HO/HOn30 NMRA module....

[shaygetz]

I've found myself needing to build a module for an upcoming GATS show and NMRA Convention so I thought I'd post my progress for you. Building this required the dismantling of my former layout but only in part. Since my original layout is a simple switching plan, I've simply reconfigured the original tabletop to bring my track into the NMRA standards.

Because it is being built to be toted, I used the finest, clean grade A pine I could find, knot-free and straight as an arrow. This is not the most economical way to go but it is the first rule in derailment free operation, that is, start with a firm foundation.

Materials for this were;

2 1x6x8 cut to 6' long,
1 1x6x6 cut to two lengths 28 1/2" long,
2 1x4x6 cut into four pieces 28 1/2" long,
and a piece of 2'x4'x1/2" furniture grade birch plywood, ripped to 1/2"x6" strips 28 1/2" long and,
assorted nuts, bolts and screws.

 

[shaygetz]

Guess I could've corrected that view while in the Photo program First up was assembling the 4 tees used to hold the folding table legs and insuring that they were square.

 

[shaygetz]

The sides were assembled next using scrap lumber to keep things square during assembly. Sorry, the program didn't like the original posting so I had to twist the photo sideways.

 

[shaygetz]

An old banquet table was salvaged for its legs. They are shown mounted, after carefully measuring for center. They are adjustable from 24" to 36" however, I will still braze t-nuts to the bottoms of the legs for finer adjusting at the shows.

 

[shaygetz]

While a bit on the beefy side weight wise, it is still lighter and stronger than my original door mounted layout. I'll keep posting the progress as track and scenery progress. Hope this helps some folks with their bench work.

 

[Lighthorseman]

Up Wit Da Tumz!

Beautiful so far! Can't wait for more!

 

[shaygetz]

Thank you, Steve. I have to confess, my line of work requires me to own a rack of tools to rival "This Old House". I could not imagine trying to keep the cuts square and true without my trusty compound mitre saw and table saw, tools not found in a whole lot of model railroader tool inventories.

 

[belg]

Shaygetz hey I think you got wood!!!! I'm wondering if this is part of a series of modules how do you account for the uneven concrete floor you sometimes see in those large halls?

 

[Russ Bellinis]

Originally posted by belg
Shaygetz hey I think you got wood!!!! I'm wondering if this is part of a series of modules how do you account for the uneven concrete floor you sometimes see in those large halls?

I belong to a modular club here in So. Cali. Generally the floors at all of the venues I've been to are fairly smooth. We did a shopping center with Italian tile flooring that was rough, but it didn't vary more than 1/4 inch or so, and the leg adjusters made up for high and low spots. Of course smooth does not mean level! I think the worst floor in terms of level was a building at the Los Angeles County Fairgrounds where we were set up for a G.A.T. Show a few years ago. The floor had about a 3% slope. The result was that we almost needed "helper service" to get the trains around the layout, and the locomotives struggled up one side of the layout and raced down the other side!

 

[shaygetz]

Originally posted by belg
I'm wondering if this is part of a series of modules how do you account for the uneven concrete floor you sometimes see in those large halls?

Yes, it is part of a series of 16 modules that put together a layout 24'x32'. It includes a twelve track yard that spans 5 modules, 2 corner and 3 middies on one side. We level each module by means of eye bolts threaded into tee nuts silver soldered into the ends of the table legs. The eye bolts make it easy to raise or lower each leg by inserting a screwdriver into the eye and twisting up or down.

 

[shaygetz]

An update...the narrow gauge loop is now installed. It rests on a bed of 3/4" pink foam to raise it slightly above the mainline. It only has one spur as its primary purpose is to display my kitbashes and provide an interesting diversion for visitors when the trains are at the other end of the layout.

 

[shaygetz]

And the lower end...

 

[shaygetz]

The sparse engine servicing facilities were built as a diorama long ago and are fully lit and detailed.

 

[shaygetz]

The mainline station is a model of the Sykesville station near where I grew up. I am modeling it as a museum with ticket sales and a stairway to a smaller passenger platform on the upper level. The narrow gauge is being modeled as a tourist line to keep the plausability factor reasonably high. The block wall is peeled drywall, scribed and washed with used paint thinner then dry brushed with a variety of suitable colors.

 

[shaygetz]

The station and it's mainline...

 

[shaygetz]

The back Forty is being modeled as part of a farm whose main body is just over a rise designed to hide a good portion of the narrow gauge track for a sense of distance. I also wanted water without stretching too hard on plausability so I fitted in this swimming hole. Those things in the pasture are barrier strips for the layout wiring BTW.

 

[shaygetz]

A tribute to my late father, a reasonably close model of his first duty station and the last truck he drove, the truck used to ring out "Last Call" at his funeral. I plan on adding a full set of flashers and a bevy of kids standing around it as though it were being shown to the local elementary school field trip.

 

[Drew1125]

Nice work, Shaygetz!
Are you using commercial N scale track for the narrow gauge?
Can't wait to see your progress on this one!

 

[shaygetz]

Commercial N scale...I would liked to have used Peco's excellent HOn30 C80 flex but dealers wanted me to buy 25 pieces at $4.95 a pop. I only needed five and it was only $2 apiece. The N track worked for Bob Hayden's Carrabasset and Dead River RR for years so I weep few tears.

 

[sumpter250]