Easy Trolley + TTrak-N design progress

I have had a little time to work some more on the 3d mockup of an idea for an Easy Trolley loop.

For reference, see blogs of Mar. 6 and Mar. 13 for details on the structure mockups.

The idea has been to have the trolley loop run beneath the TTrak module main lines on a double length straight.

At the same time, I've been figuring out 'large' corners for the super elevated track. The track curves are 99mm larger in radius, so a larger base is needed to hold them.

These two ideas have merged into a single cityscape. It will form the end of a loop of modules.

The corners are 18" (~460mm) square. The width of the whole end is 60" (~1525mm.) This will perfectly fit across a pair of folding banquet tables. This is the first picture.

The second picture shows a close-up of the center module. The structures drawn there are for Tomix under track stores, etc.

Thanks to Jeff Reynolds, Doug Coster, and Bill Robb in the Yahoo Tomix Group for their advice and assistance determining the measurements for these pieces.

In all these pictures, one square on the graph paper = 20mm. That's about 10.5 ft, prototype size.

Since I am helping with a show at a local library, I "borrowed" a couple of donated books (with permission) that were about the right thickness to represent the module base. The books themselves have no significance.

Here's an oblique view of the overall scheme. The solid orange blocks represent trains on the parallel main lines crossing above the shops, and the trolleys on the loop below.

The rear view shows the passing siding I want to use. My goal here is to have two trolleys or trams alternate direction across the front. I think this will be interesting for viewers to try to figure how it is done.

The control for the trolley loop will come from a Minitronics RU2 Controller I got a while back. It is new, and came from an individual who sold it very, very cheap.

The overhead view may give a bit more clarity to the track plan. TTrak above, Easy Trolley below.

Finally, a low level front view of the center module.

My approximations for dimensions aren't exact, of course, but I think they are close enough to give a pretty good look and feel to the project.

Right now, I've got other things to finish for the club before the May 1-2 Arts Festival show. It's one of our biggest showings of the year, exposure-wise.

Once that show is over, construction can begin. I'm trying to allow plenty of time, and setting my club's typical October show date as the target. If all the structures arrive, with no cancellations or extended back orders, maybe ...

My First Easy Trolley Design

Today, I baby-sat three 1-1/2 hour high school classes. They were good, but had no work
to do on the day before spring break. So, while they talked and played games, I spent a
lot of time drawing and figuring.

I have come up with a simple demo loop for an N-scale traction line on a module with 'normal' TTrak tracks. The loop has a passing siding along one side. From the beginning, I had planned for the loop to run under the main lines.

To fit it on a standard-size double module (24" long x 12" deep) some games had to be played.
Rough sketches were encouraging, so I made a measured drawing today. The main lines will be relocated approximately 1-5/8" towards the rear. So, the module itself will extend this far forward of 'normal' modules.

The loop uses very small 4" (103mm) radius curves. One long side of the loop is out
front, and the other with the passing siding is 'hidden' around back. The scheme is for the loop to run through a couple of tunnel portals in a stone wall. Between the portals, in the wall, under the main lines, are to be a couple of shops and a small parking lot. The trackage will appear to run down the middle of the street in front of the stores.

I asked on the Yahoo N Traction group, and the small Tomix turnouts (all the loop trackage is Tomix) will work fine as spring switches right out of the package. By using them this way, anything running CW will always take one siding, that running CCW will take the other.

I want it to have two trams, different colors, clearly different. Then, from the front, one will appear, run R-to-L and disappear. Then the other will run L-to-R. They will alternate. With the passing siding hidden, it should be entertaining, eh?

The controls for something like this are trivial. I plan to put a diode in each tram, in series with the motor. That will make it run only one way. By facing the trams in opposite directions, and flipping track polarity (a relay, or an H-chip) the trams will take turns. A simple sensor in each passing siding detects when a tram 'arrives' in its siding and flips the power.

Simple, yes? Imagine someone walking up, seeing one run past and expecting to see it
again when the other shows in the opposite direction.

I'll probably order the track over the weekend. This should be a very fun module.

