Building a modular home layout
#31
From looking at your benchwork and shelving you seem to be suffering from "over neatess". You would NEVER want to look under my layout! Icon_lol
Mike

Sent from my pocket calculator using two tin cans and a string
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#32
Svein, I'm looking forward with great expectance to next pictures. Very good work (and a fine model engine - brass?)!
Cheers, Bernd

Please visit also my website www.us-modelsof1900.de.
You can read some more about my model projects and interests in my chronicle of facebook.
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#33
Mike: Yeah, well, I did some tidying up before taking the pics, but don't worry, it will soon enough be rather messy again once I start cutting plywood for the next module frames Icon_lol

Thank, Bernhard. Yes it's a brass model from the NMJ Superline series, class 32a #288 of the Norwegian State Railways (NSB), in service from 1915. Baldwin Locomotive Works also delivered 14 of these engines to the NSB, but as they were slightly different in construction they were named 32b (delivered 1917) and 32c (1919). #288 was delivered on October 10 1915 and put in service October 18, and it was retired on April 21 1969. This engine is preserved at the Norwegian Railway Museum in Hamar.
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#34
Svein, I hope that you can realize such large radii as seen at your first paper scheme. And good success with Norwegian steam train modeling!
Cheers, Bernd

Please visit also my website www.us-modelsof1900.de.
You can read some more about my model projects and interests in my chronicle of facebook.
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#35
Bernhard, that 90 degree corner section is actually a substandard section for use at home only, with its 750mm radius it's much too sharp to be used at FREMO meetings. However, this was the only way I could fit a station in the corner, and with extra fill-in sections I can still bring the station to meetings if I want to. The layout will be a combination of FREMO modules and substandard modules with only the FREMO interface at the ends, making it easy to rearrange the setup and replacing modules whenever I feel the need for a change.
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#36
I visited the Fremo-website and I found all the Norwegian regional clubs, their sites and activities. Nice!
There are more such nice members in your clubs?
Cheers, Bernd

Please visit also my website www.us-modelsof1900.de.
You can read some more about my model projects and interests in my chronicle of facebook.
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#37
Yeah, I figured you would notice that particular picture! A nice reminder of a warmer season not too far away... Icon_lol

In addition to Arendal Modelljernbaneklubb (with the nice lady) in Southern Norway, there are also Skaarerbanens Venner and Kløfta Modelljernbaneklubb in the Oslo area, both of them pretty close to me. There are also several other clubs engaging in FREMO and other modular standards all around Norway, as well as our Swedish neighbors to the east.
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#38
Last weekend I attended my first FREMO meeting ever, and it was a great experience! I got to be the engine driver for both passenger and freight trains, as well as station agent for two different stations. And with a bit of fearful joy and some stress at times, I think I can say that I managed myself through the different sessions without too many huge errors and mistakes...

I also brought along my own module, although it wasn't registered for the meeting. I had a tiny hope that we would find some spare time to test the module and make sure it met the requirements, but I had no idea that it would actually end up being set up as part of the layout! It was nice to confirm that everything worked as it should, but I received strict orders from the other participants that for the next meeting I had to cover up all the ugly yellow foam with some basic scenery..! Icon_lol

Here's a short video (not mine, I was too busy to take even a single picture all weekend..!) from the meeting, showing about half the layout:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Rj4_H17Z...e=youtu.be
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#39
Shown below is what Dennis Ivison used to build his O scale narrow gauge South Pacific Coast layout & show module in Garden Grove CA. His layout was on the 42nd Model Railroads of Southern California layout tour last September. Wish I'd seen this before building mine but any future ones will be built this way. Dennis got most of his Styrofoam free. He happen to see some being thrown away at a construction site. He asked if he could have & they said yes. This is a very good way to build K.I.S.S. modules!


       
       
Andy Jackson
Santa Fe Springs CA
ATSF/LAJ Ry Fan & Modeler
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#40
That looks like a very interesting and lightweight construction method! How ever, I'm curious as to how the scenery is done, especially for rivers and other terrain below track level. Also, how are the modules bolted together? I really like the idea, but would probably have to make some adjustments to make it fit our modular standards.
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#41
Here's more from Dennis about his mudules:
Since my "module"s don't go to shows I have bolted them together with really long lag bolts and "washers" I made from 3"x3"x 1/8" plywood. I can see that your clamp idea would work very well, do you use any thin plywood buffers between the clamps and foam to spread out the surface area?

The scenery is all beaded Styrofoam that I carved with a hot knife, then coated with an ultra thin layer of plaster-of-paris, followed by a painting of gesso; and finished off with washes. Areas where I cut into the blue foam, or used left over blue foam for the mountain carving I found that the plaster-of-paris coat was unnecessary, the gesso coat was sufficient prior to the washes.

