Everything NTrak

Hello fellow N Scalers. I am starting a thread here to post everything you have for your NTrak modules. Show them off, ask for help, offer help, and just about anything else in the NTrak world.

I am currently working on a quartet of modules that started life as 2 rail and 3 rail versions. I like the balance of the rail to scenery on the 2 rail versions, even though it's not the current official standard. I am adding adapter modules and reversing loops to complete this small layout. I will be posting the progress here soon as these modules get their repairs, updates and the new additions are completed.

So lets see what everyone has for modules! and of course pics and videos of shows are always welcome!

 

Since this is now a sticky, and since I started it all I will start off by showing off my beginning in NTrak.

here is what I’m working with right now. (Yes these were on the workbench thread too)


These are the Adopted modules. They are heavy as all get out, well over built but they were nice back in the day. They were originally 2 track format but the previous owner said when the club switched to 3 track she added the branchline to it, which is why the road looks a bit strange now. I will be restoring these to a town and drive-in, they will maintain 3 tracks but the modules on either side will be adapter modules. these 2 modules are 30” deep.

Another view of the Adopted Modules.



Here I was getting an idea of the modules with my bare modules in place. The 24x48 module will have a switching puzzle to go along with a couple industries, prolly an Inglenook style puzzle. I currently have the corner module set up as an inside corner, but I think I will keep is as an outside corner instead. I have 2 of these corners, and 2 24x48 modules that need to be finished, they will adapt the 2 track to the 3 track using the branchline portion as a siding or industrial feed.


These last 2 were built by the now current 4D superintendent so they are named after him. One even represents his house/street which has the BNSF mainline literally in his back yard. These were designated as Omnirail modules which were basically old style 2 track NTrak. One on the right on standard, the other not so much. If you flip it backwards from how it was intended to be used the tracks and road line up, but the modules themselves are an inch or so out of alignment. The second module was intended to be in the middle of a set that no longer exists so I’m going to make it the middle of a set once again.


And lastly since I am going off the now current standard, I will need to be able to make what I have as a stand alone. Granted 3 or 4 track modules will fit in and they will work with what I’m building here, they will just lose the ability to operate on one track (definitely) and depending on where the module is located in the greater scheme of things 2 tracks. I am going to make loop back modules that will allow for continuous running. The setup with just my modules will be plenty long enough for 2 trains to run at the same time, even though they will essentially be on the same track. Another club member is also building 3 30x48 modules in the same 2 track format. This will give us a total of 9 48” modules plus 2 corners (36x36j and 2 loops (40x60 as drawn up atm).

 

Interesting.........we've talked about doing balloon modules for the ends, but we worked with a group that had them......we all run 4 track with mountain line, and the grade needed to tie the front and back lines together (they tied red to green and yellow to blue), plus the tight radius made short trains a necessity . Now with DCC, you could do reverse loops and keep the lines separate, but 8 auto reversers would be a little pricey, although if it was for a home layout as well (as you are doing) I might justify the cost. Our club is Montana NTRAK, and we have 34 modules so it's hard to cover them here, but we have a Facebook page with lots of photos and videos.
(1) Facebook

 

I don't have a picture of the modules, but one of my clubs has reversing loops in the same format you are talking about. I don't know why you would need 8 auto reversers, we don't have any with the modules set up with them. You just have to have the wiring reversed for 2 of the lines, which can be done at the command station interface. If you didn't want to reverse the wiring you would only need 4 reversers, not 8. The grades we have are not bad, no trains that were run the last time we used it had any issue with it, though I am not sure what the grades are. Next time we are in that configuration I will get some pics.

 

On the version the other club had, tying the yellow and blue lines together resulted in a 15 inch radius curve, which wasn't too bad.........the red to green curve was slightly larger, but the elevation change was 4 inches (NTRAK mountain line spec) to 0 in about 5 feet, which works out to a 6.6% grade which is VERY steep. From the pics you already posted, I don't see any grades at all. But I'd love to see pics of the end modules.......maybe we are trying to compare apples to oranges here. In that version the trains went one direction on one line and the opposite direction on the other line. And you are correct you just need to reverse the wiring on one line for that to work. I have a "convertible" corner (made of 2 or 3 pieces) and depending on whether it's set up as an inside or an outside corner all the wiring has to be reversed. To make it easier for our set up crew, I put connectors in the feeder wires, so the buss wires are always set up the same, and I connect the feeders before I take the modules to the show for whatever version the corner will be used in. What I was talking about with a DCC version would have the trains running opposite directions on the same track and just making a loop at each end. For that you would need a way to reverse polarity on a single track......you could do it manually, but at least in our club, operators don't pay that close of attention to their trains.........too many visitors asking questions, conversations with other members about new trains, ect. But you would need an auto reverser on each end of each line (in our case 4). But that version would be difficult to lay track for. Anyway.......post some picks of your end modules when you can.......love to see what you are doing.

 

What we need in Ntrak is a better joiner track system. The old Atlas five-inch sectional track method was extremely cumbersome and took an enormous amount of time. A lot of clubs switched to the Kato expanding track and it helped time wise but it still required twelve rail joiners per joint and esthetically awkward. Plus, on older modules with the dreaded 'ski jump' ends trip pins could get caught on the center section of the expanding track. Shortening the trip pin would solve that but not everyone does it.

