Modular n layout for home

[Frank]

Hi all,

I'm wondering if there's a good choice for doing a home layout that's not going to prevent me from taking the layout to a club in the future. From what I can tell, the ntrak and onetrak standards would pretty much prevent me from having a sane loop of track without going for a huge layout. Ideally, I'd like to keep to a small number of 3' or 4' x 2' modules that I can arrange in various ways to mix the operations side of railroading up when I'm board.

This is a DCC layout and I plan on stacking the modules when not in use. I haven't yet decided whether I'll be putting them on the floor, building legs or putting them on tables.

Ideally, I'd like to stick to something like free-mo, but I'm not sure if that one is right for me, or if there's some recommended way of departing from the spec to make things fit my space more appropriately.


EDIT: Almost forgot, I'd prefer to have a circular layout rather than one that's just point to point for everything.

 

[cajon]

If your modules are 2' x 4' then one could easily hold an 11" radius loop or just a 1/2 circle to turn the trains around to run the other direction. You could also run your mainlines along front edge of both sides of the modules. Putting a scenic divider down the middle would give you two sides of the modules to run trains w/o seeing the other side. Adding a corner or two would let you to use the modules in an L or U shape. Attached a drawing of modules made insulation Styrofoam & PVC legs. Just scale down the dimensions to your module sizes.


View attachment 60215

 

[Frank]

If your modules are 2' x 4' then one could easily hold an 11" radius loop or just a 1/2 circle to turn the trains around to run the other direction. You could also run your mainlines along front edge of both sides of the modules. Putting a scenic divider down the middle would give you two sides of the modules to run trains w/o seeing the other side. Adding a corner or two would let you to use the module in an L or U shape. Attached a drawing of modules made from insulation Styrofoam & PVC legs. Just scale down the dimensions to your module sizes.

I hadn't considered running a divider like that. I'll have to play around with this a bit, but I think that trying to do ntrak is probably going to be a mistake for what I'm looking to do, something like this is probably going to be a better match, especially, if I choose an appropriate amount of stuff to do with the layout.

 

[cajon]

Do you want to just run trains around the layout or are you going to do some operations? Since you're going to be using DCC you could have one mainline w/ sidings for trains to pass each other. Each siding could have industrial switching &/or a depot for passenger trains. If you're like most of us you'll be buying more cars & locos. In that case the layout will need a yard & loco servicing facilities.

 

[Frank]

Do you want to just run trains around the layout or are you going to do some operations? Since you're going to be using DCC you could have one mainline w/ sidings for trains to pass each other. Each siding could have industrial switching &/or a depot for passenger trains. If you're like most of us you'll be buying more cars & locos. In that case the layout will need a yard & loco servicing facilities.

It's a tad hard to explain. Basically, I plan to spend most of my time running trains. So, having a continuous loop available is high priority. But, I think that a train layout without a yard and some opportunities for ops is rather dull.

Right now, I'm thinking that I'll probably start with like a pair of smaller modules, perhaps something like a pair of 2'x2' that are little more than a pair of loops. Something to just get me started and give me a chance to do a bit of scenery. Then, I'll likely do some sort of a switch yard that will allow me some flexibility in how I add additional modules.

But, that's going to require a bit of messing around in a design program to see how that's going to work. I'm leaning towards making the layout based off the free-mo specs, just for my own sanity, even though that means that I'm effectively going to need a different layout if I want to join a club. But, that's probably closer to what I want right now.

 

[otiscnj]

Most of the ntrak and other modular layouts I've seen at shows, have been set up in an oval of some sort, so that the operators can be in the middle of the set up.

 

[Frank]

Most of the ntrak and other modular layouts I've seen at shows, have been set up in an oval of some sort, so that the operators can be in the middle of the set up.

That's more or less what I was afraid of. I have seen some layouts where they they had some interesting track work going on, but most of them are just 3 tracks through the section with possible spurs and that seems too dull for my taste. The exceptions, tend to have a huge amount of space dedicated to a single module. Which is OK, if you've got a ton of space, but in my case that would largely defeat the purpose.

This section is probably the closest I've seen to what I'd like, but they're using a lot more board space than I expect to be able to have available.
http://www.unwclub.org/1b.html

 

[RBMNfan]

You could build one straight module to N track (or One track [or Fremon]) standards. Build the rest of the layout to fit your loop. That allows relatively tight curves for home use and you can take your module to play with the club.

Captain of Industry
President of Lancaster Central RR
President of Lancaster & Western Maryland Railway

 

[Frank]

You could build one straight module to N track (or One track [or Fremon]) standards. Build the rest of the layout to fit your loop. That allows relatively tight curves for home use and you can take your module to play with the club.

Captain of Industry
President of Lancaster Central RR
President of Lancaster & Western Maryland Railway

I may well do that. Have one main module that adheres to a standard strictly, and have the rest of them adhering to only the parts of the standard that are necessary for them to inter-operate with that one. It's become fairly obvious to me that I really need to have at least two tracks on my layout coming and going from each particular module. I don't necessarily have to have them all line up perfectly, but the better they line up, the less real world floor space I'll be wasting.