The glue to use is Liquid Nails Paneling & Molding Adhesive. Foam to foam takes a couple of days to set-up, foam to wood about one day, I hold everything together while drying with masking tape. My experience with white glue was a mess; I had glued some blue foam pieces together with it as an experiment and set it aside for TWO WEEKS, when I got around to working with it the white glue began running out from between the seams; when I took it apart I found that only the very outer areas next to the edges had dried, the glue in the middle was still as wet as if it was still in the bottle; and there was no grip to the dried glue either.

We use wood frames under our club modules, and bolt them together at shows.

Hope this helps,
Dennis
Andy Jackson
Santa Fe Springs CA
ATSF/LAJ Ry Fan & Modeler
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#42
There seems to a be a bit confusion on this thread between modules and sectional baseboards. Maybe it's just semantics, also there is a continental language divide (I'm in the UK)
To my mind there are two main types of layout benchwork.
Layouts that are built in-situ and are fixed in place, with no thoughts of portability
Layouts with sectional baseboards, design to be moved, whether for transport to exhibitions or simply for moving house or if there is not room to have them up permanently.
Modular is a sub-section of sectional. A module follows whichever standards the builder chooses (Free-mo, NMRA, NTrak, Fremo, etc), but are designed to be joined, in multiple configurations with other modules. A module can consist of multiple boards/sections, as long as the ends meet the standard for joining to other modules.

Svein's layout is a hybrid of a permanent in-situ layout (the outside staging) which has some Fremo modular standard ends and some sectional boards with Fremo modular standard ends that don't meet Fremo modular standards due to curve radius and a curved Fremo spec single section module and two multi-section Fremo spec modules. The multi-section modules can be removed and taken to modular meet-ups, or even put in store and replaced with other modules (providing they fit in the space)

I do like the concept, It combines the best of both worlds. In some ways it reminds me of the RS Tower layout <!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://rstower.wordpress.com/">http://rstower.wordpress.com/</a><!-- m --> which is built as a 27′ x 11′ sectional portable exhibition layout, but has a junction at each end with board ends built to Freemo (UK spec) modular standards, so can become part of a modular setup.
Tim David
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#43
Tim
Dennis Ivison built his home layout modular & built a module to take to the On30 club using basically the same construction techniques.
Andy Jackson
Santa Fe Springs CA
ATSF/LAJ Ry Fan & Modeler
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#44
I'm with Tim on this one. I've seen a lot of discussion on several forums whether one should use the term modular, sectional or maybe something completely different. Many people in the US (IMHO) seem to use the term modular much more liberally than in Europe, and here in Norway we are very clear about the various terms and the differences between them.

First, we have the pure modular approach, where any module can be connected to any other through their common standardized interface. This standard may include an official and approved modular standard such as FREMO, or may be limited to a club or perhaps only a few individuals (or one). Here I will also include substandard modules that may not meet all the requirements, with, for instance, sharper curves and shorter turnouts, but still have the same interface.

Second, we have the sectional layouts, which are designed to be disassembled and reassembled, but only in one specific configuration, and without a common interface at the section joints.

Third, we also have what I would call a cross between modular and sectional; the domino setup. Just like the domino chips, they use a limited number of interfaces for some variation in the setup, but it doesn't have the same posibilities as with pure modules.

There is nothing wrong in combining the various setups. A long module can be divided into smaller sections for easier handling, and station modules are the perfect examples of this. Furthermore, you can build parts of the layout modular or sectional (or both), and you can also build an in-situ layout with one or more connection interfaces for modular expansion.

Anyway, this discussion is a bit off-topic, but on a social forum like this, I think it might be nice to have a common understanding of the different terms in order to avoid misunderstandings and confusion. Smile
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#45
I still haven't decided on the final modular trackplan, but to avoid another case of paralysis by analysis (and finally get to lay some track and run trains), I spent the Christmas holiday building sections all around the room. The sections are the same height as FREMO modules and have the same hole configuration for connection, and can be replaced with regular modules as I get around to building them. The sections can also easily be converted into modules later.

Right half of the room:
[Image: 3999_w1200.jpg]

Left half of the room, with the duckunder entrance. I'm thinking of cutting out an arch in the sections crossing the doorway, to make the duckunder a little easier on the back.
[Image: 4002_w1200.jpg]

All the sections have the FREMO modular interface for easy connection with regular FREMO modules:
[Image: 4004_w1200.jpg]

The narrower sections have connection holes matching the FREMO interface, with either the front or back side flush with the FREMO modules. The small section shown removed and sitting on top in the pic can simply be turned around, while the corner section below has a double set of holes to connect both ways.
[Image: 4005_w1200.jpg]
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