West Berlin Garden Railroad Power Stand

Power Control Center

Here is a VERY EARLY photo (taken from video) of the West Berlin Garden Railroad. As you can see, there is only 1 power supply atop a 4X4 post that has a small platform attached that's just big enough to place the power supply on when the "train" was run.
Over the years as the WBGR grew, the platform grew as well. Things became more "difficult/complex" and a pain in the butt to set up for a running session and, the space to set it up on became a real problem too..

I needed something that would house all power supplies, block & switch controls, smoke fluid etc. It needed to be weather proof and easy to access. Here's what I came up with.

The New Control Center

In mid-spring of 2003 I build this control stand. It's made of outdoor quality plywood, painted with outdoor latex paint, has a galvanized steel lid cover (over wood) and a locking hasp.

The lid is attached with a piano hinge, and has a desk lid support rod so it can be left opened on really hot days. And yes, it sits on top of the original 4X4 post from the early days.

The summer of 2003 was the wettest on record (I think) and not 1 drop of rain entered my stand. This may be the BEST addition to my GR in years..
(the fall /spring net in the background works well also).