Train Table and Screen Door

A few days after the van project, my big brother Fred arrived from Arizona. The projects this time were a ginormous model train table and a custom eight-foot-high screen door for his house in Prescott Valley. He had come up with a clever design that would allow the big train layout to be folded up and rolled to the side of the garage to make room for the car.

My first task was 3D renderings using Sketchup.

The "Wings" were four feet wide by eight feet long, making this thing ten and a half feet wide by eight feet long.  That's a lot of model trains.

We were able to build the parts in my shop, but to attach the wings, we had to move outside, and then could only set the hinges on one wing at a time.

Once the train table was done, we moved on to the screen door, which we made out of two layers of nice poplar hardwood.  We had planned to take another trip to town to buy the wood, but that would have been about a 90-mile round trip and would have killed half a day, no doubt.

Luckily, Brian had left enough wood here from the van project to save us a long drive.

Projects complete, we loaded up for the trip to Arizona.

This is where Fred really shines.  Anything electrical or electronic.

He designed the front panel and had it printed on metal. 
Mesa Lines was the name our dad used on his train layouts.
Keeping the tradition alive.

When we got to Arizona, we set the table up in Fred and Gayle's garage. This should keep him occupied for quite some time.

Rolled against the wall, it's only about 3 feet wide and leaves plenty of room for the car.

New screen door and happy wife

If you're interested in following Fred's progress on the new train layout, check out his new blog at: https://fredstraintable.blogspot.com/