Covering up

We all know that dust and airborne grease are the enemies of model railways, and that the smaller the scale the more they affect performance. Does anyone cover their layout? For the new, bigger and better OzzBahn Mark 2 I was thinking of buying some thin muslin or other light material to cover it between operating sessions. Naturally I'd need some sort of simple frame to drape it over.

By the way, airborne grease comes not only from cooking fats (including olive oil) but also from diesel exhausts.

ausman,

The reason I chose to make my first Z layout under glass is to keep the dust off everything. Not only is it important to me to keep the track clean, but I like my scenery to be clean as well. I'm probably going to do a second layout, this time bigger, but I'm having trouble finding a suitable place to put it so it will also be covered up. I'm thinking maybe an electric guitar case might have a good sized footprint, though I've got to take a closer look at how high I can build in one. A guitar case will be closed most of the time and it won't be part of any room's decor which is something I can live with okay.

Don't use muslin to cover your layout. It's made of cotton and cotton loses fibres very easily. Actually, all types of fabric lose fibres, even synthetics. These fibres are small, but they will get onto your track and into your locomotives gears just as easily as airborne dust, though they will keep out airborne dust for the most part. I would chose a smooth-looking synthetic fabric instead of cotton or other natural fabrics.

I don't know why train layouts are seldom designed to keep out dust. I would have though that with all the work that goes into building such intricate and beautiful layouts that keeping them dust free would be a critical part of the design process.

I've got a 66 square foot display cabinet in our basement that's used for a different hobby. When it's finished, it will have removable Plexiglas sides as well as nicely painted backgounds. Here are some photos of it so you can see how a similar setup might be useful for a train layout...

My first display table which was big enough before I became a "collector".
Dimensions of the removable Plexiglas cover are 58" wide by 33" deep by 22" high:


Basement layout with proposed covered cabinet in the centre:


Early stages of construction:


A shot of the lighting for photography as well as some of my collection.
All that needs to be done with this is do the landscaping and backgrounds, and installation of the Plexiglas:


Ikea cabinets make up the base which allow me lots of storage space for my rather extensive collection. T8 daylight fluorescents are mounted in the ceiling, though they will only be on when I'm making children's videos or when showing the collection. My collection is currently stored in the cabinets until the cabinet is finished.

I hope you find the photos useful, even though they aren't exactly train related. You're welcome to visit my Sylvanian Village Blog for more information and photos.

Don't use muslin to cover your layout. It's made of cotton and cotton loses fibres very easily.

Good tought. Tyvek might be usable.

Thanks Beverly. Your studio looks like an amazing place! My layout space will be along one wall of my spare bedroom (I live in an apartment).

Havoc wrote:

Don't use muslin to cover your layout. It's made of cotton and cotton loses fibres very easily.

Good tought. Tyvek might be usable.

Thanks Havoc. What is Tyvek? I'd thought about using those lightweight plastic painters drop sheets, but I think they'd be too easy to hole.

What is Tyvek?

those light weight full size coveralls are made from that stuff

Tyvek is a non-woven synthetic fabric. It looks like paper but feels a bit "greasy" and is much stronger. Can be used like textile but also glued. Used for those tearproof envelopes and kites.

Those painters covers are very thin and like you say easily holed. And they are static and attract dust like mad.

Beverly, your workmanship is amazing. My gran daughter would just love your houses.

Terry,

I wish I could take credit for building all those buildings, but the fact is that the everything in the above photos were bought pre-made. In Canada and the US the name of the products are Calico Critters. In the UK and Japan they are called Sylvanian Families. The family figures are animals dressed in human clothes, and they are all very, very cute 8) I bought some of my collection at a local store, but most items were purchased at various eBay stores. If you want to know more about them you can visit my Sylvanian Village website.

Your granddaughter can see video stories of my collection (and other family rated videos) at my Youtube Channel .

Gary:

I'm not sure if you'll have it down there, but Tyvek is very commonly used here in the states as a wind/vapor barrier called - Tyvek Housewrap.

We used it for some of our manuals in the military. Darn near indestructible. Spill coffee on it - wipe it off (it stained the page a light brown). If you ran it through a crosscut shredder - it would come out in strips. I think it's weakness is that it breaks down under UV light over time. (It has siding over it when used on a house). It is basically woven plastic. So it also tends to be like plastic sheeting and you may have the same issues you would have if you covered your layout with plastic sheeting.

HTH,
Jeremy

Thank you Beverly.