edge to prevent splinters?

Excellent question.  I would like to know the answer to that as well.

You can greatly minimize splintering by putting down painters tape first, rubbing it down hard, then marking your line on the tape, and then using the proper circular saw blade (a new one) to cut the line really really slowly.  When you gently pull up the tape there should be little or no splinters.

But, over time, most plywood will tend to "fray" along the edges when under stress.

Mannyrock

If you haven't already, check out Gunrunner John's layout build thread.  He used Mianne benchwork and let his top run long.  Read from approximately here

https://ogrforum.com/...w-train-room?page=15

Jan

This thread has me thinking about the layout for my grandson I am working on.  It is on a 4 x 8 sheet of 2" foam board and will sit on top of his double bed when in use and VERTICALLY behind a dresser when not in use.

It has no edging which now I think it probably needs.  Since it just fits floor to ceiling I cannot attach trim to the outside edge so it will have to go on top of the foam and be able to not crack off when the layout is stored vertically.

Any ideas for trim for that?

John

@Craftech posted:

This thread has me thinking about the layout for my grandson I am working on.  It is on a 4 x 8 sheet of 2" foam board and will sit on top of his double bed when in use and VERTICALLY behind a dresser when not in use.

It has no edging which now I think it probably needs.  Since it just fits floor to ceiling I cannot attach trim to the outside edge so it will have to go on top of the foam and be able to not crack off when the layout is stored vertically.

Any ideas for trim for that?

John

Why not cut the foam board down by the thickness  of the trim so that it is 4X8 after the trim is installed?

Ex- 3/4" trim X 2= 1.5". Reduce the size of the foam and set the trim flush with the top so that you still have a full 4X8 surface.

There are many options out there that will serve the purpose, check your local HD for ideas.

Bob

@E-UNIT-79 posted:

To all you people who use/used 1/4 ply, how did you finish the upper edge to prevent splinters?

Mannyrock has the right idea, it starts with a good clean cut but I don't like taping cuts for various reasons. It depends on the type of plywood. Most of the cheaper constructions plys will splinter because you even thought about cutting it. If I need smoothness on something like this I may just give it a quick hand sanding with some 80 grit paper. The idea is to de-burr the edges where something might catch. If I'm using better plywood and thicker than 1/8" I may run the edge with a round over bit in the router. The bendable plys are splintery. Sometimes it is easiest to let a top layer cover the top edge and then route in place to make it flush.

@RSJB18 posted:

Why not cut the foam board down by the thickness  of the trim so that it is 4X8 after the trim is installed?

Ex- 3/4" trim X 2= 1.5". Reduce the size of the foam and set the trim flush with the top so that you still have a full 4X8 surface.

There are many options out there that will serve the purpose, check your local HD for ideas.

Bob

I thought of that Bob, but my table saw is too small for 4 x 8.  Have you used a 7 1/4 inch circular saw to cut 2" foam?

John