Benchwork for Model Trains - Beginning Construction

The benchwork for your model train may be quite simple if you’re just starting out with a small layout. A piece of 4’x8’ plywood or an old door laid on an unused table. My first layout was built on a waste piece of plywood laid on a little-used pool table. You may have a lager model train layout in mind and are looking for some tips on building the benchwork for your model train.

Whatever size, shape, or design you decide on you will want a sturdy foundation.  I have some articles on the planning stages of benchwork listed on the right-hand side of this blog that may help you answer some questions about your design.

Doing it right from the beginning will save a lot of future headaches.

There are a lot of good books on the subject of benchwork for model trains and my advice would be to get your hands on one. I have built benchwork from scratch and with out any advice, but I can’t advise it.

Benchwork, like most everything in model railroading, has no “right way” to build. The best method for you will depend upon the type, size, your room dimensions, portability desired, whether you want a free-standing table or a wall-mount.

Regardless of what layout you plan to place on it, benchwork needs a solid framework to support your model railroad empire correctly. Two types of framework are available - Butt-Joint and L-Girder.

Butt-Joint Construction

Butt-joint is quite popular and is similar to what you might find if you laid an interior wall flat and removed the Sheetrock. With this method, joists butt up against girders as shown in the simple diagram to the right. The joists and girders are secured together with screws inserted into the ends of adjoining pieces.

You can place a tabletop (such as plywood) or secured the roadbed directly on top of this framework. Either method works equally well.

Butt-Joint construction works well for small to medium-sized layouts that may need to be moved. Since this design results in right-angles it’s good for layouts that are rectangular or square.

Butt-joint constructions biggest drawback is that it requires precise cutting. Even a small error will make butting the members together very difficult. It’s also more difficult to create irregular shapes that are so popular in linear design. I’m not saying it can’t be done, it just takes more planning.

L-Girder Construction

L-girder, also known as “lattice framing”, is more popular and versatile. It’s easy to form layouts in the shape of T’s or I’s. Girder sections support the joists. The joists support the roadbed and/or tabletop. Be combining these two layers of construction a much wider degree of flexibility is allowed.

L-girder design is sturdier that butt-joint. The joints are stronger as the screws don’t go into the ends of the wood grain. Since joist sit on top of the girders it very simple to adjust several joist to make irregular shapes needed to accommodate rail yards and large scenic areas. The sides of the layout don’t have to be straight, allowing for the popular linear design.

Another advantage is it’s ease of construction. Cuts don’t require the exactness that butt-joint requires. L-girder is simple to revise later on. The biggest advantage is the ability to reposition any joist at any time during the construction phase. This will prove to more advantageous than you might think if you’re working on your first layout.

Is one better than the other? Well, that depends on your unique situation. You may even find a combination of the two works best for you.

I can’t possibly cover everything you need to know in this blog about benchwork for model trains. I highly suggest you check out some to the great books on benchwork. This is an area that is hard to correct after you have your tabletop attached, track laid, and then find your terrain won’t fit or needs to me modified.

A couple of books I own and used for references are:
Basic Model Railroad Benchwork: The Complete Photo Guide (Model Railroader)
How to Build Model Railroad Benchwork, Second Edition (Model Railroader)

Benchwork For Model Trains - Defining Your Space and Shape

Before beginning any actual construction of the benchwork for model trains, there are two important considerations - Space and Shape.

Space simply defines the size of the available area you have or in other words, your physical boundaries. Space also includes your practical limits. Practical limits are, in my case, how much room my wife will allow me to use for my model railroad. While I say that mostly as a joke, consideration of other family members and their need for their own space is important in this area.

Once you come to an agreement about how much space you have, you can move on the model railroad shape you want.

Shape  is quite simply, the shape of the layout you will put in the space available. On a personal note, I prefer layouts that are not square, and do not have perfectly straight lines. Why? Real railroads hardly ever involve squares, real terrain does not lay in neat squares, mountain ranges do not lay in straight lines, rivers do not run in straight lines, very few things in nature lie in neat squares or involve straight lines.

Why then are so many layout plans based on squares?

• We just seem to be right angle and straight line thinkers
• Square layouts work better for square pages in layout design books
• Lumber comes in straight lines, squares, and rectangles in the case of plywood.
• Square is an old outdated pattern from years past when handy power tools such as inexpensive saber saws were in less abundance. It's much easier now to create irregular benchwork edges.

