Here is a picture of several T-Trak modules that comprise a roundhouse facility. These modules belong to Dave Halloran of St. Louis T-Trak. -Vic North Texas T-Trak
Sort of custom. The roundhouse module width is a standard width T-Junction plus a corner. The turntable and feed tracks are on a custom depth module but it has the same width of a T-Junction. I posted the picture to show that a roundhouse could be built within a 180 degree corner module plus a double width, double length module. -Vic North Texas T-Trak
Micropower Inc Maintenance Facility My original intent was to have a yard to store cars and build trains connected to a yard to store and service locomotives during operating sessions. This thread is about the small locomotive storage and service yard. So I started looking for small locomotive maintenance facilities with Google Earth, and the Motivepower Inc yard in Houston fits the bill. If your looking at the Google Earth image, the T-TRAK public tracks are in the top of the picture. The yard to store cars and build trains will be to the left of this yard. What I've determined since then, is that I don't need a maintenance facility as much as a service and storage facitility. I liked the idea of a turntable to turn locomotives, and in this case, the turntable is the only way to get to two of the storage tracks. With no run-around, there should be some fun times digging a locomotive out. I was just going to show the remnants of the roundhouse (like the prototype), but I'm getting advice to add a roundhouse. If I do that on a 340mm deep straight module, I only have room for a 5-track roundhouse. 3 long tracks in the center and 2 short tracks on the flanks. Probably enough, but I'm keeping my options open. I like the idea of putting the turntable and the roundhouse on an inside corner. My original concept can be crammed onto two double wides modules, but I have to use #4 turnouts..and it looks jammed up. I decided to go with two triple wide modules and #6 turnouts. The triple wide layout looks much more like the prototype. Because it's longer, I get to store the same number of locomotives on fewer tracks. I'd like to post a layout, but I still havn't figured out how to do it. I've exceeded some storage limit inside Trainboard.
Dave is a great modeler and promoter of T-Trak. I met him a few years back when he came up to run with Bloomington Normal Fun Run. I like his Tornado module.
Here's some shots of a T-Trak layout at the Amtrak Renselaer NY (Albany) station today. It was run by the Albany N Trak club and the Olde Newburgh Model RR club.
Here are some shots of the Ipswich Model Railway Club's layout at the Queensland Model and Hobbies Expo last weekend, with another different setup of my brother's adjustable bridge module.
180 degree corner on one module is nice, but you're stuck with a single table width layout. You can't add any straight modules inbetween it to make a wider layout.
180 degree corners are just another option, which is what T-TRAK is all about. Our members have both 180 and 90 degree corners, they both have their uses.
A couple of photos I took today of Shin-Nekotani Rikkyou, my under construction 365mm wide quad module having a test run at the club running day today. The mainlines on the Japanese themed module will cross a valley on a Kato viaduct with a light rail line and Tomytec moving buses passing through the town below.
On the weekend local T-TRAK modelers joined forces to show a layout at the Queensland Model Train Show at Ipswich Railway Workshops Railway Museum. We had 53 modules in the layout with about 30 spares which allowed us to swap a few around on Sunday morning before we started running. The two end loops of the inner track were running DC with DCC on the rest of the layout.
The Joint T-TRAK effort was a last minute thing after the Ipswich Model Railway Club was evicted from our clubrooms at the workshops and the N and HO groups went their separate ways. Without the HO guys we had extra exhibitor passes so we invited John Burt and the All Gauge Model Railway Club to join us and exhibit as T-TRAK. We didn't know how much space we had so we all brought along extra modules just in case. We were dropping hints with the show organizers to let us have more space next year and it looks like we may get it. There were also a couple of individual T-TRAK layouts besides ours so there would have been in excess of 100 modules at the show.
I'm into N Scale T-Track using the Australian specifications. I'm also a member of a local club and we do T-Track as well as Bend-track. I've completed two single modules in less than 5 days. T-Track is :tb-biggrin:and :mcool: See ya Ron
If you are in driving distance of Dayton, OH, Division 3's 2 day Train Show is this weekend, Nov 5, 11-5 and Nov 6, 11-4, at Hara Arena. Central Ohio N-trak will have a six 6' table layout of t-trak modules at the show. Stop by and chat awhile if you attend. Paul from Cincinnati usually has a t-trak layout there also. WOW, two t-trak layouts at the same show. later, Craig