 

The problem with the sectional track was solved and it created a new format... Free-Mo(N) Both HO and N scale modular standards use the same method of adding a small sectional track. HO was much easier to move the rail joiners into place but I have to agree it was a bit of a pain.

Unfortunately Free-MoN (and the HO version) is just single track. This is done because it would be next to impossible for you to take multiple modules from multiple people and have perfect track alignment with more than one line. If someone doesn't get the track in the center perfectly with a single track module, you simply offset the module slightly to compensate. This would not be possible with more than one track. Before you all say there are double track modules all over the place, I know there are. I was working on one this afternoon, but the double track is only double inside the module set. These were built together with the intention of them being used together and thus everything lines up.

While I don't like the joiner tracks, it's the best compromise we currently have and if the module is made right there shouldn't be too much trouble. I used to undercut the ties on my sectional tracks so I could pull the joiners into it, and then slide them over to the module. I will try to attempt this with the N scale sets I am building now.

 

On most of our club modules, we went to the WS foam roadbed on the ends under the sectional joiners.........the foam has enough "squish" to eliminate the "ski jump" Ikaneer mentions. We also use a tool that looks like a small screwdriver with a slot cut in the tip .......the slot fits tight over the rail and the rest of the blade grabs the rail joiners so you can push them on the rail. It takes about 2 seconds per section to put the connecting tracks in place, or about 25-30 seconds per module. One of our original members gave 5 of them to the club, but I've never been able to find them.......I ended up making one out of an irrigation screwdriver by bending and notching the tip. It almost makes the task tolerable. We have one member who bought out another n scaler and got a bunch of Uni track (with the expanding track connectors) and used it on a 2 module set and it works well, but it would be a pain to use it everywhere without some major revisions to the existing modules. I've also seen a system where spring wire was soldered to the outside of the rails on the connectors ........The wires had spring to them, and you simply snapped them into place with the wire fitting into the notch on the outside of the rail. Never seen it in person, but saw a short video.

Freemo does solve the connector problem, but for a large club it creates the problem of run time for the members.

 

Rather than solving any problem, Fremo created a whole new standard and created new ones. For instance, Fremo layouts tend to eat up a lot of floor space. Also, as you mentioned, lining up one track is doable but try doing it with three tracks and it becomes impossible. That is unless all the modules are dedicated and all fit together. That may be doable in a club but Ntrak is global.

Peco makes special ties for that purpose. They have a slot in the tie that accommodates a rail joiner. It is their number SL-308F. You get twenty-four ties in a package. See here:

Peco N Gauge #SL-308F N Joiner Sleepers for Code 55 & 80, New, Package of 24 | eBay

 

I am familiar with the tool you describe. It is known as a 'chip lifter' and looks like a miniature pry bar. See here:

Wiha 26810 5.7-Inch Precision Chip Lifter | eBay

The spring wire approach sounds interesting but I'm afraid that it would suffer from the same two problems that the Atlas 5" sectional track suffers. Those being that not all Atlas sectional tracks are the same length and that 2.5-inch space on the side of a module isn't always 2.5-inches.

 

You are right about the wire method not solving the problem of spacing on the joiner tracks........if the modules always went together the same way you could fit the joiner tracks to the modules, but they don't and you can't. We always end up with 6-8 joints where you have to dig thru the box of tracks and find a longer or shorter piece of track. I also wondered about the durability of the wires......if they got bent, how would the conductivity suffer, and also would track alignment get bad and cause derailment issues.

Thanks for the link to the tool.......I never would have thought to look under "chip lifter".

 

[QUOTE="Inkaneer, post: Peco makes special ties for that purpose. They have a slot in the tie that accommodates a rail joiner. It is their number SL-308F. You get twenty-four ties in a package. See here:

Peco N Gauge #SL-308F N Joiner Sleepers for Code 55 & 80, New, Package of 24 | eBay[/QUOTE]

We have these in our club and they work really good with Peco rail joiners. I like the Atlas rail joiners as they are a bit more robust and make sliding over with a tool much easier. The Peco ties do not like letting Atlas rail joiners go into them. Same with the Peco Streamline series switches, those will only fit the Peco rail joiners. For a layout that will only be built once and stay built, I do like the Peco joiners, they are less visible and look better.

 

I have finished building the modules for the layout. Sorry, no pics yet, they are just boring boxes. I also bought the paint for the fascia and backdrop, but the weather was not cooperating for painting. Oh well... I did get some time to play around on XTRKcad tonight and I made each of my modules. Well Except for 2 of them which are already built and I dont have pictures of them or their measurements to make accurate representations of them. The 2 I dont have in the pic below are a bit odd, they were part of something called OmniRail which a few of my friends decided to start. It didn't go very far, but they are pretty close to the 2 rail NTrak I am building so they will work. Anyway here is what I am going to be bringing to shows here soon. OH one more thing. You will notice a single track off to the side of one of the curves. Well that's where I am going to have a link to oNe-Trak and or other layouts such as my club's Legacy modular layout.

