I am building modules in hopes of moving. There will only be 2 moves and only one of those will be while I am alive, the second may be to the dump. At any rate, the ends of the track concern me.
The Feb MR issue discussing the Beer Line, talk about a piece of basswood, to which the rail is soldered to pc board and nailed to the basswood. The rationale is not explaned and I don't see why it would be more stable than ballasted track.
Beyond that, the edge of the track seems likely to be damaged in movement, no matter how careful one is. Either damaged rail or a whole section of rail might lift if the end of the end of module was bumped. What do you guys do who display modules at train shows?
Henry
COB Potomac & Northern
Shenandoah Valley
Hi Henry:
Our club's portable layout uses the same method as was mentioned in the MR article. The circuit board pieces are about 2" long and are screwed into place. That makes them fairly substantial. Unfortunately they look like heck because they are not ballasted so as to make repairs easier. In your case you could ballast them once the move is done. The layout gets moved several times a year but as far as I know most of the ends of the track have not been bothered. The only area that has been a problem is the duckunder/liftout area. The liftout is removed frequently. The damaged track is on the ends of the modules that mate with the liftout, and I think most of the damage has been caused by people snagging clothing on the track ends when the liftout is not in place.
Regards,
Dave
I'm just a dude with a bad back having a lot of fun with model trains, and finally building a layout!
I don't build modulars, but can picture what your talking about.
Would itwork to stop the track an inch before the edge,and then slip in a piece of track when you set up ? just thinking
This has been a number of years ago, but when I was in a train club we had modules that had the ends offset by 4.5" so that a Atlas 9" rerailer could be used to join the modules. (Also handy for placing trains on the rails.) I think they used an NMRA standard. I also use this same idea on my own layout. (Track overlaps the edges of the sections. I try not to put a turnout over an edge.)
UNCLEBUTCHWould itwork to stop the track an inch before the edge,and then slip in a piece of track when you set up ? just thinking
That would work to protect the ends of the fixed track, but I don't think it is necessary, The downside would be that the railjoiners would loosen up constantly so they would require a lot of maintenance.
I think the key is the accuracy of the connecting system between the modules (in addition to careful handling of the modules of course). Our club uses 1 1/4" x 3/4" round plywood 'plugs' glued and screwed to the outside of the module frames with a corresponding hole in the adjoining frame. Each mating surface has two plugs. They line up perfectly every time so there is no need for any interim track pieces. The layout has been in use for years with the original plugs still in place.
One thing we learned the hard way was to not over tighten the bolts that hold the modules together. That tends to distort the alignment of the modules. We use large faced allen head screws (bolts?) and a large washer and nut on the other side, two per joint. The allen screw heads are about 1" in dia. with a 1/4" or 5/16" shank, I'm not sure which.
The whole system works quite well. The layout is 6' x 12' and can be set up in about 20 minutes. It all fits into four boxes on wheels. The boxes and their doors form the benchwork for the layout. We have a trailer which holds the whole layout nicely. It really is a well thought out set up. I'm not sure who designed it.
If you build modulars like me in case of a move, then it is best to bolt the modules together and just run track. When you have to move, you cut the track back a bit from the edges and put in new track for the gap after the move (about 2" back on each side).
Cheers, the Bear.
"One difference between pessimists and optimists is that while pessimists are more often right, optimists have far more fun."
Old modules on our club layout use the fitter track method. Do NOT do this if you can avoid it. Those short gaps ALWAYS cause power problems even when new joiners are fitted, plus no one ever actually measured them exactly to use a standard fitter piece, they are all somewhat different. Some modules have 5 or more tracks across the gap, and all the fitters are mounted on one removable piece of plywood, but others just have a bunch of different length pieces. When packing up it's always critical to wrap each group together and label it in order to get the right fitters at the right joint - it's the biggest time consumer in setup.
Newer modules run the rails right to the edge. This has so far not been a problem, all of our modules are transported on rolling racks. This has sped up the setup and teardown process greatly, to where we can go from open floor to trains running in 2 hours with a 145'x27' layout. In those venues where you can;t just drive in with the trailers, we used to have to carry each section one by one, minimum 2 people carrying eachone. Now we can unload in the parking lot is necessary and just wheel in racks of 4-6 modules. They are organized by the order they go together, as well, so just place the racks about where needed and unload. The ends of the rails are only exposed for a short time when the modules are stood up off the rack before being clamped together, and the only ones you MIGHT get snagged on are the ends of a group. Once drawn together, the joints function flawlessly. Much better than the old fitter section parts. For what is effectively a one-time house move, just tape or staple pieces of cardboard on the exposed edges, high enough to shield the rails from getting snagged on anything.
--Randy
Modeling the Reading Railroad in the 1950's
Visit my web site at www.readingeastpenn.com for construction updates, DCC Info, and more.
rrebellIf you build modulars like me in case of a move, then it is best to bolt the modules together and just run track. When you have to move, you cut the track back a bit from the edges and put in new track for the gap after the move (about 2" back on each side).
I agree 100%. In addition, have no turnouts over the joints. When reassebled sodder in the short filler pieces.
May the layouts second move be decades in the future.
Free-mo modules, by definition, are set up and taken down numerous times.
The standard for Free-mo is to stop track an inch short of the end of a module. Fitter rails are installed to make the jump after the modules are set up and aligned.
A Free-mo module can be made up of several sub-modules (which is how you can have a 20 foot long yard module). For the internal track connections of those sub-modules, design of inter-module track connections is optional. Generally, it appears that people choose to have the track come right up to the edges. Again, between sub-modules ONLY.
In all the setups I've been to, I've not seen an electrical problem with using fitter rails. Note that, generally, all rails on a module are "hard wired". The exception being fitter rails.
Pluses for using fitter rails: the rails can't get snagged at the module ends (unless you really try). The fitter rails can allow for a bit of a jog, should "someone" have a bit of track slightly out of alignment (not you or I, of course).
Pluses for running rail to end: don't need to make or install fitter rails. Looks a bit better.
During transport and movement of non-fitter type modules (rails to ends), EVERYONE puts an end plate(s) on the module during transit. It should be obvious why.
For modules that are semi-permanent (such as ones that are the subject of this topic), running rails to the ends should work nicely. Add end plates for transit.
Holding those rails down at the ends can get interesting. I tried soldering the rail to the tops of brass screws, but the solder joints failed over time. I SUSPECT rail expansion from temperature fluctuations caused it. I DO know how to solder. I did some repairs with the printed circuit board ties, and they have held up well. I also used a special method from Free-mo where you make (large-ish) brass rail spikes and solder those to the rail. They are doing well, also.
Spanning the joints with un-cut rail (at first) has some merit. BUT. You are going to have to get in there and make the cuts on a presumably completed layout. Which probably isn't that big a deal, though. Just do some scenery fixin' up. More irritating might be the track repair. If yer lucky, you can just file the cut ends of the rail, slide some railjoiners on, and solder. There's going to be at least SOME gap to fill, though: saw kerf.
Ed
When it comes time to move, you could take a piece of plywood or masonite & screw to the end of the modules to protect the ends of the track.