What I feel is best is, draw straight lines to temporarily outline the area you have available, but in your planning stages be open to bend the lines inward here or outward there, leaving it mostly the same overall.

This approach allows more freedom in planning and some of the benefits include:

• Able to make layout wider at curves, loops and turn backs and roundtables if you use them
• Can make bench work narrower where isle space is desired, especially where visitors gather.
• Makes railroad seem longer as long graceful curves give the appearance of greater distance.
• Looks more realistic when it does not actually follow the contour of a square.

Planning Stage


Once you have decided on the basic design from the many benchwork designs, I'd suggest you plan your aisleways first. Of course if you are going with a modular design you won't have aisleways, but since we have been talking about linear designs I'm going to assume you want aisles.

It may seem a bit awkward at first, but the first place to start is by planning the aisleways first. The layout of the aisles is integral to the overall design of your model railroad. You will create a much better track plan if you design the aisleways first.

Proper access to areas of the layout for yourself and visitors is essential, both while working on the layout and while later operating it. Once again, understand that aisleway boundaries are negotiable and pliable. Feel free to bend them in little here or stretch them a little there. I like to say the aisleways create the skeleton and the track layout provides the flesh. Any track-related alterations to your aisleway plans should be to provide wide places for turnback curves, return loops, roundtables, and so on.

Designing aisleways is a matter of compromise, wider is nice but not always practical. I like to have aisles at least 30" to avoid a bottleneck when visitors are present. Sometimes space requirements won't allow it, but I always make sure they are wide enough that I can do repairs to any part of the layout from my aisleways.

Try and plan you aisleways shaped like open letters such as C, U, F or E.

Lets look at an example using the basic pattern of a C and having a 12' x 12' room available. Of course this could be modified somewhat to fit about any size room by adding an aisleway or two.

Notice the light grey lines that defined my available space inside the room.

Using an aisleway design based on the letter C I have comfortable sized aisleway that that allows full access both to work on and view the layout.

I have added a hatch in the lower left hand corner in case it would be needed.

On this particular layout I decided to have a double-faced backdrop that allows me have separate scenes based on where visitors are viewing from.

This makes a nice layout that is easy to view and work on, yet breaks that monotonous square patter we are all so used to.

A little time spent in planning aisleways will go a long way toward creating realism in your model train layout. The benchwork for model trains does not have to follow a boring square pattern any longer.

If you would like more information on building Benchwork for Model Trains check out these great reference books:

How to Build Model Railroad Benchwork, Second Edition (Model Railroader)
Basic Model Railroad Benchwork: The Complete Photo Guide (Model Railroader)

Starting a Model Railroad - Some Basic Layouts

Basic Layout with elevation

If you are thinking about starting a model railroad hopefully you have an idea in mind about what you plan to model. It's always best to begin with a theme - What is your railroad all about?

Do you know your railroads purpose? That is, what will your railroad do?

What location will you be modeling? 

Have you chosen an era to model?

Have you decided on what scenery you are going to be using?

If you're just getting started and haven't thought about these things check out this article on choosing a theme.


Model railroading has been called the worlds greatest hobby and for a very good reason. Model railroading has so many facets, such as:


* Create your own little empire that you can get away from it all and just enjoy.
* Unique skills to master; wood work and all that goes with that, wiring and programming; from your controllers to lighted homes, painting, creating scenery and rolling stock, and so much more.
* Model railroading is easily the most rewarding enjoyable hobby around.


OK, enough of that. Even if you're still working out a theme, even if you don't own a train set yet we can get started looking at some basic and some not so basic track layouts.

How to Build a Model Railroad - Planning Stage

You’ve decided you want to learn how to build a model railroad that you’ve dreamed of since childhood. Maybe you’re remembering the fun you had running your first track around the Christmas tree, maybe you’ve visited your first train show or maybe you’ve seen videos of some of the great layouts on the internet? Whatever the reason, you want to build your own model railroad.

First off, let me welcome you to the worlds greatest hobby! My hope is help you along the way, help you avoid some of the most common pitfalls, and have fun along the way.

 The great thing about model railroading is that it can be whatever you want it to be. It can be as small you want - a z scale that could fit in a suitcase or a G scale outdoor garden train. It can be very expensive or relatively inexpensive. It’s all up to you!

The most important part of building your model railroad is the planning stage. There are numerous things to plan out. In this post I’ll go over what I consider the basic three things to consider before starting.