Trailer is all loaded and ready to go to Puyallup for the GTE show. Stay tuned for the pics once we get set up.
I would love to say this weekend went without a hitch... Well I cant... but it did teach us all a great lesson. So here is the scenario, and a bit of history. History lesson: The last show we had one of our members gained a few new modules from someone who was going to stick with Ntrak only. Well these modules were wired with both the red and yellow tied together. These caused a short and we found them pretty quick, cut a few wires and we were good to go. Normally with the wiring I have built we do not have any issues with power or shorts Friday: We got the layout built, it was being leveled when I got there so I started on the wiring. There were a couple of the new modules in the layout and they looked good. Well we were testing everything Saturday and while on DCC everything worked with a power drop in one area, but worked as it should. When we went to DC mode (remember this is using a G scale decoder) we were getting a power indicator on my command station even though I had a 0% throttle. We eventually unplugged every lead and started plugging them back in one at a time to find the issue's location. We eventually found one of the new modules that had not been used last show that still had the red and yellow lines tied together. As it turns out not only was this back feeding the decoder causing the indicator light to come on, and even at some places cause the DC train to move. Once we cut the lines the DC train ran perfectly, and the power drop we were experiencing on DCC was also fixed. Later today I should be able to show the pics of this layout. To date this is the largest T-Trak layout we have built.
In our greater Southeastern region, individuals, groups, and individuals representing larger clubs, setup quite often in various Train shows and railroad museums around our region - Tallahassee FLJacksonville FL, Pensacola FL, Cordele, GA, Macon GA, Gadsden AL, etc. Since 2018, we’ve started pre-setting our modules to a 3-1/2” height after we put our tablecloths on our tables (we were introduced to this method, by other groups, at the Record-breaking T-TRAK layout we set at Kansas City. After all bus wire is in place, power is tested, and modules are connected, we then ‘fine tune’ height adjustment with 1/8” ball/star screwdrivers from the top, in the holes over the top-adjusting leveling bolts. This insures absolutely NO dips, rises, or rail ‘chinks’ anywhere in the layout, allowing flawless running of all locomotives and equipment. We all have become accustomed to ensuring that we take the time to do these things in order to put forth and display a quality product to the general public at Train shows, and increase our enjoyment operating at venues just for us. This also includes a neat appearance. Black tablecloths, black flat panels (table runners) placed behind the modules to cover bus wire and module drops, NO drinks or food allowed on the tables, and absolutely NO operators sitting in front of their modules, except to set up or remove trains in the yard areas. Operators running trains walk around the layout with their train; otherwise they sit at the crew tables positioned at least 8-10’ from any portion of the layout. Here are some pics of our various layouts over the previous months.
Love the layout guys. We just had a show last weekend and had our largest layout yet... but you guys have a much larger and more unique layout than we did. Do you have any close ups on the modules, especially the junction modules?
it may be easier to direct you to these Facebook groups to get a better idea... https://www.facebook.com/groups/officialttrak https://www.facebook.com/groups/1741036615912165 in response to your post above about discovering mis-wired modules... we do not allow ANY 'new', non-tested modules, or modules with which we are unfamiliar, to be inserted into the layout until it is examined and tested for trackwork, track spacing, height adjustability, and correct BWWB wiring (tested with our module testers). only after testing is the module allowed to be inserted into the layout.
When I was the "Civil Engineer" of another club that was my rule as well. I took it a step further and required the module to be tested before scenery was added just to make sure that if there were issues that they could be corrected without too much work. This gained gripes from club members thinking that I was going to hold them to this and not myself. This all came to a quick halt when a module I made didn't work as it should have and I ended up red flagging my own module... suddenly everyone was cool with my rule. This club member that owns these modules was the founding member of our club, and also the one that brought T-Trak to the club so I didn't even think that he had not already checked everything. Guess that's what we all get from that assume word... As for the T-Trak groups, I am already a member of them, and I have talked to you there in the past. I am Dominic LaRocca on FB.
So yea… In this area the T-Trak scene had 2 groups, one was always T-Trak and built to the standard from the get go, the other morphed into a strange T-Trak like form that started out as a weird NTrak/Freemo type standard they called Omni-Rail. Not sure if Omni-Rail existed outside this club but they didn’t get much traction on it, and even though there were several high quality modules built it just never took off. The Omni-Rail modules had a 2 track format very similar to T-Trak and some of the modules were adapted to T-Trak. The Omni-rail wiring standard was both lines tied together and DCC, and this is why some of the locally built modules are run like this. Cascade Pacific (the club with the hybrid setup) would allow members from 4D to join them in setups and run trains. When I joined I threw a big wrench into their monkeys and demanded we use an actual wiring standard and for it to be the T-Trak standard. This got me some pushback so we settled on WBWB so it wouldn’t be overly difficult to adapt the older modules. When Cascade broke up, most of us joined the other group and all of us had to rewire to the BWWB standard. Thankfully the way I build modules, this is an easy task, but not all were so. Also the new club really liked my “Y” harness design for wiring and has adapted a very similar setup.
