Looptie Loop

Looptie Loop

It's not like I've done anything with the trains lately, but Bob and Jeff have braved the heatwave to put the two loop modules together for a trial run. According to their report, everything went pretty well after a few tweaks. It is easy to imagine a string of modules in between these two loops. If anyone asks my opinion, I like the smooth lines of the Delta module (in the foreground) over the very angular Absolut module (in back).

Delta Force

Delta Force

As often happens, after the guys left, I got motivated to start work on the next module. We need another balloon module, but I was looking for some way to get the weight down. I came up with the idea of modifying two hollow-core doors instead of the door and plywood that I used last time. The result was this delta shaped module.

I took the second door and cut the two wings with a circular saw. As suspected, there is a waffle pattern of cardboard between the two layers of hardboard.

Because the space between the hardboard doesn't match any standard lumber size, I had to mill a two-by-two to the right thickness.


I pre-drilled the lumber with pilot holes about every eight inches along the length and then glued and screwed them to the uncut door edge. Make sure you leave enough room for the geometry of the wedge shape.

I took a scrap of the strip and a hammer and pre-smashed the cardboard waffle so that the wedge would slide over the glue/nail strip.

I then applied lots of carpenter's glue to the edges of the strip, slid the wedge over the top, and nailed the wedge on both sides. The wood and clamps helped to make sure that the wings dried on the same angle as the whole door blank. Once that dried, I repeated the process for the other wing.

I saved ten pounds of weight by building the module this way. The same techniques could be used for other modules. There are several sizes of doors available, and it is a simple matter to apply the endplates and fascia to the doors. In the folding door section, you can find bi-fold doors that are 15" x 80" which is a great size for a module.

A Little Loopie

A Little Loopie

Today was the monthly breakfast and work meeting of the N-Land Pacific Group. Jeff added everything else to the module so we could run trains around it. In this first photo, Bob and Stan are admiring the fact that we can easily get a nine-foot train through the passing siding.

Bob is really pushing for a removable styrofoam scenic piece that can be placed in the center of the loop as a view block. While he is working on that idea, Jeff and I will be working on a duplicate return loop for the other end of the setup. Stan continues to work on getting his new module ready for the NMRA show.

Absolut Module

Absolut Module

By popular demand, I added fascia to the balloon module. It is just tempered hardboard (masonite). This thing weighs 63 pounds without cork, track or scenery. Because of the size and weight, it definitely will require more than one person to manage it.

As the module was leaning against the table, it occurred to me that it looks like those advertisements for Absolut Vodka.

Jeff and Bob want to add scenery, but I hate to store modules with scenery in anything but a horizontal position (It looks pretty funny when all the dust is on the left side of everything). Sure you could cover the thing with a tarp, but with the size of this thing, you could use a car cover. At least it won't be in my garage.

Blast Off!!!

Blast Off!!!

As we get ready for the NMRA layout tour in July, the boys from the N-Land Pacific really wanted a way to turn around trains without running the locos around on a passing siding. We came up with the idea of a simple balloon module.

A balloon track is something the real railroads use to turn an entire train. This photo is of the balloon track at Union Pacific's West Colton yard.

For our balloon module, we decided on keeping it to just one piece and compromising on the track radius. It uses a 24" door as the backbone of the module. There are 12" wide wings on the last four feet of the module so we can fit an 18" radius turn there. It took some engineering to attach the wings to the door without heavy bracing, but my design solution seems to have done the trick.

For the size of the beast, it is surprisingly light weight - for now. I was hoping to skip putting fascia on it because of the weight and the additional framing which would be required to keep the fascia secured. Bob and Jeff are proponents of the fascia as a place for mounting the turnout mechanism and throttle ports. They also want to do some scenery inside the balloon. They typically rent a truck to transport their modules, so leaving ground foam along the freeway isn't a worry. If I were storing and transporting this 25 square-foot beast, I'd just paint everything black and think of it as the backstage of the theater.

When I finish with the fascia, Jeff will take over construction with laying track and wiring. If it works out well, they want to build another one of these balloons. Since it is a club module, I probably won't be able to keep with my tradition of Spanish names for the module. If I could, some ideas are Globo (balloon), or Lazada (loop). My neighbor says the thing looks like a Space Shuttle Soap Box racer.

Alright Already! Sheesh!

Alright Already! Sheesh!

I've been getting comments and emails about the dry spell here, and before I show what I've been working on, I thought I'd point out the similar lack of progress on other model railroad blogs, like here, here, here and even here.

The N-Land Pacific group is getting ready for the NMRA tours in July, and we decided to build a utility module with a balloon track to turn the trains at the end of a run. Since this is strictly utility, the radius will depart from the standard and go down to just 18 inches. We should be able to turn an eight-foot train on a module that is 80" long, and 24" wide on the connection end, and 48" wide on the balloon end.

Last night I built the four legs for this module, and thought it'd be a good opportunity to post something here. I have completely given up on the idea of a leg made from a single piece of wood. There is too much warping and weight involved. These "engineered" legs are much lighter, and nearly bullet-proof. They are made of a strip of 15/32" plywood 2" wide, and another that is 1.5" wide. There are three, three-inch blocks, milled from a two-by-four with the saw still set at the 1.5" width. I mount a tee-nut with screw mounts (Rockler 68379) and use a 5/16" eye-bolt for the leveling adjustment.

I've used this leg design on several modules now, and I am convinced it is the only way to go.