N Scale T-Trak

billmtx Oct 28, 2010

  1. BoxcabE50

    BoxcabE50 HOn30 & N Scales Staff Member TrainBoard Supporter

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    I did not really look at the fence for being flimsy. It is certainly good for height, where it is compared to the chest/shoulder area of the horse in that last photo. It looks good to me. The casual viewer likely won't be zooming in so close, and not notice size. The overall scene looks fine from here.
     
  2. spyder62

    spyder62 TrainBoard Member

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    Last edited by a moderator: Apr 12, 2015
  3. railtwister

    railtwister TrainBoard Member

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    Hi Arbomambo,
    The fence looks pretty good to me, I'm glad to see you're still progressing with your modules and posting pictures for our inspiration!

    Bill in FtL
     
  4. BoxcabE50

    BoxcabE50 HOn30 & N Scales Staff Member TrainBoard Supporter

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    Same here! Seeing work such as this I've all kinds of thoughts for modules. Including finishing the board farm fence on one scene of my own.
     
  5. arbomambo

    arbomambo TrainBoard Member

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    The next series of modules are already in the planning/construction phase...continuing the trip 'west', and transitioning from the rural 'breadbasket' to a more arid gateway to the Southwest.
    I small town, complete with grain elevator, small industry, and 'Main St' will smooth the transition....
    Here I've already built a couple of the structures for the 3' grain elevator module...it will feature a team track that serves the elevator, a bulk fuel oil dealer, and a unloading dock...

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    A double (2') module will bend the road to the back of the elevator module and provide a transition...(this is a special module with 'through' power, allowing us to plug power from the front if a set up demands it...

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    ...and here is a sketch of the proposed town of Hutton, to the west of the elevator...not shown here is the double (2') module that will be to its west, perhaps with a small river-stream-dry wash, helping transition to a more arid topography....

    [​IMG]


    so far...all told, the 'Mother Road' series of modules comprises 7' of finished modules...the 3' grain elevator module, with its two flanking 'doubles', will add 7' more...then add the town of Hutton, on a triple (3'), and the double to its west...you'll have 5' more...comprising 19' of rural scenery...
    Bruce
     
  6. BoxcabE50

    BoxcabE50 HOn30 & N Scales Staff Member TrainBoard Supporter

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    Small town America. My favorite modeling scene!
     
  7. casmmr

    casmmr TrainBoard Member

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    I enjoy reading about the t-trak modules you are creating. They are very nicely done and show what modeling can be done on a t-trak module. Keep up the great work and I look forward to new installments. later, Craig
     
  8. retsignalmtr

    retsignalmtr TrainBoard Member

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    The Olde Newburgh Model Railroad Club will have our T-Trak layout at a couple of shows in September. The first show is at the Mahopac Firehouse in Mahopac, NY. on Saturday Sept. 19, 2015. 10am to 3pm. The second show is in Greenwich CT at the Greenwich Civic center, on Sunday Sept. 27. 2015 also from 10am to 3pm. We usually get six tables but if someone shows up with a couple of modules we could get another table to fit them in.
     
  9. BoxcabE50

    BoxcabE50 HOn30 & N Scales Staff Member TrainBoard Supporter

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    I'd enjoy seeing some photos, or video. Always looking for inspiration.
     
  10. arbomambo

    arbomambo TrainBoard Member

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    My contributions to our SWARMTrak T-Trak group has , still, taken priority over most all other modeling...albeit at a slower pace during the typical busy summer for me...We have our local annual show approaching soon (September) and I do not have too many more modules even close to a finished state...
    to this date, the group has 12' of modules that could be considered finished, in addition to two 180 degree end caps.
    5' more, form other individuals have track and some scenery, and I have 10' more with track, in addition to an outside corner, and inside corner...allowing us to bend the current layout, into an 'L' shape, to fit within available space...
    I've continued to build modules (really kickstarting this group) to a point where I've had to make storage space for them...so, before I started to assemble any more modules, I installed some shelving above my 'fair weather' hobby work space in the garage...this area is 'somewhat' dust free, but I'll design some type of dust cover system to assist in keeping them clean while stored.
    since these pics were taken, two more shelves have been added above, giving me 22' of module storage space (i'm sure I'll still need more soon!)

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    after this I assembled a few more modules (I briefly requisitioned the dining room table to use the assembly line process to complete a number of them at a time-I protected the table with a paint drop cloth)...I love these T-Kits' modules
    http://t-kits.com/
    simple to build-white glue/wood glue only, and very robust...
    Here is a pic of the assembly line process...3 'singles' and 1 'double' shown here...

