[Gary Brantley]

That is very cool!   I like that idea a lot, especially the use of the retaining barriers along the sides.   Great idea that!   

Regarding suspending it from the ceiling; when I was about 6 I guess, my parents gave me a Lionel train set for Christmas.  It was put together by a long-time electric train guy in our hometown.   I remember going over to his workshop, out behind his house one night so my Dad could make the deal.  Mr. Johnson had maybe four or five trains running simultaneously on a huge layout, with the controls right in the middle.  He crawled under to reach it I recall.  He had many complete Lionel trains sitting on shelves and he assembled one for my gift.  It was pulled by a '49 model steam loco I believe and has a big old transformer with a big lever.  It was attached to cork-like rail beds and screwed to a sheet of plywood that he had covered in white glue, then sawdust and then green paint.   We kept it under my bed when not in use.     I still have all of it I believe; the roadbed may not be in great shape now though.  ;)

Years later, I removed the RR track and set up my Strombecker 1/32 set on that base, with an extension added.   My Dad and I suspended it from two pulleys attached to the rafters in the garage, pulling it up tight against the open ceiling joists, and then lowering it onto sawhorses to race.  The biggest problem with that setup was the Texas summer heat.