one week away!!!! here is the layout, the World Record breaking t-TRAK layout, as it will appear in Kansas City! Expect minor changes as folks check in...but the layout will look very much like this! (not meant to be a detailed view) ~Bruce
How many modules are in this setup. Should be fantastic layout, with plenty of trains. Can,t make it to KC. Should be like the N-Trak layout at Louisville KY.
that's correct...330 modules +.... over 40 scale miles total 25+ scale miles on the main Red Track (breaking the current record by almost 10 scale miles) 70+' x 50'
I know T-Trak, and N-Trak before it has brought a lot of new folks into the hobby, but I just can’t get excited about the format.
Nothing wrong with a modular format, it’s the multi-track racetrack look that I can’t get excited about. Cramming too much into a one or two foot module doesn’t help the look for me. It was tough with the 4 foot basic NTrak to include any reasonable industry trackage for any chance at operations beyond a train show display, and even with that, only the inner “branch line” was useful. The Free-moN single track module approach is more interesting to me. http://free-mon.wesleysteiner.com/ However, different strokes, and all that.
I do all three....NTRAK, T-TRAK, and FreeMoN...apparently, you haven't seen the 3' and 4' T-TRAK modules, and sets of modules, with entire industrial switching complexes, Yards, Steel Mills, etc... A very many T-TRAK folks do, indeed, operate at home, and at shows... I fully respect your preference (I enjoy code 55 and code 40, including hand laid turnouts on my FreeMoN modules), but the T-TRAK format isn't limiting at all, as afar as scenery and what can be accomplished. And, the double tracked main is much more prototypical than NTRAK even. Regardless, as you say, everyone does have their preference. I see benefits to all of the N scale modular concepts. ~Bruce
I’ve seen the larger modules you referenced. A few are as well executed, given the extreme limitations of the format, as some of the better home layouts. It’s just not my thing.
Hi Bruce, Thanks for the link to the MRVP video of the T-Trak set-up at Kansas City. Wish I could have been there. I noted that the one issue which is still unresolved in these set-ups... the electrical connectivity... DC/DCC etc. What is being done, if anything, to make the this work consistently?
noted?...from this video?... unresolved issue?... I'm not understanding your post, or question... I've been doing T-TRAK set ups for a while now and am clueless as to an 'unresovled issue', concerning DC/DCC in these set ups. As for working consistently, after a few non-marked, non-inspected, non-standard modules (2 out of 340) were identified and isolated, the layout was up and running for the duration of the show. The only issue we had, was an issue shared by every other layout in the show using radio throttles. an amazing amount of radio interference.
Sorry for the confusing post. There was a part of the video which mentioned several different types of connections being used by modelers on their modules, like coaxial connectors, Anderson Power-poles, Kato, Cinch Jones (?) and perhaps some others. I know that whatever the issues were with the electrical connections, the entire T-Trak setup worked well. So there must have been standards for connectivity which were adhered to by the majority of the participants... otherwise the setup would have failed. I'm guessing that there are contingencies for the different types of electrical connectors to bridge dissimilar electrical setups from the various participants (like how to connect a module with Cinch Jones to a module with Anderson Power-poles). So with that said... what are the preferred 'standard' connectors for T-Trak to ease the setup?
The standard has been, and probably always will be, the Kato connectors that come with the Kato terminal track or terminal unijoiners. It’s incumbent upon all module owners to adhere to this standard when participating in an intra-club/group set up like this one. The simple solution, for modules/clubs that like to use a different bus connection ‘at home’, is to provide a pig tail that converts back to Kato connectors. That way, the module owner can easily convert their module back to their ‘home’ standard after the event is over.