Junction Module Rework

I decided, after seeing an N-scale junction module done this way at the Plano show, that I wanted a trestle on mine.

I attacked my TTrak-N junction module this morning. After pulling up the track, I took a jigsaw to it. Then I glued in some blue foam.

Uh-oh, I forgot that it needs to be ready to go on Friday - and I'm working Thursday and Friday!

Well, it won't be anywhere near finished by Friday, but I can slip the track back on it. It won't be pretty, but it will run.

Maybe it'll be a good show-n-tell for visitors, eh?

The pictures will give you an idea where I am going with it. Before Friday, I'll scoop it out with my big hot wire cutter. It'll take longer to set the cutter up than to do the job.

By the big show on May 1-2 it'll look decent, with some scenery, maybe a couple of low hills, too.

Sometimes things would go better if I tried to think just a little ahead, but where's the fun in that?

Joe

Module progress for upcoming shows

I have been thinking about the setup for upcoming shows. The first (and smaller) show is next week's library show for Spring Break. The other is the Lubbock Arts Festival, May 1-2, 2009.

We (Allen and I) have several options.

Option 1: Set up one simple layout, two loops of track, combining modules from both of us. Let it stretch as far as there is room for tables. This uses only space along a wall, without much depth.

Option 2: We combine modules for a single setup, with the junctions in the middle. Still only using
the wall space we would be set up like this drawing. I think nearly everything we have built to date would fit on a couple tables, except for the four corners removed for the junctions. That would give three loops of track.

Option 3: Option 1, set up as two separate layouts, on two separate tables, yielding four loops. Maybe, we could mix modules between us.

Option 4: Option 2, but hold out two straights. Then, these straights and the extra corners could make a separate little layout,with two loops. Overall, five loops of track.

My junction module still has no scenery, but it will by the Arts Festival, as will my inside corner. That will open up some more possibilities. Well, they will have some kind of ground cover as a minimum, something more than bare paint on plywood.

Now, for the HO stuff. There are four TTrak-HO single modules needing scenery. I have been making progress on scenery on the first two of these modules. Track power connections will be added during this time. I figure they will be ready to show at Arts Festival, too.

The other two will be picked up after the library show. Right now, they are the only track power connections for that layout. So far, I have scenery ideas coming together for three of the four ...

And, Darrell is working on a double module for me. It will be a WW II RAF fighter base.

Joe

PS - I'm planning new TTrak-N corners for the larger curves. But, that's a summer project. My target for showing is the Fall season (Oct.?)

Cindy's day

Cindy had a tough day helping the kids cope with the loss of two of their classmates.
There were a lot of tears shed, a lot of comfort given and received.

It was tough on her. I'm sure the kids at the school are better off for her having been there.

Tough Day on the Wife

Tomorrow will be a tough day for my wife. She subs in some of the area elementary schools.
Last Friday (3/6) there was a wreck near Lubbock that killed six, including some students where she regularly works. She remembers them as good, bright kids.

She has been asked to come to the school in the morning to assist with the kids while the teachers have an early meeting to help perpare them for working with the kids. She may only be there an hour or so, or she may be there all day. It all depends on how things go. It could be that she stays to watch various rooms while teachers concentrate on individual students who need the attention.

So, I'm asking that you say a prayer for Cindy, the kids, and the whole Willow Bend Elememtary School.

Modular Musings

Today, I spent the day working on modules. Some are to be used in about a week at the small show in a library during spring break, March 16-21. Most of the others are being readied for a showing at the Lubbock Arts Festival, April 30 - May 2.

In the short term, I'm doing minor repairs and adding details to several TTrak-N modules. I currently have several such modules, enough to set up a complete loop on a 2½' X 8' table.

Another local modeler, Allen, has been building some modules as well. We have put them together to form a larger double layout in a recent test. We are ready for the show.

In the middle term, I am beginning to resurrect three TTrak-N double module boxes left over from last year's teardown. I hope some scenery ideas will present themselves soon.

