Ok guys, here is my issue. I have a tiny apartment, so I was thinking of doing some modules, instead of a traditional layout. I came up a few ideas in my head about things I wanted to model, one was a scrap yard, one was a roundhouse and carshop, and maybe multi track rail station. I was wondering if anyone has done something similar and could show me some pictures for inspiration. Also, I know there are some guidelines for doing modulars, can someone give me a quick reference as to what those are? Thanks!
Ntrak may be your ticket. Go to www.ntrak.org. They have a list of clubs by state. Not sure if one is near you but check it out.
Are you talking about modules ... or sectional? Modules would be individual units that fit certain standards, like T-Trak and Ntrak, that you could plug into a large club layout. Sectionals would be pieces built to your own standards for your own use. Either options has its benefits. Since you're in Chicago, you shouldn't have too much trouble finding clubs. On the other hand, if you want to build something to be incorporated into a larger home layout (when you have the space), then a sectional approach may be best for you. That's the route I've gone, using HCDs. But I'm about 100 miles from the nearest modular club. If I was closer to other modelers I would have likely gone modular. Jim
I would say that, as we're in N scale, a 2x4 board can hold a good amount of layout if you use a scenic divider
I did the module thing once or twice, just get old after a while when no one really want to do it, both groups just kinda died and I was stuck with modules and no way to really use them, so I built them intomy home layout. Here is one Ideal I was kicking aorund just for the heck of it, I call it Rail Runners.... 8 loops for running trains around & around & around & around.... I you sign up for the Bend Track Group on Yahoo!, you will get a copy of the manual in pdf form.
ModuTrak is a great group in Ill. (I think near Chicago). I'm sure there's an NTrak club somewhere in the Windy City. And you can always start a Free-moN module: if you build it, they will come! Are you looking into a way to build a home shelf layout that's easy to take apart and move? Or a modular system that others around you use so you can "join in the fun"? Or both? You can easily mount 18"x??" Free-moN modules on shelf brackets and drop a backdrop behind them. Then you can take one or all down when you move / go to a train show. If you're just looking at a portable layout for yourself, then you can build it in 4' or 6' units and not worry about standardized endplates which allows to fit "more" in a smaller space (you can cross sectional joints without worry).
If you are in Chicago, you're in luck. There's a train show this weekend at Harper College in Schaumburg. It's not big, but there are enough groups there to at least get some info, and perhaps get the juice flowing. I know the local N Trak club sets up there every year. If you want to be in a group, than modular would be the way to go. If you're going to be modeling on your own, then sectional is probably what you mean. Although a home layout can be modular too.....apples/oranges. MiNi will be at Harper, but we don't really have "open" membership, as we're not a club. Just a group of friends. That being said, we're always on the lookout for people, and available to talk about trains, N scale, our techniques, how we're dysfunctional....err, functional. Basically, don't be shy. Come over say hello!
2x4 w scenic divider 2’4” x 4’ plan with partial divider 2'4" with loadsin/ empties out paired industries 2x3 layout
HCD's were once the rage in Nscale but I'm not sosure anymore. People I have spoken too all say pretty much the same thing about them. That is the idea sounded good in the beginniing but later on they experienced problems when trying to move them. Weight was one issue. Another was trying to get a door through a doorway. This might be a problem for an apartment dweller. I like the idea of attending the local train show especially if there will be an N scale group set up there. Talk to them. Initially I faced almost the same problem as the OP. Although I lived in a house not an apartment, the house was small and space for a layout was out of the question. So I joined an Ntrak club. Now I realize that Ntrak is not for everyone and neither are clubs in general but it was a very rewarding experience having people around that could be counted on to give tips and tricks of the trade type advice. Made building my own layout once I moved and had the space a lot easier.
yeah, sorry guys, I forgot to change my location when I moved. I live in San Jose now. And my other thread about Bay Area Clubs helped a lot, I just need some inspiration now!
Silicon Valley Free-moN will be set up all week at the Dublin hotel where the NMRA / PCR Iron Horse Express Convention is in April. Tom Knapp's uber-awesome Nn3 layout will also be in the same room eclipsing us. If you're new to the area, then the Iron Horse Express is an AWESOME chance to visit many, many of the AWESOME home layouts of all scales around the Bay Area. A chance to see Jack Burgess' Yosemite Valley or Kermit Paul's Lone Pine and Tonopah is worth the registration fee right there. But there's a bunch of cool clinics, too (though some of the presenters are a bit sketchy ) Hope you can make it!
I like the T-Trak concept for limited space. Make a few double/triple modules for larger dioramas, and you can mix and match your modules to your heart's content. Also, you can take the modules to club meets and shows and be part of a large layout. If that's not an interest, just use the concepts to make your own standard.
My entire 'big' layout is 8' x 5'6" made of six sectional units on standalone tables; the 'big ones' are 27" x 48", which is the maximum size I determined I could get out of a room without demolishing it. So far successful as the current layout has been moved three times. The previous HCD layout was 36x72, and nope, it didn't make it out of the room after it was built. the 'small' logging layout is made of two 18x36" sectionals that fit end-to-end. I'm developing an Ntrak-standard 24x48 attachment module at some point to be able to play with that group as well. The biggest problem with a sectional design - truly sectional - is enforcing the 'tear it apart' rules even when it is a PITA. That means that all electronics crossing tables go through moulex plugs. All track and subroadbed sections can pull apart at the joint. Backdrops come apart. Trust me, the temptation to violate those rules so that it could come apart again if it had to are tempting to ignore some days.
I think T-trak sounds like a good idea, I have a lot of kato track laying around from my apartment in NY.
I don't want to stray off topic, but I think a quick reply here is warranted. Specifically -- Different strokes for different folks. HCDs certainly aren't the best answer for everyone ... but they were for me. Getting one through a doorway is hardly a head-scratcher. And I haven't had any trouble moving mine around by myself (for instance, from the detached garage where they were started to the basement where they now reside.) Of course, not everyone is such a strapping example of manhood as myself ... Jim
