Coffee Table Baseboard

[Roger Cope]

I'm relatively new to 009 modelling, though I've been modelling in 4mm scale off and on for many years and have an emerging 00 scale layout as my main retirement hobby. Despite that ongoing project, like many others I was diverted/inspired by the Scalescenes Canal Wharf boxfile kit and the release of a full set of pre-cut card for the kit by ChrisInDen Models nudged me into actually buying a boxfile and starting to build it.

Dioramas aren't really my thing and building a loop of 00 scale track just to run trains through the boxfile seemed to be an unjustifiable use of space. I flirted with various ideas for fiddle yards for a while but again the end result didn't appeal. However, all of this armchair modelling time coincided with the start of the current boom in commercial support for 009 and eventually the penny dropped and I started to construct the kit for 009 trackwork.

The next daydream diversion was about the final form of the layout - baseboards, display case, storage size and location etc. Having taken early retirement in June '22 and moved to Scotland I was in the lucky position of having a railway room/office/man cave all to myself but all of the wall space was spoken for by existing furniture. Luckily the room is a decent size and there was plenty of floor space for a coffee table...

One of my other retirement interests is DIY/Woodworking so it was always more likely that I would build a coffee table rather than buy one. Not being a designer though I hunted around the Internet for inspiration (and plans, preferably!) and eventually landed on Ana White's website .

Ana is clearly a very busy (or well organised) Mom for she has hundreds of projects and the videos to prove she builds them herself. The site is free with subscriptions and advertising supporting it though Ana herself is now a well known influencer in her field.

The coffee table plans are available here but like all things American the table is much bigger than we would have in the UK and I significantly changed the dimensions and made a few design tweaks. In the following post I will show a few pictures with brief notes...

Roger

[Roger Cope]

The size of the coffee table is dictated by my choice of Hobbycraft A1 foamboard sheets to line it. The resulting circle of track is tight but a Bachmann Mainline Hunslet runs around without problems and nothing larger will be run - most of the locos and stock will be smaller and more agile. The wood all comes from B&Q for simplicity though probably at a price premium. All of the ply is 18mm sheet and the wood is pine and oak stripwood that is basically of similar dimensions to Ana's plans. I have a table saw and was able to cut larger planks down accurately lengthwise, which saved some money.

As you can in this photo, square joints were made using Kreg pocket holes:

[Roger Cope]

I wanted the coffee table to be flexible enough to allow me to change the layout or - heaven forfend! - remove it altogether and return it to being a coffee table. So I used the foamboard as a baseboard. I use two sheets, one uncut to line the table and the second one cut to recess the boxfile into. Recessing the boxfile allows some degree of support to the tracks exiting the boxfile, though the result still leaves the boxfile slightly proud of the baseboard surface.

As you can see, I cut a viewing window into one side of the table, allowing for a ground level view of the boxfile. I probably didn't think this through enough as most of this view is of a huge rusty barge in the final layout - and if I ever change my mind about displaying boxfile layouts it is likely to be an interesting talking point!

[Roger Cope]

This view shows the table in the final stages of construction. It is a very heavy beast - completely at odds with the trend towards lightweight baseboards! With that in mind I made the lower platform removeable simply by cutting oak blocks and glueing them in place in the internal corner of the legs. Ana suggests this as an option for strength rather than making the shelf removeable but I found that by cutting the oak stripwood trim to give a loose fit on the shelf edge the measurements allowed the shelf to be lifted enough to disengage it from the legs and be slid out. As my railway room is on the third floor of our house the benefit was obvious  :D

[Roger Cope]

And finally, a picture of the coffee table in situ after filling the screw holes, staining and waxing. The layout and boxfile itself remains a work in progress. In the picture you can see a line of foam trim around the top of the internal tray, which the coffee table top sheets sit on. Like Ana I am using ply for the top sheets (more weight!) though she points out that in a playroom this construction would support a child's weight and I have no doubt about it. I guess that if you used the space for a complete layout you could consider a see through dust cover of some kind or of course leave it open to the elements, which would allow for layouts with height.

[clayliner]

Looking good, Roger - I envy your woodworking skills!

I presume the table will have a glass top so that you can watch the trains go round while your relaxing with a coffee? It's just a thought - and i appreciate that space is at a premium - but I wonder if the oval could be shifted through, say, 10 degrees and maybe one side of the oval opened out slightly so that the track entered the back of the box on one side so that it was all a bit less 'square' and symmetrical? Just a thought, and maybe you've designed it like that on purpose of course , which is fine.

Will watch progress with interest. What are your scenic plans?

David.