Domino method of Benchwork building Std Practices

[Anonymous]

I recently moved and had to take down my "N" scale layout. It may be down for longer than I hoped because the Basement needs a major overhaul. I read in an old MRR today about the Domino method that allows you to build modules/ sections at a time and put them together when you have the space. The article just mentioned it it wasn't specifically about it. Could someone clue me into the basic practices of Domino Module building ?

[Anonymous]

Get your hands on some David Barrow articles.

Basically, he builds simple sections that are 18" or 2' wide, and 2', 4', 6', or maybe even 8' long.

His layouts aren't modular by the standard definition, in that they can't go together any which way. So it's sort of a portable layout. Portable because each individual piece is portable.

I think it's the way to go for me on my hopefully soon to be future layout.

Again, simple frames, made of 1x4's with plywood on top. He actually suggests ripping plywood into 3/4" x 3-1/2" pieces (to resemble 1 x 4's).

Cool stuff, although many will say it's nothing new. I think David Barrow made the concept quite popular, however, and threw in a little bit of marketing by gaving it a cool name (dominoes).

[dehusman]

The orginal Domino benchwork was a little more involved than the latest itteration.

The basic concept is that you make small open grid benchwork sections that can be assembled and worked on on a workbench. That enables you to get up close and personal with the layout while doing trackwork, wiring and detailing.

The original benchwork had a supporting benchwork that mirrored the "layout" portion and supported it so it could be removed or rearranged easily. There is also no requirement in the original concept for it to be a flat tabletop, It could just as easily be plain open grid with the railroad on risers. The latest version is much simplified and is closer to an N-trak module in construction with "non-uniform" track desigins on it.

One of the basic reasons for the construction method was to be able to rearrange the sections quickly and easily with maximum reuse of the original sections.

Dave H.

[johncolley]

Also check out free-mo.org for lightweight modules. I am 5'7" and can easily handle a 2'x8' module by myself! The secret is 3/4x6x24" birch plywood endplates, 1/2x6x94 1/2" birch plywood sideplates and a 2"foam deck.

[Anonymous]

dumb question? I have seen some of the "domino" layouts in the magazines. How do they handle the track connection between the modules? All the pictures I have see, like the Cat Mountain, the track and ballast look permenent between each module. I know Dave on his Cat Mountain was less into detailed track with ballast, but still how do you achieve that effect of a continous track, even the small gap between modules with roads or landscape.

Sounds like a very interesting way, is this also similar to the LDE's Layout Design Elements?

[dehusman]

Domino's versus LDE's:

I say they are not in any way related.

Dominoes are a method of constructing a standard sized benchwork section.

LDE's are design technique of identifying a "signature" scenic element of a prototype or prototype scene and building that element in order to capture the feeling of the prototype. Personally I think it is so overly generalized and means so many different things to different people as to be virtually useless for describing anything but a very generic concept. Some people think that LDE are layout sections with different things on them and then you string them together like beads to form a layout. They think there should be a "LDE" plan book with a engine terminal LDE and yard LDE and freight house LDe and junction LDE and then you just pick out the ones you want and butt them together and have a layout. The problem is that the concept of the LDE inculdes understanding how the thing worked and just stringing LDE's together doesn't mean the LDE's will support your operation or any operation for that matter.

Dave H.

[CBQ_Guy]

I just happened to keep this write up by Tony Koester explaining in his own words his concept and definition of a Layout Design Element or LDE as he calls it. I held onto it specifically because I was beginning to notice various definitions and explanations for what various people thought it meant getting bandied around the internet. In fact, I believe the following came from somewhere within the bowels of the Trains.com website, though it reads like one of his "Trains of Thought articles in MR. Here it is in part . . .

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Introduction to layout design elements
The "Layout Design Element" can help you do a better job of designing part or all of a model railroad
by Tony Koester

Back in 1995, in the inaugural issue of MRP, I introduced the concept of the Layout Design Element, or LDE. The basic idea is simple: Find a modelable hunk of a full-size railroad, document it physically and operationally, and then scale it down to fit in a reasonable space. The hunk could be almost anything: yard, engine terminal, industry, town, or important scene - Horseshoe Curve, perhaps.

This approach has critical advantages that can help even the rank beginner do a better job of designing part or all of a model railroad and be confident it will look and operate prototypically.

