So the pic below is of the track plan for the Free-MoN and that takes up the entire machine shop so no T-Trak or NTrak in this building. Those layouts are over in the roundhouse. There is one short line on the layout and that’s where the modules I helped build are located. I named the modules Little Italy as the owner and myself are both Italian. We are planning on doing some fun stuff when we get to the higher details. One of the fun ones will be a shoe store that will have a cement truck behind it. Today I ran 2 different trains on the T-Trak layout. They were running much better than the Free-MoN layout was, so I went to play where I could play trouble free. I also helped setup the T-Trak so, there is that. The T-Trak is 40x50 and looks like an E, it takes about 15 minutes to make one loop. I will post about it tomorrow on the T-Trak thread.
I give it an A+ ......... oh wait ...... that kinda grade. Mountain railroading is always impressive and can be a bit of a challenge so I never quite get why most large layouts only have very short grades at best.
There was a module that had a 4% grade, belonged to the inland pacific group. I was able to run three different trains on the layout. Ryan’s Binney Junction and the lap siding set were awesome to see in person. I had a great time! I took a bunch of pictures and videos. Just wished I would have got more of other peoples trains. I have three years to get ready to bring all my pieces. 21 total is what I have planned for. I had 2 90 degree corners and one 13’6” grain elevator module there this year. The whole time was great. Great people, great models, great time! Greg
Great pictures! The first one really shows the size of the entire setup. You have TWENTY-ONE(!!!!) modules. You must have a pretty big trailer! BTW, did anyone attempt a "let's see how long of a train we can run?" and if they did, how many engines and cars? I see this as a perfect layout to attempt this.
Ok so in the NTrak layout someone tried the “how many engines can I consist and run” challenge. And he got 19 engines to work together with 1 refusing to consist and adding another that he owned tripped the circuit protection. I believe we were limited to around 16’ of train, but I don’t know if anyone achieved that or not. The longest I ran was on the NTrak layout and it was an Amtrak 18 superliners, 2 material handling cars and a Lowell Smith GN business coach as a private car on the end. Not sure how many feet, but it ran flawlessly. I only made one lap around the Free-MoN layout and that was with a 3D printed “Super Talgo”. What is a Super Talgo you ask, well it was a Cascades Talgo with 22 cars and power on both ends. All the cars were 3D printed and the engines were Bachmann. We only had one issue with the cars and that was on an S curve where the rear engine pushed and front engine stayed stopped. It “string-lined” in 2 directions simultaneously. I also ran my ICE on the short line dubbed The Island Of Sodor, and that worked mostly ok. The ICE doesn’t like bumpers in the track due to how the couplers are designed and the train had a few breakaways but no derailments. I also ran a short Amtrak on this line with no issues. All and all it was a lot of fun, and in 3 years, imma bring my T-Trak along.
If the locos weren't well-speed-matched beforehand, then "speed wrestling" between lashed, consisted locos could draw more current than they would draw otherwise, just rolling on their own around the layout.