Thanks for the update Bruce. Below I added the T-Trak standards I found online. http://www.t-trak.org/standards.html I had not looked at the specs before. Bruce, they mention the Kato Unijoiner Terminal Track, however, my experience is they are unreliable. The Kato connector wires with male/female plug are easy to use... but wouldn't constant connecting/disconnecting make them less reliable over time? Have you found the Unitrack Terminal Track to be an 'Achilles Heel' to the connections to each module? I agree that in the spirit of simplicity and uniformity... using the Kato products would be easiest to promote. However, I can see where individuals or clubs would have gone to another reliable or duarble track/power connector.
in what experience have you found the Kato (or Tamiya) connector 'unreliable'? in 30 years of fooling with Kato Unitrack (among other track types), I have NEVER had a Kato connector fail on me/us... in fact, we make our own Kato (Tamiya) connectors, and have experienced the same quality and consistency, across the board, with these connectors. Our club uses Anderson Power Pole connections from Kato Unijoiner-to-back of module interface; we like the tidiness of the PP wall mounts to keep wiring tidy. However, in order to adhere to the standard, we provide Power Pole-to-Kato pigtails, for every powered module, that simply plugs into the back pf our modules, converting the wiring to the standard Kato connectors. Considiring that the vast majority of T-TRAK modules, across the world, do, indeed, use the Kato connectors as their interface with a common bus, and never hearing of a Kato connector failing over time (including the over 60 participants, with 340 modules at the World Record Breaking layout), causes me to wonder at the wording in your post and reply. ~Bruce
Because the T-Trak modules were so successful at the show... I was wondering about the electrical connection. The electrical connections were mentioned on the video and since I have had a 'specific problem' with the Unitrack Terminal Track... I also wondered about the rest of the possible connections I have NOT had a problem yet with Kato (or Tamiya) connectors but rather the Unitrack Terminal Track has failed. Do the T-Trak modules use the Unitrack Terminal Track? Looking at the Kato (or Tamiya) connector (which I use to switch between DC and DCC power supplies)... I was concerned about the long term reliability of the constant connecting and disconnecting. I don't switch often from DC to DCC power supply so I wondered about the long term effect of constant manipulation of these connectors. So... I wanted to give you a little more info on 'why' the questions. I am about to take down my 8' x 16.5' layout and move it into a smaller room. A 'T-Trak' or 'Fre-mo-N' home based layout is being considered for a 11' x 12' space. While I don't know if I would ever be able to participate in a convention event like Kansas City... I would consider making some modules which could be disconnected and transported.
the kato connectors, on the back of the modules, are simply the interface to a common bus wire...no DC or DCC power supplies are plugged into the kato connectors. A T-TRAK, or NTRAK setup for that matter, is wired like a home layout (should be)...power is connected to a bus wire system. In large T-TRAK layouts, power districts are isolated from each other, with isolated unijoiners, just as a home layout would/should be. Power managers/short circuit protection is provided to each power district, just as on a home layout...and each power district is connected, one to another, with loconet cable (We prefer Digitrax systems)...if a group wants to run DC on one of their inner loops, they simply connect their yellow track Kato connectors (the inner track or rear most track) to a separate bus which is powered by a separate DC power supply. Inner loops are created by the use of two junction modules... Otherwise, if it's determined that folks want an entire track, either red or yellow, around the entire layout to be operated by DC, then that bus wire is hooked to a DC power supply. Most folks seem to use Kato terminal unijoiners; not the Kato terminal track piece. The whole concept, including power, is much more simple than many folks try to make it. ~Bruce
I use the Kato unijoiners as you can use longer sections of track on the modules. I have found that a 62mm piece at the end tends to lift or bend upwards over time whereas a 186 or 124 does not. For a single I use a 124 and a 186 and find it is smoother than a 62 and 248. This is just my personal experience using unitrack on over 70 modules that I have built for myself and the club that I am in. I also use only the Kato extensions for the layout, our largest to date is a "U" with the legs being 18' each with a return loop and 12' across the bottom of the "U". The outer track is looped bock at either end and becomes the inner track for the return, the inner loops are at the end of each leg, we have not had any voltage drop with the layout except when members tried to run multiple units with sound. Upgrade from Zephyr to Super Chief solved that problem. later, Craig
