My new Storage Yard Cabinet

Very nice 

Tom;

I feel your pain (I'm just starting to build a layout and already know I need more storage). Very elegant solution - I don't think there is any need to hide the drawers, they look quite nice.

Beautifully done, Tom.   I'm sure to need something along the same line in the future.   Your design will suit my needs perfectly.

Bruce

Great looking cabinet. Just a thought - how about adding those rubber-type mats used in tool box drawers to keep the cars from rolling or moving around.

You can get lots of them - even in rolls - at the dollar store. They work great.

JIM

Very nice, I have some of those on the drawing board as well. Just waiting to build my layout.   So I can determine the actual height of the cabinet. I am also building a drawer system to store my totes on, using heavy duty slides from Wood Craft.

Hi Tom,

What a neat idea to an age old problem!                                                                                                                                                                                                

Your workmanship and execution is superb.

TJ                                           

Wonderful! The cloth skirting is quite tasteful as well. Walt

Nice solution to the problem.

I have some greating card cabinets I plan to make shelves on to attack the same problem in a future time when I build my lay-out.

Have thought of doing something like rhose drawers .

Having seen yours I think I will plan on it for sure. Thanks for posting!

excellent craftsmanship!!!!

Great idea!! It looks fantastic. 

Thanks for the comments, guys.

Some points I should make about this project are:

- DON"T SKIMP ON THE DRAWER SLIDES!!!  I bought the first slides I came across and have regretted it since.  I trashed one when I misaligned a drawer during installation.

- I used 3/4" plywood for the drawer bottoms.  This allowed me to cut grooves for the "tracks".  It also ensured stability since there would be quite a span.  With the  5 1/4" high sides, the drawers are VERY stable.  I probably could have made the drawers a full 8' long if I had the space.  While, in my situation, I could have probably satisfactorily used 1/2" plywood for the drawer bottoms, I just felt more secure using 3/4".   

- Accuracy in construction is vital, especially when using full extension drawer slides.

- In addition to carefully measuring the space available to install a cabinet like this, measure all of the areas that you will have to move it through to install it.  When I brought the cabinet in from the shop I found that it would not fit through a walkway in the train room.  My wife and I had to lift it over the layout to get it into place.

I hope this project is an inspiration to anyone with a similar situation.

Tom

Tom,

Those drawers look great! Well executed.

Jay in Ottawa

Nice!  What "track" spacing did you use?

Very nice

WOW your a real engineer and craftsman.Nick

Very good idea, and they look really nice too. Even better, that they keep the dust off of your trains when not in use.

Tom,

All the previous commenters have covered anything I could add.  It's a beautiful, elegant solution to a common problem.  I will be borrowing that design at sometime in the future.  It's a lot better than keeping cars on a shelf or in boxes in storage bins (my current solution).  I don't have enough space to have an adequate storage yard (a true wish-list item) but this would work very well.

Well done!

George

it's funny I was just talking to the wife about this yesterday. I have 4 shelfs on one wall and one shelf on another all full and some cars laying on there side so I can stack them so I was thinking of getting some aluminum shelfs for down the hallway but she didn't like the idea and said shelfs under the layout I like your drawer idea better. wish I was a carpenter with enough skill and a table saw.

Jhainer posted:

it's funny I was just talking to the wife about this yesterday. I have 4 shelfs on one wall and one shelf on another all full and some cars laying on there side so I can stack them so I was thinking of getting some aluminum shelfs for down the hallway but she didn't like the idea and said shelfs under the layout I like your drawer idea better. wish I was a carpenter with enough skill and a table saw.

You know, there might be a kit for this kind of drawer system somewhere on the internet.  It would lend itself to one.  Might be worth a search.

George

Well done, sir! Well done!

Yes, excellent workmanship on a creative solution to your situation.  It appears, from the work on your drawers, the layout fascia, and your comments, that you have an aptitude for woodworking.

Tom Tee posted:

Nice!  What "track" spacing did you use?

The track centers are 3 1/8".  I found this spacing allows about 5/8" between cars, enough to get your fingers in to pick them up.  

When I laid out the tracks I made two marks 1" apart.  I cut to the outside of each line.  This places the outside edges of the cuts 1 1/4" apart.  I made a layout stick with all of the cuts marked on it.  I used this to set the table saw for each cut.

Tom

I did the same thing except smaller. I found a old computer desk sitting by the curb with nice drawer slides. I just used the drawers part. 4 drawers, also keeps rolling stock dust free.

Nice work Tom. Nice solution to a very common problem.

If you could scan and post your plans, that would likely help a lot of folks to see how you made yours, and simply modify the dimensions as needed? Just a thought.

Rod

Brilliant Tom!!! Just added this to the to do list. 

A very nice job.

Dennis

That looks great! Thanks for posting. I need something similar. 

Bob

Thanks for all of the comments and suggestions, Guys.

I broke out the drafting equipment and made some drawings of the drawer sides and bottoms as well as the cabinet base/side attachment.  My working drawings were a bunch of hand drawn sketches on some notebook paper.  Not something I would want to post!!!

This is the bottom of the drawer, looking at it from the end.  I only show 1 1/2 tracks, but the measurements are the same between each set of tracks.  The material is 3/4 inch plywood.  I suggest a cabinet grade plywood as you want it to be as flat as possible.  The screws are placed about 8" apart around the perimeter of the bottom.   The bottom is 1/4" smaller than the completed drawer.  A rabet cut into the sides hides the edge of the plywood.

The drawer sides and ends are made of hardwood.   I used 3/4" poplar for my drawers.  I screwed the fronts and backs to the sides.  4 1/2" inside height allows scale hi-cube boxcars to fit into the drawers.  If traditional rolling stock is going to be stored, the sides can be made shorter.  Measure the tallest piece of equipment you intend to store in the drawer and add 1/4".

The bottom is fastened to the sides by driving 1 1/4 #8 wood screws up into the rabetted area.

A dado cut into the sides locks around the bottom of the unit.  This transfers the weight of the drawers directly to the base.  Four 2" #8 wood screws attach each side to the base.  I installed swivel casters to make it easier to move the cabinet out to access the junk stored behind it.  I made the sides extend past the bottom to cover the casters.  I allowed 1/2" clearance between the bottom of the sides and the floor.  A wood skirt was constructed to fill in the front of the cabinet and conceal the casters.

This is the gauge stick that I made to set the blade on the table saw for each cut.  The stick is the entire depth of the drawer bottom and all cuts for the bottom are made in the stick.  I first made some test cuts in a scrap piece of plywood to ensure that my spacing was correct.   To use the stick, just butt it against the fence and adjusted the fence until the groove falls over the saw blade.  Make cuts in all of the bottoms at each setting then reset the fence for the next cut.  Make sure that you use a blade with a full 1/8" kerf.  A thin cut blade will throw the track gauge off.

I hope these drawings help with the details of the drawers and cabinet sides.  The rest of the cabinet construction is pretty  basic carpentry.  Make sure that you have the drawer slides before you begin construction as you need to follow the manufacturer's directions as far as spacing.  The cabinet can be any dimensions you want.  I did find that making the drawers 40" inside width allowed two 18" passenger cars to be placed on each track.  Drawers any wider become very difficult to handle, especially if you are working by yourself.  

Tom