Everyone has to move at some point in their life, but for model railroaders, there’s an added task: reassembling a layout after moving. If you’re contemplating moving, here are a few things to keep in mind when it comes time to put everything back together.
Plan to move
One of the things you can do to simplify moving a layout is to plan for it when you first build it. Of course, not all of us know we’re going to be moving, but if you’ve chosen a career where it’s likely you won’t be staying in one place for decades, you might want to consider a sectional approach to your layout construction. The key is to make the sections compact enough to not only get them out of the space where you’re first setting them up, but to have a reasonable chance to get them into your new home. Something about the size of a small door – 2 x 6 feet – is likely to fit through any hallways or stairwells you might have to traverse, especially if the legs come off. You can get more tips on planning a moveable layout here.
Remove delicate items
Of course, you’ll take your trains off the sections before you take it down, but be sure to remove structures with delicate details as well. Trees can often withstand a bit of shaking, unless they’re made of natural materials that have had a chance to dry to the point of brittleness. Whatever else you do, wrap the sections in light sheets of plastic drop cloth. You want the light stuff, not the heavy-duty kind you’ll be using to protect your floors when you paint over the previous owner’s or tenants odd choices in colors. The light plastic will serve as a place to catch anything that comes loose, so you have a reasonable chance to put it all back together.
Staging simplifies reassembly
If you can set aside a space to collect the sections of your layout outside the future layout room, you’ll have a much easier time during reassembly. You’ll have a chance to sort the pieces, as well as space to try different arrangements.
Fitting it together
It’s likely you’ll need to build a few new sections to connect what you’ve brought along. If you know this setup will be temporary as well, you can cheat a little with construction to get things running more quickly. Up to HO scale, it’s not unreasonable to expect thicker (2”+) extruded-foam insulation board to act as the surface of the layout without too much support structure if the spans are short (about 24”). Again, if this will be temporary, and especially if more moves are expected, putting terminal blocks at the ends of your sections will make it easy to connect everything electrically.
What if I didn’t plan to move?
Some of us thought we’d never move again, but things changed, and now we’re on the road to a new home. This means your layout was probably built into the space it occupied. In this case, you’re going to have to make some decisions about what you can keep, and what you can discard. Again, remove structures as well as all trains and small details such as figures and vehicles. If there’s a section of your layout of which you’re especially proud, see if you can cut it out and save it. Be sure to check if your benchwork can support the section you want to save once it’s loose from the rest of the layout. You might have to add more framing, which you should do before you make the first cut.
Once you have everything moved to your new home, you can proceed much as outlined above. Find spots in the new layout space for your salvaged sections of layout, then figure out how you’ll connect them back together. You may decide to rebuild with a similar focus of era and locale, or you might take the opportunity to try something a little (or completely) different. Even if you can’t save very much from your old layout, at least you’ll likely have some structures, and maybe some nice pieces of lumber, and you’ll certainly have the knowledge to build a better layout this time!
When I was in the Air Force, I made my N scale layout in 1×4 foot bookshelf sections (based on an article in MR from way back when). Only difference was each was a separate scene with closed ends like David has done with his logging layout. That way I could reconfigure and connect them in whatever fashion fit the room I was in. After having done that for 20 years, I’ve gone back to moving is an opportunity to start over with my latest layout.
A really good way to make your layout sectional is to build Free-mo or Free-moN modules. The standard is flexible enough that you can build whatever you want. Then, not only is it easy to disassemble if you move, but you can also take parts of your layout to train shows.