T-Trak The N scale Pennsy Juniata Division 2.0 - T-TRAK!

[Dave V]

Something feels very right about modeling the Standard Railroad of the World--America's Broad Way of Commerce--once again. I'm trying not to regret too much the things I parted with that made the HOn3 Rio Grande Southern First District possible. But I've also been very pleasantly surprised at all the little goodies I kept.

[mike_lawyer]

I was able to purchase one of the original run Bachmann K4s.  What a nice, smooth running engine.  Bachmann really hit it out of the park with that one.  I wish they would release more non-streamlined versions.

[Dave V]

I was able to purchase one of the original run Bachmann K4s.  What a nice, smooth running engine.  Bachmann really hit it out of the park with that one.  I wish they would release more non-streamlined versions.

I do too, in case one of my two sh!ts the proverbial bed.

[Dave V]

Progress has been uncharacteristically slow for me, but at long last, things are happening...

[Chris333]

Are those bases from CMR?

[Dave V]

Are those bases from CMR?

Nope. The 2 corner pieces are RSLaserKits and the Juniata River crossing is from Klawndyke.

[dem34]

Nope. The 2 corner pieces are RSLaserKits and the Juniata River crossing is from Klawndyke.

Good. CMR are a bit rough for the price. Still kinda peeved their 19" inside corner modules require doing your own 45 deg chamfer on every side piece to get it to fit together.

[Chris333]

Yeah I bought a 12x48 module from CMR. Before gluing it together I got a bunch of clamps to keep it straight. It was a disaster getting it into one piece with clamps and in the end I had to use the tape to hold it. Then it was twisted. I was soaking all the glue and over twisting the opposite direction. In the end I had to rip strips to form a ladder under it to keep it straight. $70 bucks was OK if it was straight. But I feel for about $25 I could have found a straighter board to make it myself. OH well.

Oh and the laser cut tabs stuck up just a hair so the whole thing needed to be sanded flat.

[dem34]

Yeah the price of modules has been a big driver for me to just start making them out of Poplar trim boards. The one I'm working on atm priced out to $18 in material which was 3 3' boards and 1 6' Pine 1x1, with 4 brad hole Tee Nuts and carriage bolts. And if the module is skewed I can only blame myself. 


DO NOT DO THIS
 

The trim boards roll like Tacos if you get them even slightly damp.

[Ed Kapuscinski]

Yeah the price of modules has been a big driver for me to just start making them out of Poplar trim boards. The one I'm working on atm priced out to $18 in material which was 3 3' boards and 1 6' Pine 1x1, with 4 brad hole Tee Nuts and carriage bolts. And if the module is skewed I can only blame myself. 

I just like the flexibility of doing it myself. *****, I don't even use poplar. I just go with the good pine.

But I also usually use an inch of foam on top so I'm using 1x2s for my frames.

Off-cuts provide the leg holders.

I used to screw the things together, but lately I've gotten lazy: corner clamps, glue and a nail gun. Boom boom boom. That's how you build a whole layout in an afternoon. lol.

In case anyone is interested, here's my writeup on my construction methods: https://conrail1285.com/making-ttrak-modules/

[randgust]

I've been using the good (and lightweight) 2x4 1/4" birch plywood, which is glued and reinforced, then painted on both sides with latex paint before attacked later with any wet scenic material.  And waterproof glue.  Corners are 2x2 pine blocks where the legs go.

Whatever I save on weight of the 'box' I lose on scenery, I'm a plaster guy with no apologies.   

But I'm admittedly lucky, I have a full wood shop inherited from my father, and I've done a lot of carpentry work. 

The biggest departure I've done on all my modules is to cut down that leading edge; in my case my railroad follows a river in a valley, so the track slopes down sharply.   But for photo purposes and scenery purposes, going 'low' with the front edge or entire base has been outstanding.  Still doing it.

This is the module that won the Virtual National Ttrak award in 2020
http://www.randgust.com/TRKMOD26c.jpg
http://www.randgust.com/D16104644L.jpg

One HUGE advantage of Ttrak is that you can haul these outside to photograph in natural sunlight.

But in the beginning, there was brown plywood and plaster.
http://www.randgust.com/TRKMOD01.JPG

I've been modeling ATSF my entire life, the 'big layout' is still very much alive and well.  But I've always had a really deep love of the lumber company my father worked for in the 1920's that he eventually led, and the railroad era of that mill until 1938 - the Hickory Valley Railroad.  But they interchanged with the PRR Salamanca Branch, so I've been dragged willingly into the PRR era as well.   My father rode behind that 4-4-0, and I grew up as a kid with that line across the river from my house.  So Dave, never apologize for being Colorado AND PRR, you're in good company.

Those of you that have seen the single track "Thompson" Ttrak module at Altoona, was the view from my living room window as a kid.

[Ed Kapuscinski]

I've been using the good (and lightweight) 2x4 1/4" birch plywood, which is glued and reinforced, then painted on both sides with latex paint before attacked later with any wet scenic material.  And waterproof glue.  Corners are 2x2 pine blocks where the legs go.

Whatever I save on weight of the 'box' I lose on scenery, I'm a plaster guy with no apologies.   

But I'm admittedly lucky, I have a full wood shop inherited from my father, and I've done a lot of carpentry work. 

The biggest departure I've done on all my modules is to cut down that leading edge; in my case my railroad follows a river in a valley, so the track slopes down sharply.   But for photo purposes and scenery purposes, going 'low' with the front edge or entire base has been outstanding.  Still doing it.

This is the module that won the Virtual National Ttrak award in 2020
http://www.randgust.com/TRKMOD26c.jpg
http://www.randgust.com/D16104644L.jpg

One HUGE advantage of Ttrak is that you can haul these outside to photograph in natural sunlight.

But in the beginning, there was brown plywood and plaster.
http://www.randgust.com/TRKMOD01.JPG

I don't know why, but in my brain that module is forever "Turkeyville", lol. I'm sorry.

[randgust]

For historians or trivia buffs, it was named for Pennsylvania Supreme Court Justice John Trunkey:
https://www.pacourts.us/Storage/media/pdfs/20220509/151338-trunkey.pdf

But my personal favorite malapropism for the module name is "Turnkeyville" which seems so appropriate for a Ttrak module.

And it still exists today as a searchable spot on Google Earth.

[Ed Kapuscinski]

For historians or trivia buffs, it was named for Pennsylvania Supreme Court Justice John Trunkey:
https://www.pacourts.us/Storage/media/pdfs/20220509/151338-trunkey.pdf

But my personal favorite malapropism for the module name is "Turnkeyville" which seems so appropriate for a Ttrak module.

And it still exists today as a searchable spot on Google Earth.

Lol, which is incredibly funny given the non-turnkey nature of what you've done!

But that DOES give me an inspiration for a funny project for Altoona...

[Chris333]

Incidentally how do you guys rip plywood without getting splinters?