If you’re like me, you put a lot of work into your model railroad scenery, and the last thing you want to see is an operator putting his paperwork on the layout during an operating session. This situation was a concern for me, so I turned to hook and loop fasteners and piano hinges to solve the problem.
I provide my operators with small clipboards to hold their timetable, town track layout, switch lists, train orders, and the like. I have seen other modelers place hooks or spring clips on their model railroad fascia to hang paperwork or clipboards from. But my layout’s aisles are narrow, and I was concerned someone would get their clothes caught and torn on the hooks or clips. After some thought, the solution came to me. I would mount hinges on the fascia and hang clipboards with hook-and-loop fasteners from the hinges.
My first step was to purchase a 1½” wide x 36” long piano hinge from a local hardware store. I cut the piano hinge into 6” lengths with a hacksaw and rounded the cut ends with a file to eliminate any sharp edges. I then mounted the hinges around my layout fascia at various towns with screws. The hinges were mounted horizontally with the hinge pin at the top so the hinge will naturally lay flat against the fascia. I then applied the soft loop side of ¾” wide self-adhesive hook-and-loop fasteners to the hinge.
I then adhered strips of the hook side of the hook-and-loop fasteners to the top of the back of the clipboards. When operators get to a town that needs to be switched, they stick their clipboard to the hinge, leaving the operator’s hands free to work their throttles, line switches, and uncouple cars. The clipboards hang flat against the fascia with minimal projection into the aisle. The operators can lift them up to consult their paperwork with one hand.
As a side note, I also added strips of the adhesive-backed hook-and-loop fasteners to the backs of my Digital Command Control walkaround cabs so they can be also be hung on the fascia instead of being placed on the scenery.
For more ideas, also check out Model railroad fascia fixtures to improve your layout.
