Ideas for Straight Module?

[kgrimes]

Hi All—

We will be moving soon to a home with a room dedicated to my layout. But in the meantime, I have dismantled my layout, and want to start fresh with just one NMRA 18” x 36” module.  I don’t plan on taking it to a club, but I like the portability it offers.

So, I’d like to start with a mountain scene. I am building the AHM “Ruby Basin” trestle bridge right now, and would like it built into a canyon, at about 12” off the table, and another track with a smaller bridge closer to table height Crossing the same canyon.

When we move to our new home, I will have a large space to work with, and this module will be part of it.

Any thoughts? 

Thanks

 

 

[BigDaddy]

The bridge will take up 26 of the 36".  Assuming you are moving it yourself and have an SUV, I'd make it the longest that will still fit in the SUV.  

[dknelson]

Only this: that moving a module with mountains or canyons or both plus a trestle bridge is likely even more of a challenge than moving a module that has fragile details such as utility poles with "wires" or delicate structures.  Every guy I talk to about modular layouts seems to have stories to tell about damage during moves no matter how much care they took and how few times the moves took place.  Just avoiding damage to the track is challenge enough, it seems.

My own feeling is that the "final" layout room is the place to explore the canyon/mountain/trestle idea, with the added benefit that you won't be constrained by that 36" length which is likely to feel very cramped once you get the bigger space.  For a module that is both a "temporary" layout due to living circumstances, but also part of an eventual "final" (well .. whatever that means!) kind of layout, I'd go with a more or less flat layout without a lot of delicate detail that offers some operating interest right now: a challenging bit of switching at an industry where cars have to be spotted at particular doors, that sort of thing.  And for now that industry could be just foam core boxes of the right size and color as place holders.  

Dave Nelson

[kgrimes]

Thank you so much for your replies... 

My plan is not to actually "operate" on this module, but I just want to get started creating the mountain scene with the canyon in the center of it ...spanned by the trestle...   I would likely stop working on it once I get the hardscape in place...before painting, so the neighboring modules will blend perfectly.  

Planning to use foam insulation panels for the base, mountain, etc.

[MisterBeasley]

Your scale, location and era are important to come up with creative answers.

[kgrimes]

HO scale....60's-70's era...  Western US

[Mmbushnell]

dknelson

Only this: that moving a module with mountains or canyons or both plus a trestle bridge is likely even more of a challenge than moving a module that has fragile details such as utility poles with "wires" or delicate structures.  Every guy I talk to about modular layouts seems to have stories to tell about damage during moves no matter how much care they took and how few times the moves took place.  Just avoiding damage to the track is challenge enough, it seems.

Don't be dissuaded or deterred by the very real challenges encountered when transporting your module.  Including the trestle/bridge that you mention will make for a visually spectacular and very interesting module.  But it increases the necessity of protecting the module during transport.  You might want to consider making a “hard-shell” cover for it, to protect it during transport.  Inexpensive paneling could be used for the sides of the cover, while heavy cardboard stiffened by wood battens might suffice for the cover.  And protecting the track at the module edges is also a consideration, depending on what system you select for interconnection with adjoining modules.  

Noted model railroader Pelle Søeborg has used several inches of 3/16” solid wood roadbed (in replacement of cork roadbed) at module joints as way to reinforce the trackage at the module joints.  You can find details in his several many publications, as well as in the numerous articles he has written for Model Railroader. There are many other proposed approaches to this issue, as well.  But without some sort of protection, the track at the module edges invariably suffers distress during movement and transport.  

[Medina1128]

When I've seen layout modules, I've seen them with folding legs with casters on them. That way, you can slide it out extending the legs as you slide it out. Once it's out of your SUV, you can roll it into the house.