Since it’s fairly time-consuming to haul locos and cars from indoor shelves to the layout for running, I’ve wanted a storage barn to house a couple of trains that are ready to go.
The only real opportunity for this has been under a narrow deck that runs the length of our house on its back side. Last year I dug out a lot of dirt from beneath this structure, so that I could walk upright without a hard hat. Here’s the basic design.
The lower platform is the track “deck,” and the higher level is just the top of three boxes (and a sort of storage table for off-season). These boxes are the lockable storage “barn.” To hide it all, I’d like to put up a backdrop of sorts.
After finally completing my cleanup of trees we had to drop and chop, last weekend I began construction. I needed two more posts (in the foreground) to allow the backdrop to be a straight line.
Then came the start of the “track deck.” This first section was tougher, because it includes part of a ramp that comes up from the layout.
The rest of this deck was easier. It needed a few stubby posts to hold it up, but was otherwise fairly straightforward.
It took me a day to make the frames for the box tops and sides, and another day to install them with their hinges (and get them working ok). I’m not a quick carpenter by any means.
Here’s one of the boxes folded up. Handles and hasps will come later, for lockable storage. I’ll probably want counterweights or block & tackle, they’re heavy.
The last bit of framing was the remainder of the lead-in ramp which, due to its weird interaction with a stairway, required a bit of thinking for each piece. And another post.
Here’s the completed ramp.
Connecting this ramp with the layout track will be a short (~15’) ribbon of concrete roadbed. Before that though, I’d like to get all the sheathing installed for deck, boxes and backdrop. That’ll be the next big step, which might take a while.
Cliffy
