The New Layout of Legopolis
My town is once again being relocated. This time I really have to plan ahead to provide enough space for the quantity of 9v LEGO trains I have accumulated. I'm pretty sure that this bi-level landscape will do it. The upper level has a fair amount of real estate for the growing city of Legopolis, while the lower level is mostly used to store trains not in use.
I'm not much of a woodworker, so it won't surprise me a bit if I end up needing more support beams down there. These graphics are for a "best case scenario" where there is very little interruption of the lower level by supports.
I did my actual planning-out of the space in plan view, working in a multi-layered Adobe Photoshop file. The below images were made from the plan views and unfortunately they got a bit of a moire pattern from stud shadows. But the images should be good enough for you to get the idea.
Top Layer
This image shows the top layer of plywood with baseplates arranged on the surface. The top layer is made up of three pieces of wood. The left and right pieces are to be secured down with screws, while the center piece is to be left removable for access to the center of the lower level.
Base Layer
The lower level is shown here with an arrangement of grey baseplates on its surface. Small squares indicate where supports will be securely located.
The Layers Together
Once assembled, the seams of the top layer pieces lie directly through the middles of the tops of the supports. In other words, the top pieces share the central supports.
I created an animation looking straight down (143K) on the plan, passing through to the lower level where the trains are stored.
Very special thanks to Matthew D. Bates for the use of his excellent Train Depot Track Kit and Train Depot Train Kit. They can be downloaded from Matt's Train Depot.
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