At the 2016 N Scale convention in Kansas City, I did not take any modules, NTRAK or T-Trak. So did not have a dog in the fight but ended up trying to help the T-Trak guys get up and running. A club showed up with their modules wired White Blue White Blue and hooked them into the layout at random places all over. It had never occurred to me that folks would not use the standard and then show up thinking everything should work and not tell the layout coordinator that they did things different.
I’m not sure if you have seen my “Y” harnesses for my modules, but I developed them when I read an article about an alternate wiring standards and I really liked the Power Poles over the mini Molex so I went that direction. Now I knew that I wouldn’t always be in a place where my harnesses will work so I made adaptations that will connect my wiring to the standard Kato Mini Molex without issue. To date I have only had one person take issue with my wiring, and I had him changing his mind shorty after we were setup and the wiring on my modules was finished in just a couple minutes and there were no power issues at all.
Wow I can’t believe I forgot to post this right after the show a couple weeks ago. Sorry for the delay. This is from the 2025 Puyallup GTE train show that took place on January 18th and 19th. This is the UNW T-Trak layout and look above the pictures for a description where I can remember. Here is good ol Rte 66. It’s on the inside of the layout this time. Train wreck corner and a couple modules from a member from Canada. Here are the “Canadian modules”. This member lives in Canada and we only get to see his modules in a couple shows a year. They are really nice modules and we love to have them in the layout. Just around the corner from the Canadian Modules is a module in progress. This bridge is 100% designed and 3D printed by the owner. He wanted something that fit better for his needs than the commercially available offerings so he made one himself. The rails are pilled out of a piece of flex track, and me made sure to slide them into the Unitrak ends. Here is my passenger yard, pretty much the same as last time… I really need to finish this one up… The end of the yard where the town goes and a couple others we will see here in a sec The haunted house and Nightmare Before Christmas modules. These are always favorites. Teretto’s house and some yet to be determined module. The Wild Wild West modules. Some switching modules. These are part of a club members home layout. Continued on next post.
Puyallup 2025 show continues This is a nice little farm, and out progress corner. It shows the steps to make a module. There is usually a little flyer that goes with it, but we couldn’t find it this year. These modules are some of the first modules for our club’s T-Trak and these are owned by a club founder. If you look close you can see Wil E. Coyote and The Roadrunner on the Acme building. Here is the nuclear power plant. It’s part of a home module that is where the command station plugs into. Notice all the government black suburbans? See the mountain/tunnel module in the middle of the layout? Well that’s the module that caused our power grief I mentioned earlier and after that was fixed we found out passenger cars hit the liner inside the tunnel… it’s out of service for a few. Our main freight yard. These are now my modules, and I have some work to do. Stay tuned for that. And see the phone with WiThrottle, yup we can use WiFi on our layout now. A small yard also owned by the club founder. Another part of the home layout. And that’s it for the layout. I did skip some of the blank module pics for obvious reasons. Many of our modules are a work in progress and will soon be ready to show. Of course you all know me and how I love to let kids enjoy the trains too! I brought out the Kiddie layout and here it is being enjoyed by a few kids. Kids were cropped out of the pic.
I especially like the coordinated pairing of straight and corner modules in the next-to-last pic. But the last pic steals the show. That's awesome!
Thank you. I’m working on making the last pic even better. But right now I’m waiting on scluptamold to dry.
Hey guys! Well the show is over, it was a load of fun and I cant wait to do it again. OH, maybe I should have said what show... For those who didn't know anyway... It was the Monroe Model Train show hosted by the UNW model train club. This is the largest show on the West Coast and it is one of my favorites that we do. This year the LEGO train club requested a larger than usual space so as a member of the host club, the T-Trak layout got shortened a bit. We were not able to build as large of a layout as in Puyallup, but it was still good. Sorry I was unable to get any pictures of the layout, we were that busy. By the first hour our ticket sales were 40% of the total ticket sales of the previous year, and it looks like our attendance was the best ever. The official numbers are still being crunched. All and all it was a great show. The Kidd Junction layout was a huge hit with the kids, they really liked the tunnels and buildings that were on the layout this round, You can see what it looked like in the workbench thread, and I brought it back into the house for more work before the Toy Show in April. If anyone here was there and took some pictures please post them for all to see.
Last show of our season! Next show is July and it’s a mini show. The location. Once again Monroe WA, and this one is not exclusive to trains, this is a model hobby expo. Anyway here are a few pics of this year’s layout. And yes, Godzilla is N scale.