Unfortunately, it's probably going to be a while before I can afford to do much work on this, but I'm hoping to have a decent plan drawn up in the near future.

 

[FlyFishn]

Hi Frank. I am scanning through some threads on the Forums here and ran across yours. I like the way you're thinking with the modular layout. I am thinking along the same lines. Maybe we can share some ideas together.

There are a couple threads around I have started the past month or two so those may give you some of the questions/ideas I've had, if you haven't read through them already.

One question I do have for you is what kind of overall space you have available. This leads to a couple other thoughts that should be addressed early in the planning stages:

- Minimum curve spec on the layout will determine the type of locomotives (and cars) you can run. The wider you can go the less limits you will run in to. I have a 2x4' oval I am refurbishing as a test for some construction techniques before I move to a larger layout. It has smaller 11" radius curves. For the 2x 2 axle truck loco I have it is fine. It will not handle a larger 2x 3 axle truck loco. My thought, after the research I've done, is to hold a minimum 15" radius curve.

- Expandabiliy. When you say "modular" are you envisioning that to mean a sectional fixed layout? Or a layout that you can add modules to in the future to expand on what you have now?

In reference to the Expandability topic and your question on what track to use I am using Atlas Code 80. My theory is to use all the 30" sections of flex track then cut/shape to fit. If you flip through the other threads I have there are some pictures of the rough layout - L shape. By using flex track and cutting it up I can put the module sections wherever I want, and not have to worry about lining up a module break with a track section.

Another thought - the track between modules may benefit from a small section (1 or 2 inches) of removable track. That may allow for easier re-assembly.

For the sake of discussion and forming ideas - what I'm working on isn't intended to be "expandable". I think that may lend itself to easier design as the space and shape is fixed, though it is still a challenge to figure out how I want to put everything on it. The primary goal is to use it as a platform to experiment with DCC. I want to have some operations (shipping containers) and a yard surrounding a dual main line loop. With the space I have I can't do a whole lot so I need to realize that and simplify. That is hard when seeing large elaborate club layouts.

 

[Frank]

Hi Frank. I am scanning through some threads on the Forums here and ran across yours. I like the way you're thinking with the modular layout. I am thinking along the same lines. Maybe we can share some ideas together.

There are a couple threads around I have started the past month or two so those may give you some of the questions/ideas I've had, if you haven't read through them already.

One question I do have for you is what kind of overall space you have available. This leads to a couple other thoughts that should be addressed early in the planning stages:

- Minimum curve spec on the layout will determine the type of locomotives (and cars) you can run. The wider you can go the less limits you will run in to. I have a 2x4' oval I am refurbishing as a test for some construction techniques before I move to a larger layout. It has smaller 11" radius curves. For the 2x 2 axle truck loco I have it is fine. It will not handle a larger 2x 3 axle truck loco. My thought, after the research I've done, is to hold a minimum 15" radius curve.

- Expandabiliy. When you say "modular" are you envisioning that to mean a sectional fixed layout? Or a layout that you can add modules to in the future to expand on what you have now?

In reference to the Expandability topic and your question on what track to use I am using Atlas Code 80. My theory is to use all the 30" sections of flex track then cut/shape to fit. If you flip through the other threads I have there are some pictures of the rough layout - L shape. By using flex track and cutting it up I can put the module sections wherever I want, and not have to worry about lining up a module break with a track section.

Another thought - the track between modules may benefit from a small section (1 or 2 inches) of removable track. That may allow for easier re-assembly.

For the sake of discussion and forming ideas - what I'm working on isn't intended to be "expandable". I think that may lend itself to easier design as the space and shape is fixed, though it is still a challenge to figure out how I want to put everything on it. The primary goal is to use it as a platform to experiment with DCC. I want to have some operations (shipping containers) and a yard surrounding a dual main line loop. With the space I have I can't do a whole lot so I need to realize that and simplify. That is hard when seeing large elaborate club layouts.

My place isn't very big, so the overriding concern is that I be able to stack the sections when not in use. The rooms will allow for a fair amount of space for the layout if I push the furniture to the sides of the room, but even then, I'm not going to have a huge amount of space. I'll be creating these with a series of smaller modules that I'm planning to arrange in differing configurations in order to make the most of the space I have available. Modeling and driving are fun, but I don't have the space for the kind of layout that wouldn't need reshuffling.

I had considered putting small removable track in between, or using variable length track or just putting the track up to the edge of the board and manually aligning, but I haven't yet decided how that would work precisely. Most likely, I'll be following an established standard so I don't have to worry as much about how my modules mix and match.

Most likely, the first module I do will have a switchyard with pairs of tracks going off to 3 of the sides. That should give me a great place to start and I'll be able to play around with operations while I work on further panels. The next couple I'd probably do would be more like 2x2' ones that would provide termination service at the ends of the track so I can have a loop.