assembling square table supports with cross bracing? - Model Railroader Magazine

I agree Douglas, your approach is as good as any. If I install diagonal braces, I install the from the bench work to the leg and keep them up high, no more that one third of the way down the leg. And they go on last.

I now understand (mostly) what Greg is trying to do, but in the end he will use more "parts" each of which takes more time and material, even if they are "mass produced".

I use table top construction for yards, urban areas, etc, but open grid everywhere else. each section is a custom shape.

This new layout, the old layout, every layout I have ever built, does/did not have uniform depth of benchwork, standardized corners, or benchwork all the same height. So every "module" is custom......

We are trying to simulate mother nature here. In this part of the world mother nature is not flat or in straight lines. Rivers, streams, bays, ocean, mountains, hills and valleys meander where they will, and railroad right of ways, highways, and human activity follow them and can only level and straighten a small portion of that. 

So realistic scenery dictates creative benchwork construction.

Jim (RioGrande) has posted lots of pictures of his benchwork - he has the right idea.

Sheldon