The layout is intended to be a long term thing, but just in case, I am building it on individual benches that can be separated and removed as units if required. Therefore the maximum width of each bench must be no more than 700mm and the layout is divided up into seven sections as in the plan below.



I will be building each bench as I have numbered them in the plan and will do the bulk of the tracklaying and some scenery, before moving on to the next bench. This will make it easier to do some of the harder to reach parts and mix up the work a little to make it interesting.

Here is bench frame No.1 completed. 45mm x 20mm softwood framing with panels of MDF to aid rigidity.



A close up of the framing with holes predrilled for wiring.



After the framing was sealed, I added thin blocks to the top of the frame to give structure for the contoured top panel and also rebated a channel into the framing for the fiddle yard access. I then cut out the top sheet from 6mm MDF and glued and pinned this into position over the profiled framing. This has produced a very rigid surface, that is not too thick and is easy to drill, cut and fix to. After sealing the top panel I have marked it with a grid of 50mm x 50mm squares and have started to mark out the track routes.