Q: I have a bedroom sized N scale railroad with a four track staging/fiddle yard on one wall. I would like to run a branch line to a quarry over the staging, but I am concerned about the gradient to get the tracks to the right height. I will need about 6″ clearance for my hands in the staging. What is the thinnest support structure you would recommend? — Gary Richards
A: Marine plywood 3⁄4″ thick will support anything as long as it’s supported every 16″ or so, Gary. It doesn’t need a frame; my upper deck is 3⁄4″ birch plywood overlaid with two layers of 1⁄4″ milled Homasote roadbed (now available from HomaRoad) for the main and one layer for side tracks. You could use thinner cork for the roadbed, or even no roadbed at all in staging; foam can be noisy. The plywood is screwed to inexpensive stamped-metal shelf brackets and extends out 16″ from the wall — even 24″ for short lengths in towns where the depot is on the aisle side of the main line.
You might get away with 5⁄8″ plywood (but why skimp on the foundation of your railroad?) and slightly wider support spacing. But I once tried 24″ spacing with lower-quality 3⁄4″ AC-grade plywood and soon discovered a noticeable sag.
If you can’t support the staging yard with shelf brackets at frequent intervals, I’d get some 1″ or wider aluminum channel and fasten it to both edges of the 3⁄4″ marine plywood.
Those are a few ideas on support structures for multi-deck layouts. Let us know which one works out for you.
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