For example, even if you don't now know why the track and buildings were arranged as they were, you can be sure the full-size railroad made do with this arrangement and proceed with modeling it. As you learn more, you'll simply confirm that what you already decided to model can be operated realistically. And the aesthetic attributes that caught your eye in the first place can be scaled down - selectively compressed - simply by following the prototype example.

Compare this with the all-too-typical approach wherein we attempt to guess how a full-size road operates and how it might have arranged its track. Then we take a stab at arranging our track without following a prototype example.

Why do we do that? If we were building a model of a depot or boxcar, we'd want good dimensional data and photos of the prototype. Yet we arrange trackwork this way and that without consulting anything more reliable than our assumptions about what should look right and operate well.

That we too seldom get there from here should be no surprise at all, but we keep surprising ourselves year after year. "Yup, this here's my eighth layout," we boast. It's no wonder that we're still trying to get one right.

My goal with the Layout Design Element approach is that over time we will compile a library of LDEs. Those seeking to model a specific prototype can narrow their focus to LDEs for a reasonable section of that railroad, perhaps inspired by an LDE someone else kindly documented for them. Free-lancers have more latitude and may choose several loosely related or even unrelated LDEs, then string them together with "the twisty bits" to form a layout.

My new Nickel Plate Road Third Sub layout (September and October 2000 Model Railroader) is just a series of LDEs for towns and yards on the St. Louis Division of the Clover Leaf District. It took some thought to put the larger LDEs such as Frankfort and Charleston yards where they needed to be, but the path for-ward was always clear to me and to my friend and co-designer Frank Hodina.

But what happens if a free-lancer, perhaps out of ignorance more than a lack of caring, uses no sensitivity whatsoever and links LDEs from dissimilar railroads from the four comers of the continent? That person will still be better off than the modeler who makes no effort to tie a plan to reality. A layout plan that lacks any benchmark has a poor chance of looking realistic or being operated prototypically.

There is no one best way to design a model railroad. Some of you are far more competent designers than I'll ever be, and you have your own approach to layout design. Perhaps you'll one day share those ideas with the rest of us through the pages of MR or MRP.

But those of you who are now staring blankly at a sheet of paper that is staring blankly back at you might try the LDE approach. Find a prototype railroad, or similar prototypes in a given region, and read magazines and books and watch videotapes to find potential LDEs that catch your eye. Ask yourself what industries and other features (such as helper districts) add to the railroad's operating interest and would make good modeling candidates.

Then find out more about those potential LDEs. Join the appropriate railroad historical societies and become an active member, for example. Before you know it, you'll be the subject-matter expert and helping others as they try to choose LDEs and string them together to form a model railroad.

[dehusman]

The problem is that just having a LDE doesn't mean it or your railroad will operate prototypically or even well for that matter. The prototype designed a piece of track work or a facility to handle a certain traffic flow. Copying it into model form means it will handle the a model of that operation. If your layout doesn't have that operation that means the facility may not support your operation. There are very few model railroads that even faintly resemble the actual prototype operation. Most have so much stuff crammed into such a small space and time it would make a subway line out of breath.

Dave H.

[ham99]

My version of the Domino layout has five sections joined together -- each section to the next by two carriage bolts with wing nuts. The wires at the joints connect to terminal blocks [barrier strips] so they can be taken apart. The carriage bolts assure that they fit exactly each time. A single 5" snap track [N scale] spans the joints. Note that it must be assembled the same way each time. The sections are not interchangeable in other patterns. Each section has its own L-girder support and its own [adjustable] legs. I don't think of it as portable, but it could be moved out of the basement if the stairs eventually become a problem for me. It would fit in our guest bedroom -- and my present train room could house guests with younger legs.

[dehusman]

ham99, your layout is secitional, but is it a Domino?
Can and do you remove a section to take it to the workbench to work on it? Does the domino sit on the benchwork or is the "domino" part of the benchwork?

Nowadays pretty much any sectional layout is called a Domino.

Dave H.

[ham99]

The largest section is 30"x60". They each rest on two L-girders fastened to the leg units. Remove four screws, lift them and carry them. There are handholds in the facia boards for carrying. So they were designed for mobility. In practice, only the two smallest sections [32"x32" and 12"x16"] have been carried around for working on them after the initial assembly.