When I moved into my new home at the end of February 2009, the bench work was already started. The bench work was designed in nine separate pieces that were joined together when placed in the new train room. I used 1x4s" and 2x6s" to create each separate frame. Each part of the bench work was sprayed a flat black color before it was placed in the train room. I found out this was the easiest way to assemble around the room bench work in a finished train room. I used a 3/4" plywood top for the entire bench work. I used four pieces of one inch pink foam on top of the plywood top. That was all that was available in the North Texas area. I used Liquid Nails to cement each piece of foam first to the plywood top and then to each piece of foam. I then placed bricks on top of the foam for about one week to make sure the pink foam was properly cemented to the plywood base. This bench work is very stable and can easily support heavy weight.
The height of the completed bench work is 52 inches, which is an ideal viewing height for my railroad. I am 6' 2" tall.
I used a special 1/4 inch bendable wood fascia. 18 inches wide. The fascia was raised about 5/8 inch above the foam to protect trains from falling over the edge of the bench work.The fascia was then power stapled to the bench work frame. Any holes were filled with a wood putty. This type of fascia worked out well in the two 50x50" turnaround areas on each side of the layout. The fascia was initially painted a flat black color. For the final color I used a satin black finish.
When the bench work was completed, I bought a roll of Vinyl Roof Flashing at Home Depot for the backdrop. A 50 foot by 24 inch roll of the Vinyl Roof Flashing was just enough for the entire layout. The Vinyl Roof Flashing was cemented to the walls behind the bench work with a special Formica cement. It didn't take long for the Formica cement to set up. I then used a wood molding to finish the backdrop like a picture frame. The wood molding will be painted the color of the train room, a nice taupe color. I had Home Depot mix me a special sky blue color for the backdrop. The Vinyl Roof Flashing takes paint easily. Two coats of paint completely covered the backdrop.
The beauty of the Vinyl Roof Flashing is that there are no seams in the backdrop. I was able to roll the Flashing into the corners of the room, so that wouldn't be any creases in each corner. This type of backdrop enhances photographic sessions when taking photo's of the layout. The cost of a 50 foot roll was approximately $60 at the time of purchase.
The windows will be covered with two pieces of removable pink foam painted with the sky blue color. That section is over eight feet across. I wanted the windows to be accessible, so removable panels were an ideal solution.
Below are photo's of the bench work painted and Vinyl Roof Flashing before and after painting.
Unpainted Vinyl Roof Flashing And Wood Molding Framing The Flashing
Vinyl Roof Flashing Painted And Wood Molding Framing The Vinyl Roof Flashing Painted
Vinyl Roof Flashing Rolled Into Corners Of The Room
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