N Scale T-Trak

You could always put the turnout on an adjacent single straight module if you didn't mind the two always being together.

 

So, it took me quite a while to start with t-trak. Should I do it, or not? Finally I decided to start with three modules. Initially one of our clubmembers should build the other three modules, so that we together would have a nice oval. Unfortunately he stopped with t-trak even before he started with it..... So I had to build all the modules by myself.

The layout must be small enough to be transported easily, but big enough to be fun. A double oval gives me the possibility to just run trains (and without being afraid for collisions,) and with a few turnouts I will be able to switch a little bit. For an exhibition is this the best option, I guess. And if I want, I can also run trains at home, on the dining table.

I planned to only use kits. A few years ago I switched to scratchbuilding, so I have a lot of unused buildings and kits laying around. I decided to use them for the t-trak layout. That saves me money on new scratchbuilding supplies, it saves me a lot of time, and - let's be honest - it would be a waste of the time, energy and money I've put in those kits.

These are the first three modules I built: one double straight section and two corners.



One of the cornermodules has a street with a railroad crossing and several houses.



On the straight module you'll find a small town with a depot. Most of the tracks are Peco 55. I found Kato very expensive and I have a lot of Peco tracks and turnouts laying around the house, so I thought that it would be the best option to use Peco wherever possible. The cornermodules are Kato-only, but the straight modules only have Kato connection tracks; the rest is Peco.

 

Part 2...

This is the townmodule like it was a few days ago. Now all the white spots are covered with clay, ground foam and gravel.



The complete layout looks like this:



In three weeks I will go to a small train exhibition where I will show my layout. I plan to at least finish the three modules in front of the layout. With some backgrounds can I hide the bare 'Plywood Central' modules.

 

Welcome to T-Trak. Your modules are looking very nice. My club started with T-Trak a little over two years ago. I built the four corner modules and fourteen feet of straight modules with the idea of taking a small N gauge layout to the shows we attend. The corners belong to the club with the straight modules owned by several N gaugers in the club. We now have about sixty feet of modules built by the N gaugers in the club including several additional outside and inside corners. I also built an eight foot staging yard. Be careful, building modules is like eating salted Peanuts, you just can't stop at one.

 

Some nice looking modules. I like the yard design with the center track common to both main lines.

 

The reason I made the yard with the common center track is because of the wiring polarity difference (T-Trak standard) between the outside and inside tracks. The center track has a DPDT toggle that can connect that track to the outside or inside. My club does not observe the opposite polarity but it's just in case I display the modules with a club that does.

 

Polarity difference? Hm, I think I skipped that chapter.......

 

Thieu, great looking modules. T-trak modules are the way to go for ease of transportation and set up, especially if you have medical problems and cannot lift the N-trak modules. My club started a t-trak layout several years ago and now 4-5 of the 25 members have t-trak modules. We use our own 6' folding tables to set up the layouts at shows after seeing the bad condition of tables used at most show sites. Some sites are now using molded tables, but, the expense of rental is sometimes a factor on the part of the group putting on the show as to whether or not t-trak will be allowed. Bringing your own tables eliminates that cost factor to the sponsoring group. We keep the 2 lines separate, no cross overs so wiring is simple no matter how one does it. DCC on 2 loops and DC on one loop, we use junctions so we have a large outer loop and 2 inner loops. Have fun, t-trak modules are like peanuts no one can build just one. I own 60 modules with at least 7 in the planning stage. later, Craig

 

The T-Trak standard wiring uses Kato Unitrack joiners with feeders attached. The Blue wire goes to the outside rail, the White to the inside rail. That is on the outer main track. But on the inner track the White wire goes to the rail closer to the front and the Blue wire goes to the rail farthest to the rear. If you want to use a Kato double crossover on a module, or even a single crossover, you would have to provide polarity changing circuitry to run a train from the outer main to the inside main and vice versa from the inside to the outside. I don't know if anyone does it that way, but I wanted to be able to display my modules with another club without any difficulty with the wiring.
Look at the electric power section at the T-Trak website. I think the reason they did it that was is to be able to run two trains in opposite directions with one power pack.

