Busy weekend, so not much modeling time, but I did manage to finish a couple more Blair Line billboards for the stretch of the 'Mother Road' that is one the corner and grain elevator complex modules... there is, still, so much more detail to add, but the billboards are helping bring these basic, rural modules to a semblance of reality and believability....
and I also received a nice little 'mini scene' from Wooland Scenics; a 'Farmers Market', that helps add a little more life to the scene of this module...
Quick question... if wiring a basic basic simple single module... do I just let the two Kato feeder wires dangle out the back? Should I tie them together or something? Also, can I use two of the 62mm feeder tracks (Kato #20-041) -- one for each track, or is that somehow going to have the wiring backwards? Should I instead use two of the 20-040 and some feeder joiners (24-818)??
either of those wiring practices are standard-using the short straights with unijoiner feeders, or using the actual feeder track piece (they're the same length)... just make sure the blue wire, of each track, is to the 'outside'...e.g. the front track has the blue wire on the frontmost rail...the rear track has the blue wire on the rearmost rail...all of my modules have a hole cut in the rear panel-the wires pass through that to connect to a larger bus running behind all the modules...I try to keep them relatively neat by affixing them to the underside of the top panel to keep them somewhat tidy. Our group has adopted the powerpole connection for feeding power, so our feeders tie into powerpole receptacles mounted in the hole at the rear of the module. Since using the powerpole connections isn't listed as a 'standard' we provide pigtails that transition the standard Kato connector to a powerpole connector. Bruce
I am interest in learning more. I used to do N gauge but age has made the size difficult to work with. I have a couple HO engines and some cars but the layouts get a bit large for an apartment.
Shortround, go to www.t-trak.org under standards there is a chart which gives HO module lengths and depth. According to the standards, HO t-trak corners are 28x28 and use 550mm and 610mm radius Kato HO track. The single module is 19.125" and uses the 492mm track length. So you are looking at 56" for the width and probably 96" for length if you use 2 single straights between the corners. Good Luck and let us know how you do. later, Craig
G'day Folks, I am working on a single track T-TRAK layout inspired by a branch line in the Australian state of Victoria in the 1960's-70's I've made up a video of it at its present state of progress: Cheers, Andrew G.
just a bout 'done' with the depot (perhaps a tiny bit of touch-up paint needed here and there)...all that's left for the depot scene is to add a baggage cart platform between the rails and track.
Central Ohio N-trak took a t-trak layout to the Dayton Train Show over this past weekend. Great time. Here are 2 pictures of the layout.
The Japanese do indeed mostly use the double crossovers in and around terminals, just as the British are fond of double slips in those settings.
Sadly, We won't be able to participate in this weekend's Pensacola show-my Mom had a fall at her home, fractured her hip, then suffered some stroke episodes after hip surgery. The good news is that she received the surgery required to clean her carotids and is on the mend-facing two to three weeks of PT in a nearby facility. We should be able to get her back home by the second week of December. So, suffice to say, no real progress on any modeling projects... I did have a moment after work and between hospital visits to decompress with a half hour of finishing and installing this Blair Line billboard for the upcoming town of Hutto. Before hr fall, I had also finished the Blair Line General Store, which will sit at the highway junction (facing the highway, away from the general public at a setup)
Looking great! And sorry about your mom. Just got the t-kit for my first module and planning to work on it over Thanksgiving. All these pictures are great inspiration.
Here are some pics of the General store in progress; since these pics, a few more signs have been added. once in place, there will be an American flag, electrical meters and conduit, and a couple of gas pumps (the General store is also a gas station)
> this Blair Line billboard for the upcoming town of Hutto. Is that in Finland? I notice Copenhagen nearby . . .
Family always comes first. Take care of your mom, the railroad will wait. On a happier note, the modules look great, The general store really looks nice, like the way your roads turned out, Very nice and looking forward to seeing more modules, later,Craig
Best wishes for a speedy recovery for you mom! Very nice work on the modules. That general store looks fantastic! What's up with the plugs on the front of the module... I'm confused (again)??