A few months ago I started planning a coffee table model railroad. I even picked up some cherry wood from some friends to start building with, I just never got around to planning or designing the table itself. Instead I picked up a 2ftx4ft piece of MDF from the local hardware store and glued some cork and track to it, before it sat behind the piano for the next year or more.

However, after I started commuting to Herndon, I took a trip to Ikea after work one day and found the LACK table. I was already aware of the LACK line, as it comes up occasionally when talking about computer hardware – their small side tables are JUST right for mounting 19″ rackmount equipment in, and their smaller coffee table can be used similarly for full length servers.

Then I saw their larger coffee table – after some humming and pondering and measuring I determined that it was about 2 inches too short length-wise to fit my 2×4, so I took a tape measure to it and found I could take off about an inch at each end and make it fit. So I did. I also made a trip to the local Home Depot here in Reston and found a nicely warped piece of plywood that I cut a strip from and placed end-to-end as a divider (and then cut a portal for the track and train to run through). Last night I mounted it in the center and pushed it back under the table where it’s sitting and running quite happily as I type.

I also picked up a pair of tunnel portals and some other scenic effects for one side – it’ll be a country scene with the track weaving through a wooded area. The other side will require a little more planning – the idea is a night-time scene through a small town or city. TBD. I’m excited to play with lights on streets and in buildings, etc.[Photo: Kelly]