 

Or they thought about a reversing loop at the ends of the layout? However, I did not do it that way, so I have the same polarity on both tracks. I use dcc and therefore don't need seperate lines. I just assumed that wiring would be the same as onetrak or ntrak (our club only uses dcc). Well, we do not have any ttrak clubs here, so no problem with connecting ;-) And next time, I should read the entire manual......

I have started wit ttrak for the obvious reasons: ntrak is too heavy and asks for too much storage room, onetrak is a good alternative but also uses a lot of wood and space (I have several modules). Ttrak is simple, it is light, and you can build a module within two hours. You are constrained to a small module, so you cannot build overwhelming track plans. That's good, I think.

 

People often make too big a thing over the wiring of T-TRAK modules, T-TRAK modules are always wired as per the T-TRAK guidelines and the polarity of each track is merely determined by the polarity of the feeders from the power pack/command station. My club and myself always set up with both tracks the same polarity because we run with DCC, it is easily accomplished by crossing over the two wires in the feeder to one track. All modules should be able to run in the original T-TRAK configuration though, just in case they ever have to be part of a layout set up that way, crossovers are all gapped (as they should always be anyway) and the Kato double crossover comes that way out of the box, any shared trackage like that in the above yard should be wired with a toggle switch like the builder has done if it is to be used in such a situation. Here is a page which probably explains it better, as I said it is quite easy to make it sound more complicated than it really is. http://ttrak.wikidot.com/wiring-for-t-trak

We are adopting the Northern Virginia NTRAK club's bus wire method of wiring our layouts which seems to beoworking out well and seems pretty fool proof,=.
http://ttrak.wdfiles.com/local--fil...division/T-TRAK_PowerPole_Feeders_Ver_2-1.pdf

We've operated reversing loops with a digitrax AR1.

 

In the meantime I built a red barn for one of the corner modules. My original plan was to make a grain field, but my grassmaster didn't work anymore, so I needed another nice feature for the cornermodule and I came up with the barn-idea. I had a lasercut wooden kit of a barn but it looked so complicated when I opened the box, that I preferred to scratchbuild a barn instead.......

 

Our two club member's modules with double crossovers always require us to do a bit thinking when we connect feeders on a large layout too, and now a member has built a multi-module yard with three at one end and one at the other! :wideeyes: I saw an article somewhere online for taking the double crossover apart and wiring it up so the two main lines are wired through but I can't remember where I saw it.

We are also adopting the Norther Virginia bus system as the standard for our club's T-TRAK setups.

 

I had my first exhibition with t-trak last Sunday. It took just 30 minutes to get the modules out of the car and the layout to be set up and running. So far, t-trak met my expectations. From 10.00 til 16.00 ran several trains on the layout, flawlessly. I was able to speak with visitors and friends while two trains were running, one in each direction. That is a relaxed way of doing a show!



I got positive remarks. People liked the idea of a small, portable layout with yet some interesting scenery. Kids could easily watch the trains, something that is most of the times quite difficult for them since most layouts are too high for them. Another advantage of t-trak!

Here some pictures I took during the day.



Half of the layout has scenery on it. That means that I still have to do three more modules. There is no rush, since I have no new appointment for a next exhibition. Well, someone asked me to come to a really great exhibition with my layout, but I can't finish the scenery and build some fancy fascia and lighting within 6 weeks, so I am going to pass that show. Maybe next year.

I also have some plans for a small yard. That makes it easier to change trains on the layout. And it will give me some switching possibilities.

 

Thieu, you have some great looking modules. The overall view shows what can be done in a small space. You have discovered the secret of a successful display, the ability to speak with visitors while the trains run. My club set up a large "C" shaped layout at the Great Train Expo in Columbus, OH over the past weekend. I ran 2 trains around a large outer loop using DCC and while talking with the vast number of visitors occasionally noticed the 2 had become 1. Enjoy and I look forward to seeing your completed modules from the other side of you layout. Also, it seems like t-trak ideas for modules can out ran your storage space quickly. Craig