05-28-2009, 10:45 AM
Loren, in the modular club I belong to, we use plexiglass at the front of all of the modules. It serves the purpose of discouraging people, especially children from touching the trains as they roll by. It also serves the function of keeping a train that derails near the edge of the bench work from falling to the floor, but since it is clear, it does not obstruct the view of the train. In your home layout, a piece of plexi that sticks up only 3 inches above the track would serve to protect the trains from the "big fall" without obstructing either the view or operation of the trains. We mount our plexi using a 1/2 round piece of masonite in the center and a 1/4 round at each end with a long narrow piece of masonite going full length to sandwich the plexi between the masonite and the front of the modules. The 1/2 rounds serve as locators with a similar half round cut out of the plexi. The plexi just slips in and lifts out for photography, and easy set up or dismanteling. If you don't want to cut on a curve, you could also use squares and rectangles in the same way.