The K 'n G Railplex is portable and is displayed at local train shows. Far more train enthusiasts see the layout than a permanent home layout.

The downside of this portability is that the layout, trains, and everything associated with the layout must be transported to the train show. The K 'n G Railplex layout was designed to fit in a full-sized pickup truck. The eight panels slide into a "rack." Another vehicle carries trains, trackside accessories, structures and scenery, and the power carriers.

The "rack," shown to right, serves to transport and store the eight layout panels. The rack is in two pieces so they can be carried out the door. The lower rack section holds the four layout center panels and fits between the wheel wells of the pickup truck. The upper rack is held to the lower rack with interlocking keys. It holds the four, larger, corner layout panels. Covers attach to the rack ends to secure the panels.

Vertical panel spacing is about seven inches, allowing the top of the rack to be lower than the top of the pickup's cab roof.

The rack is constructed of a wood framework which is covered with tarp material.

For storage, the rack sits on a wheeled carrier so it can be moved about the workshop. The carrier also provides storage space for the bins holding trains and trackside accessories.

Each of the eight layout panels weighs between 60 and 73 pounds. Each rack section weighs 90 pounds. Total weight of panels and rack is about 720 pounds.

The limited vertical panel spacing in the rack means any accessory or structure has to be transported separately and installed on the layout during setup.

There are over forty electrical accessories and structures that require placement on the layout and electrical connections made. To keep setup time reasonable each accessory is fixed to a mounting plate that is attached to the layout. The following 153 Block Signal example illustrates the technique.

The mounting plate is made of 1/4 inch MDF. There are two locating holes and a recessed area for wires and connectors. The mounting plate is screwed to the layout surface.

Wires and a .062 Molex connector route from the controller for the accessory. The wires feed up from below the track surface and are constrained so they can always be accessed from above.

The accessory is modified with two 1/4 round metal spacers fastened with screws through the original mounting holes. Wires are soldered underneath the accessory and to a mating connector. The terminal posts are not used.

Installing an accessory is as easy as putting the connector halves together, positioning the connector and wires in the recess provided, then placing the accessory on the mounting plate using the metal spacers in the locating holes. Much faster and more reliable than screwing them down and making wire connections to the terminal posts.

The installed accessory is always located exactly where it should be, won't fall over onto track, electrical connections are always right, and the wires are hidden from view.

Removal is just as easy.

All the mounting plates for the same accessory type are identical. The electrical connections are the same as well so any given accessory can be installed on any mating mounting plate.

The forty accessories must also be transported.

Wrapping each with bubble wrap proved too time consuming, required too much space, and was a bit hard on the accessories. Holders of building foam were made to hold the accessories for transport.

First attempts to make the accessory holders using knives and a woodworking router were unsuccessful ... and very messy. Commercial hot wire cutters were explored, but available units seemed inadequate for our needs.

A little experimentation yielded a very useful set of hot wire tools.

Click the image for more details.

Accessory holders are constructed with building foam (pink style works best) glued to a backing board. Backing can be mat board, foam core, or thin plywood.

Accessories are arranged on the blank holder surface, outlines traced with a pen, and a hot wire "router" used to cut the required recess. Multiple router bases with different shapes and depths settings are employed to conveniently cut various shapes and depths of cut needed.

Larger accessories can be fitted into a three dimensional, layered holder. Wood dowels fit into holes to align the various holder layers.

Some track sections and track switches span panel breaks and must be transported and installed during setup. These, too, fit into foam holders.

Using foam holders for accessories and track pieces has proven quite successful. The forty accessories and pictured track pieces fit into two 27 x 17 x 10 storage containers.

We typically take ten engines and fifty cars to a show using three plastic "footlocker" type storage containers.

Engines are on the bottom of each container with cars in two layers on top. Different holders are used, depending on the engines and cars being taken.

The engine holder to right was constructed from a three-inch slab of upholstery foam, a one inch section of building foam, and a base of thin plywood. The upholstery foam and building foam were glued together with a special spray for the upholstery foam, openings cut with the hot wire cutter, then it was glued to the plywood base. Engines are heavy, so too many cannot be placed in one container.

This holder has worked reasonably well, the engines are protected, but taking them in and out of the holder isn't quite as easy as envisioned. Bits of engine often snag on the foam. We will probably, some day, replace the upholstery foam with pink builders foam.

Cars fit into holders constructed of 1/4 inch foamcore glued to a thin plywood base. Half-depth, interlocking slots are stack cut with a dado blade on the table saw. The holder is then assembled and glued to the base. Foam blocks are used in car openings to keep cars from rolling back and forth during transport.

Different sized openings are made to fit different sizes of rolling stock. A colored sticker on the bottom of the car and in the holder opening makes returning cars to the right holder easier.

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