Of the 2 modules in the middle, there are crossovers to all 3 tracks, and this is where I can have regular NTrak modules in my setup. The 2x4 module to the right, before the curve is a small yard and only 2 of the 3 tracks pass through I may not keep the tail track when I actually build it, but for now it's there. The adapter module on the left is also a Inglenook switching puzzle incorporated into the module. My Blue track in this setup is actually just an industry spur in this setup. Also the yard has the potential to be expanded onto another module.


The module names are from left to right.
Scenic Loop
Common Corner
Inglenook Industrial Park
Elm Street
Drive-In
The Yard
Camp Crystal Lake
Industry Loop

 

And the errors are cumulative.........a 16th of an inch is usually workable, but if you get 2 modules beside each other that are that way, it becomes an 8th and there's no way around fitting a bigger piece of track. We also run into some frame issues.......if an end board warps at all it can push the track farther apart. We have a couple of modules that have slightly long backboards and if they get beside each other they push the modules apart.

I like your modules Massey. Only 4,5 and 6 are actually NTRAK, but if you set them up at home, there's nothing wrong with that. I toyed with making my home layout using NTRAK modules, but decided A. I didn't want to disassemble the home layout to take modules to club setups, B. My layout is upstairs and the stairway isn't that wide so I didn't like the idea of carrying modules up and down on a regular basis, and C. I really wanted to use code 55 track on the home layout.

 

Actually only 4 and 5 are NTRak although making #6 into NTrak would not be too hard. The little tail track coming off the switch on the right is only a parking track and was not intended to go all the way to the end like the end tracks do. I guess I could just make it like the rest and when someone adds a true Ntrak module to my setup I could just remove the bump stop and put a piece of track there to link everything together... Maybe I will do that instead of my original plan.

 

Some time ago (years) I attended a train show, I think in Columbus, OH. There was an Ntrak layout there which only had two tracks. I believe they were the yellow and blue lines. The red line was missing although some modules had a siding in its place. This intrigued me as one could perform switching operations from both the blue as well as the yellow lines. In talking to the guys running the layout I was told the two track was an alternate Ntrak design but there is nothing in the Ntrak manual about it. I, therefore, understand the term "alternate Ntrak design" to mean a layout modified to meet the desires of the individual club members and nothing authorized by Ntrak. Still the concept is interesting and the fairly recent change from an exclusively Ntrak organization to a more inclusive Nrail with the addition of FREMOn and other designs plus the apparent decline in the number of Ntrak clubs nationally makes me wonder if this adaption from the traditional Ntrak layout might be well received. What do you think?

 

This is exactly my thinking. I’m a member of 2 different clubs in my local area. One is a multi format club with a traveling modular layout that we call our Legacy layout and 2 club member owned layouts of Ntrak and T-Trak. My other club is NTrak only and it is mandatory that all 4 lines are used. While the NTrak layout is beautifully done with all matching modules, and it’s large, there isn’t much for operations. Since it is all personally owned and only comes out for shows, this is fine. With the NTrak from my multi layout club most of the core modules are owned by one member and without his presence or borrowing his trailer, we can’t put up a layout even when there is space aplenty. So this is where I come in. I like the NTrak format, but I don’t like the more track than scenery/industry so I’m making a slight modification to promote more than just trains running in circles while using a slightly modified existing system.

My modules will not be accepted at the second clubs layouts, and that’s fine with me, but my first club now has (or will be the start of the next season) another option for displaying trains at shows.

 

As far as a "club" goes, they should be able to do whatever format they want. If they want to do an NTRAK loop with T-Trak and Freemo branch lines tied in to the NTRAK that would be fun,and you'd attract a lot more people and you could run operations on the non-NTRAK portions. At least for our club, trying to run operations would be almost impossible.......we usually have at most 4 people on the layout, and we generally set up in very public locations (like the mall) and we spend A LOT of time answering questions and talking to the public. It's VERY difficult to run operations and talk to a visitor......so the result is that line shuts down. It's hard enough just to keep track of a train running on a continuous loop and carry on a conversation. If we had more members, and could have "talkers" and "runners" things might be different. At one point we had a teen who would run operations on the blue line, but he lost interest......but because of his age, few people would bother him to ask questions. Another possible issue is run time for club members..........2 lines mean only 2 operators. As mentioned, we seldom have more than 4 members on the layout at a time, but we have 4 lines so EVERYONE gets to run a train. Only 2 lines also cuts down on the number of trains for visitors to watch.........most aren't interested in watching operations.

 

We don't usually have a standing line waiting for an open track. This is one reason I went the way I did as well. Technically I have one line, but this is long enough for 2 trains easy and 3 if they are short. We present T-Trak at every show we attend but the NTrak and Legacy are limited. I want to expand the NTrak and try to get more interest and more attendance with it. A couple of our club members view T-Trak as inferior to the other 2 formats we have, but one of them has recently started to change his mind when we had a layout larger than our Legacy and trains were running flawlessly on it. He started asking me questions about the layout and how I controlled my passenger yard and other stuff. He was even surprised that we had DC and DCC running at the same time. He didn't know that could be a thing.