I have decided that four TTrak-HO modules the club owns need some TLC. The modules are about 20" wide, and have about 20" behind the tracks for scenery. They have been getting knocked around in storage, and have no scenery on them. Just plain, bare, black modules. Since I'm the guy who built the first modules for the club, I've felt the need to make them look better.

So, I'm doing minor repairs to them and adding scenery. I want them to look decent for the Arts Festival. The first of the four now has a hill running front-to-back that's about 3" tall. That's about 22' tall, in scale. The tracks run through a cut. I covered the hill with real sand, and will be adding scrub bushes and cactus to it. Simple, but at least it's something.

The second is a bit more ambitious. I'm building it as a Christmas tree farm. I have all the stuff for it, and warm weather is helping me be able to work in the shop. I'm having fun!

The third of the modules will get a simple small town scene. I'm planning a single street running front to back with structures along both sides, a few trees, and so forth. Several club members are donating buildings for it.

As for the fourth module, well, so far I'm as blank as it is. Hopefully, something will "reveal" itself soon. Nothing exotic, nothing difficult, just something better looking than a bare picec of plywood painted flat black.

And, I have my two TTrak-HO double wide modules. One is almost finished, the other is a ways from that. I have almost all the materials for these as well, but if I don't get anything else done, they are at least presentable enough to show.

There's one more TTrak-HO module to mention. I'll own it, since I've supplied all the kits, but Darrell is building a WW II RAF fighter field on a double-width module. He has assembled most of the kits (aircraft, buildings, ground support equipment) and is ready to start bringing it all together.

In the long term, possibly for show in the fall, there's the Trak-N modules mentioned in my previous blog. Right now, I just think and plan on them when I'm at work.

Somewhere in all that, there's On30 ... whew! No wonder I almost feel overwhelmed!

Maybe some pictures next time.

Shopping Cart Bug?

I think I found a bug in the shopping cart some vendors use on the Internet. I placed an order for some kits this week, and I think something happened that may really delay the order.

Thinking back, I'm reasonably sure the catalog said two were available when I clicked to add it to my cart. Then, in the cart, I changed the quantity I wanted. To three of them. The cart allowed it to happen. Another item was also added.

I finished the process, paid with PayPal (as they wanted) and closed out. Shortly after, I received an automatic reply confirming the order for the items I requested, in the quantity I requested.

If I'm right, the vendor may hold my order for however long it takes them to get one more from the Far East. I've checked my account, and I have not been charged with the sale at this time.

Oh, well, hopefully all will arrive eventually.

I ordered some Kato N-scale super elevated track recently. It is the V11 set, which forms a complete 'squeezed' loop when assembled as they show it. It would cover almost 4'x'8. Since it arrived, I have been thinking of ideas to use it in a TTrak-N module set.

Since the track has larger radii curves (99mm larger.) new, larger corner modules are required. I have seen what some others have done, and I reached the same conclusion. The large corners will need to be 18” square.

The last few days, I have pretty well settled on a cityscape theme. So, with some time on my hands in conference periods while I sub-teach, I began making some drawings. After that, I ordered a few (ha! – thanks, tax refund!) building kits to populate the modules. It was a guess as to just how many would be needed, but I think I may have guesses very close.

The large corners require two tables side-by-side for setup. Looking at that, I settled on an arrangement that uses two corners and a double length straight between them. These will fit across the two tables perfectly. The straight is a normal-sized TTrak-N item.

Fresh drawings were made on graph paper at a scale of 20mm per square. After that, I proceeded to construct a mockup of the planned model. The next two pictures show the overview of the idea. The tall buildings, outlined in orange, are 9-story Tomix 4018’s. Yes, I splurged a bit when I found a really good buy and ordered three of them.

The middle height buildings (in green) are 3-story. The two longer ones are apartment buildings (Greenmax 44, two in a kit) and the others are Greenmax 46-4, four per kit.)

There are six two-story buildings outlined in blue. All six are in one Greenmax 33 store set kit. Four are shown on the back of the center straight. And finally, there’s a pair of pedestrian bridges from one Greenmax 46-3 kit.