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    and a view of a classic 'single'

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    I also decided to do something a little different to one of the singles...I jigsawed an opening in the top and dropped it to form a creek bed...a Kato double track girder bridge for the track and a Rix highway bridge for the highway (I decided to place the road at the rear of the module to allow the highway bridge to be visible, so this module has to be placed next to the grain elevator module where the road is to the rear)

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    At this point I realized that I need to add my highway to all of the modules that are going to receive it, and go ahead and spackle the highway shoulders, before I can progress on the scenery...

    The lightweight spackle that I use goes on 'pink' and dries to 'white' (I had, originally, been very skeptical about using the spackle on the modules, but it has actually worked out very well for modeling the highway shoulders...)

    Here I used a cheap plastic putty knife to apply the spackle....I modified the Kato crossing/rerailer to make it look less 'Kato' (it's going to be difficult to keep a brown paint on it-I wish Kato had molded this pice in something other than 'gray')...here you can see the pink color right out of the tub.

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    and after drying and sanding (the advantage of using the spackle here is its ability to be sanded to a very fine, smooth edge)

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    more to come....
    Bruce
     
  11. arbomambo

    arbomambo TrainBoard Member

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    the other major additions to the group have been the acquisition of two modules that allow us to 'bend' the current setup...forming an 'L' shape, rather than keeping the module setup as a long 'racetrack' (I'd like to acquire as many junction-style, or offset modules, to allow flexibility in any setup space we're allowed)
    this 'inside corner' module and 'outside corner' module allow us to bend the current setup...as you can see, if a 'back-to-back' setup is used, using 2' of module on both sides of the outside corner, balances the inside corner....of course, we don't have to use these for every setup-there may be instances where the space allowed isn't sufficient to bend the layout, but it's nice to have them available...and the outside corner can be used as part of a larger setup that could see the use of three more corners to creat a large 'square' layout, rather than having the 'back-to-back setup, using the 180 degree endcaps...

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    Bruce
     
  12. BoxcabE50

    BoxcabE50 HOn30 & N Scales Staff Member TrainBoard Supporter

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    Your storage shelves have me thinking. What I have right now is a disaster of modules piled in a closet corner. Not good. I see your dining table has been taken over, same as mine....
     
  13. arbomambo

    arbomambo TrainBoard Member

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    Denise and I have about 24' of adjustable height folding tables ( you can see some of them in various pics-I bring them to setups for displaying group and module info. I generally set up one or more of these to build modules, but Denise was out of town for a week, visiting family, so I used the dining table to quickly get these done all at the same time...now I can work on them individually upstairs.
    Bruce
     
  14. casmmr

    casmmr TrainBoard Member

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    For storage shelves, I use the plastic or resin shelf units that are 24deepx36lengthx72height that I buy from Home Depot. You can store 6 singles or 3 double straights per shelf I place them on their sky boards. Double corners just 2 per shelf or 4 single corners. the units have 5 shelves. If dust is a problem, hang plastic sheeting along the sides to keep the dust out. Again, I enjoy your builds. later, Craig
     
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  15. casmmr

    casmmr TrainBoard Member

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    I have finally figured out a way to post a photo, I think. Move it to my desk top and then copy it here. This is a double straight with a creek and Grandt Line houses. I will post more later, thanks for looking.

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  16. casmmr

    casmmr TrainBoard Member

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    The following pictures are of t-trak modules that I use for my home layout. IMG_0486.jpg IMG_0488.jpg IMG_0490.jpg IMG_0490.jpg IMG_0491.jpg IMG_0492.jpg IMG_0494.jpg IMG_0492.jpg IMG_0494.jpg
     
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  17. casmmr

    casmmr TrainBoard Member

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    Since I am limited to 10, here are the rest. IMG_0499.jpg
    IMG_0500.jpg IMG_0501.jpg IMG_0503.jpg IMG_0505.jpg
     
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  18. SecretWeapon

    SecretWeapon Passed away January 23, 2024 In Memoriam

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    My N Scale club(NNJ-N-Trak) is concentrating more on T-Trak lately. We all got the module kits & are building them.
     
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  19. BoxcabE50

    BoxcabE50 HOn30 & N Scales Staff Member TrainBoard Supporter

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  20. arbomambo

    arbomambo TrainBoard Member

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    I decided to add the highway to this corner...it will be used in the coming setup and will fit between the pictured modules so there will be a little 'continuity' for this setup, at least.

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    I haven't decided exactly what type of feature will go on this corner...even with the road, I'd like to make it be able to fit into as many scenic situations as possible without standing out like a sore thumb (I personally don't care for 'abrupt' scenery changes or aprupt breaks in the continuity...a reality of modular inter-group design)...however I can 'soften' the scenery 'breaks' if I'm careful about what I put on the modules that don't have a permanent 'spot', like this one.


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