Michaelt
Michael T
Greetings and Happy New Year to all.
After a lot of time himming and hawing and having other things taking up most of my free time, things have slowed down a bit and I've gotten some free time to work on some model railroading again. We have a local group of MRR'ers that meet at our local LHS, the owner of which is very helpful and provides instruction and as much help as he can. The bulk of the group has been meeting on Saturday mornings before his store opens for over 15 years, of which I've been a part the last seven or so years. We worked on an HO narrow gauge layout set in Tuscarora NV and took it to a number of train shows over the course of a few years, but decided to semi retire that layout to the store and develop a new idea to work on as individuals and a group.
Our LHS "boss" came up with the idea of a module based setup so each person who wished could have a module (or modules) of their own, and we could set them up together at the few train shows we go to each year; one being in Pine Bluff, Arkansas in April, and the Fall (August, September) show that "boss" hosts each year for the past four years in Jacksonville, AR. Since our group has different scale preferences, we decided to have two separate layouts in module form, one in HO, the other in N, but anyone can build or assist in building modules. The "boss" has also put together an HO module setup in his store which is added to by other modules when we setup for a show.
It was decided as a group to make our base for each module section a HCD (hollow core door) with dimensions either 16 or 32" wide and 16, 32, 48, 64, or 80" in length. I'll not bore everyone with all the minute details, but suffice it to say that this concept has been agreeable to everyone in our group and we have quite a few modules that have been started and worked on over the last year. I'm putting together a 16x80 module in HO to include with that setup, but focusing more on two N scale modules that are 32x80 each. Each module (whether HO or N) has Kato unitrack as the first piece, which joins via a short piece of Kato to the next module. After that first piece, the track can be any type as long as there is a piece of Kato at the end.
With the 32" modules in N scale we have the ability to turn trains 180 degrees which HO does not allow on the same module. We have a couple of mountain range modules with tunnels and one that has a 1 1/2 turn helix to gain height. Of my two modules (which I have included Anyrail diagrams below) that I'm working on, one is a self sufficient branchline off the mainline run, and the other is a lazy loop through the module with a small mountain valley town at the end.
By putting these two modules together, I can also set them up at home and run them as a continuous layout, and when with the groups modules, they will become a part of what we're calling the "Tuscarora River Rail Project". Currently we have 8 N scale modules and 15-17 HO modules in different levels of completion.
On the branchline module which was my first, after the 2" Kato piece, I used Atlas code 80 track and turnouts, but with the second module, I went with all Kato unitrack for the lazy loop around Winslow.
So here is a start (it's been awhile since I've posted in forums, so just getting my feet wet again). As I continue to build these modules I'll try and add posts and updated pictures as progress moves along.
michael
After a lot of time himming and hawing and having other things taking up most of my free time, things have slowed down a bit and I've gotten some free time to work on some model railroading again. We have a local group of MRR'ers that meet at our local LHS, the owner of which is very helpful and provides instruction and as much help as he can. The bulk of the group has been meeting on Saturday mornings before his store opens for over 15 years, of which I've been a part the last seven or so years. We worked on an HO narrow gauge layout set in Tuscarora NV and took it to a number of train shows over the course of a few years, but decided to semi retire that layout to the store and develop a new idea to work on as individuals and a group.
Our LHS "boss" came up with the idea of a module based setup so each person who wished could have a module (or modules) of their own, and we could set them up together at the few train shows we go to each year; one being in Pine Bluff, Arkansas in April, and the Fall (August, September) show that "boss" hosts each year for the past four years in Jacksonville, AR. Since our group has different scale preferences, we decided to have two separate layouts in module form, one in HO, the other in N, but anyone can build or assist in building modules. The "boss" has also put together an HO module setup in his store which is added to by other modules when we setup for a show.
It was decided as a group to make our base for each module section a HCD (hollow core door) with dimensions either 16 or 32" wide and 16, 32, 48, 64, or 80" in length. I'll not bore everyone with all the minute details, but suffice it to say that this concept has been agreeable to everyone in our group and we have quite a few modules that have been started and worked on over the last year. I'm putting together a 16x80 module in HO to include with that setup, but focusing more on two N scale modules that are 32x80 each. Each module (whether HO or N) has Kato unitrack as the first piece, which joins via a short piece of Kato to the next module. After that first piece, the track can be any type as long as there is a piece of Kato at the end.
With the 32" modules in N scale we have the ability to turn trains 180 degrees which HO does not allow on the same module. We have a couple of mountain range modules with tunnels and one that has a 1 1/2 turn helix to gain height. Of my two modules (which I have included Anyrail diagrams below) that I'm working on, one is a self sufficient branchline off the mainline run, and the other is a lazy loop through the module with a small mountain valley town at the end.
By putting these two modules together, I can also set them up at home and run them as a continuous layout, and when with the groups modules, they will become a part of what we're calling the "Tuscarora River Rail Project". Currently we have 8 N scale modules and 15-17 HO modules in different levels of completion.
On the branchline module which was my first, after the 2" Kato piece, I used Atlas code 80 track and turnouts, but with the second module, I went with all Kato unitrack for the lazy loop around Winslow.
So here is a start (it's been awhile since I've posted in forums, so just getting my feet wet again). As I continue to build these modules I'll try and add posts and updated pictures as progress moves along.
michael