From what I've seen in pictures, all the structures are generic enough to pass as 'Western."

The left corner will have a plaza in between the buildings, and maybe parking behind them. The parking area should seem to “extend” beyond the module.

I've been told by other modelers that the buildings snap apart by floors, and can be recombined to create shorter and taller ones. This could be fun!

The heavy curve lines (all pictures) are the track centerlines. Light lines just outside of them mark the roadbed edges.

In the center, on the straight module, I’m looking into using a depressed area with shops under the tracks. The Tomix 4103 Dual Track Underpass Shops and Tomix 4106 Dual Track Underpass Car Park have been ordered for this space. I will have to play a little game with the tracks, as Tomix uses 37mm and Kato uses 33mm spacing between the centerlines, but I think it can be worked out okay. Interfacing the two brands is not a problem, as I already have the adaptors for it.

The right corner has apartments and numerous stores on it, with maybe a small playground just inside the tracks. Both corners will get grassy ‘parks’ on the outside of the tracks.

Probably, there will be no parking visible here.

A theme for the other two corners needed to complete the loop hasn’t even been considered just yet. Anyway, once the big show at the Lubbock Arts Festival on May 1&2 is over, it’ll be time to make sawdust and spread glue.

There’s still a lot of details to be worked out. All the buildings (except the 9-story ones) have been confirmed as having been shipped. So, soon it’ll be time to start building the modules and fitting everything together. To make the big corners a little lighter and simpler to fill with scenery, I think that I will cut off the outside corner when I build them.

A couple of final comments. These new corners will not replace my existing ones, just add to the collection. And, now that there is another TTrak-N modeler in the Lubbock area (Allen), we have begun connecting our modules together in a larger layout. This is done by using junction modules. The larger corners will require a larger junction to match. No problem, already designed. It was a piece of cake.

New in N scale

I ordered some Kato N-scale super elevated track recently. It is the V11 set, which forms a complete 'squeezed' loop when assembled as they show it. It would cover almost 4'x'8. Since it arrived, I have been thinking of ideas to use it in a TTrak-N module set.

Since the track has larger radii curves (99mm larger.) new, larger corner modules are required. I have seen what some others have done, and I reached the same conclusion. The large corners will need to be 18” square.

The last few days, I have pretty well settled on a cityscape theme. So, with some time on my hands in conference periods while I sub-teach, I began making some drawings. After that, I ordered a few (ha! – thanks, tax refund!) building kits to populate the modules. It was a guess as to just how many would be needed, but I think I may have guesses very close.

The large corners require two tables side-by-side for setup. Looking at that, I settled on a scene that covers two corners and a double length straight between them. These will fit across the two tables perfectly. The straight is a normal-sized TTrak-N item.

Fresh drawings were made on graph paper at a scale of 20mm per square. After that, I proceeded to construct a mockup of the planned model. The next two pictures show the overview of the idea. The tall buildings, outlined in orange, are 9-story Tomix 4018’s. Yes, I splurged a bit when I found a really good buy and ordered three of them.

The middle height buildings (in green) are 3-story. The two longer ones are apartment buildings (Greenmax 44, two in a kit) and the others are Greenmax 46-4, four per kit.)

The six two-story buildings are in blue, and are all in one Greenmax 33 store set kit. Four are on the back of the center straight. And finally, there’s a pair of pedestrian bridges from one Greenmax 46-3 kit.

The left corner will have a plaza in between the buildings, and maybe parking behind them. The parking area should seem to “extend” beyond the module.

In the center, on the straight module, I’m looking into using a depressed area with shops under the tracks. The Tomix 4103 Dual Track Underpass Shops and Tomix 4106 Dual Track Underpass Car Park have been ordered for this space. I will have to play a little game with the tracks, as Tomix uses 37mm and Kato uses 33mm spacing between the centerlines, but I think it can be worked out okay. Interfacing the two brands is not a problem, as I already have the adaptors for it.

The right corner has apartments and numerous stores on it, with maybe a small playground just inside the tracks. Both corners will get grassy ‘parks’ on the outside of the tracks.

There’s still a lot of details to be worked out. All the buildings (except the 9-story ones)
have been confirmed as having been shipped. So, soon it’ll be time to start building the modules and fitting everything together. To make the big corners a little lighter and easier to fill with scenery. I think that I will cut off the outside corner when I build them.

And, a theme for the other two corners needed to complete the loop hasn’t even been considered just yet. Anyway, once the big show at the Lubbock Arts Festival on May 1&2 is over, it’ll be time to make sawdust and spread glue.

Update - making use of the warm weather

Yesterday (Mar. 3, 2009) morning I was helping give the state-mandated tests at a local school. It's very rigidly scripted procedure, quite stressful. So, when I got home, I needed a bit of stress relief.

In the afternoon, with temps in the mid 80's, I base coat painted a new module (thanks to Allen for the construction), ballasted three (including the new one) and scenery coated one. All of these modules still need a coat of black around the sides.

The new module is a TTrak-HO double (~40" wide.) It is to become a WW II RAF Fighter field. This module is mine, but Darrell has put a lot of 'sweat equity' into it by building the kits for it. And, he will finish the module as well. He is another local modeler here in Shallowater.

The second and third modules are TTrak-HO singles (~20" wide.) They are club owned. With a display coming at the local Arts Festival, I just couldn't bear to see plain, bare modules with no scenery at all sitting there. Far too ugly.

I apply my base scenery coat (ground foam, ballast, etc.) by painting the base color (supposedly 'bare earth') rather thickly and sprinkling the material onto the wet paint. Then, I tip the module and recover what doesn't stick. I get a good even coverage by doing this.

The first of this pair of modules has a hill about 3" (that's ~22' scale) high, running front to rear. It's made of some white beaded foam I was given recently. Nasty stuff, I'll stick to the blue hereafter.

The tracks pass through a cut. The coating I used here is a bit different. Rather than ground foam, a mixture of sand and fine rock pellets was used. They were scraped up locally by Darrell. I think he 'liberated' some of the excess around a new baseball field. Next is adding a bit of scrub brush and some cacti, seal it all and it will be done.

The third module is to become an Christmas tree farm. It will take a bit more work, bit I believe I have everything I need to finish it. I have some neat figures, including a man with an axe. The plan is for the rows of trees to have a missing tree every so often. The harvested tree stumps will be round toothpick fragments, lightly stained or painted.

All these modules will be finished with a final coat of black around the sides.

Also, I'm working on my other two TTrak-HO double modules, the 'esses' that have been displayed in the past. Cactus and scrub plants are being added to one, and the campground scene is (far too slowly) evolving on the other. Again, all (or almost all) items are on hand, awaiting their turn in all my 'spare time.'

When I scrapped an N layout last year, I kept four module bases, all doubles. One has been rebuilt as a double trestle scene. It's shown in the storage and transport frame. All the modules mentioned here, except the RAF double, have a frame already built for them.

I've decided to resurrect the other three TTrak-N double modules. Right now, I have no idea how these three will be sceniced. They do need a new base coat of paint to start with, so maybe later today...

Another local modeler (Allen) has begun to build some TTrak-N modules. So, I'm no longer alone out here in this format. We recently got together and connected some of his modules with some of mine and had a blast running trains across them.
Here's a couple of pictures of the fun. That's Allen in the first one. My modules are on this end, his on the far end.

In the second picture, note the Super Chief running the outside track. The engines are down at this end, while the Obs car is still in the middle of the straight at the top of the picture!

Between the two of us, we have several more modules ready to run. The table we used that day just would hold this little setup.

Finally, I bought a bash kit from Backwoods Minatures. It's the Side Tank conversion for a Bachmann Porter. The parts have been washed and are ready for primer coating. That will not happen until after the Lubbock Arts Festival show on May 1 and 2. All modeling work is pointing towards having modules ready, so other things will just have to wait.

It's getting warm, so I'd best post this and get back to the shop for another day of modeling. It's a tough job, but someone has to do it .