Well done! And I see you went 100% and used the black table clothes, the proper way to do a show. First impression is everything when you want to introduce the public to T-Trak.
A small trailer… and the back seat of my Avalanche for the modules that do not yet have transport boxes.
Very cool; that's a lot of modules for one person to have built and transported! It's also the first I remember seeing the use of a free-floating, double-track Unitrack piece to bridge two corner modules to adapt the span between back-back modules. But then again, I don't get around to train shows much lately (I missed the NMRA show in town.) I also noticed what looked like a Digitrax panel and throttle. Is there a standard for which DCC system to use for T-Trak, or do clubs choose their own?
So each club is welcome to use whatever DCC system they want. Before I joined the club they used an NCE Power Cab as the command station. My system is Digitrax and I have the ability to run DC trains as well as DCC by just flipping a switch. The floating piece of track was to make up for the oddity that was created using the front to back module the way I did. If all the modules are in standard and you don’t do what I did here, then you will not need the bridge piece. The only other option we had with the modules we had with us was to use the singles from the Thomas layout which would have prevented the kids from having fun with Thomas and Percy. The Thomas modules are really popular with the kids even though there is no scenery on them yet, so I didn’t want to take that away.
Second show in as many weekends. This was a small venue but we had a good number of visitors and all and all a good show. The layout was small but we hid some Easter eggs for people to find and they enjoyed that. The kids of course were the best part. Here are a few pics.
The T-Trak layout looks fabulous, Massey. I recognize your corner modules. You've got a lot of detailed scenes on a fairly small layout. I'm guessing it's about 3.5'x10.5'?
Thank you. The layout was roughly that size yea. It’s our smallest show as far as room for the layout goes but it’s a fun show.
I was debating whether to put this on the workbench thread or here. I picked here because you guys already seen the wiring job of the station on the workbench and now you get to see it on it’s module where it now lives forever. I also made a switch box for remote control. Here’s the off and on of the station. The lighting looks great to me. It’s a bit bright in the picture as my phone was trying to get perfect exposure. I’m not sure how to change the shutter speed and f-stop on the phone to give the night effects. Oh well, you all can get the idea. Here is the battery box, it’s just a small project box with a toggle switch, a 1200mAh LiPo battery and the grommet for the wires to come out without pulling on stuff inside. There wasn’t enough room inside for a charge controller, that’s going to be the next project! And here’s how it plugs into the module. The station is wired to this port of the rear modules plugs and it simply plugs in and does it’s thing.
Could you have used track power with a bridge rectifier and resistors and do away with an external battery?
I prolly could have but I went with the KISS principle here. I also wanted control of the lighting without fiddling with the module and this seemed the simplest solution to me.
I finally got some free time to make a video about the shows we have had so far this season. Well I made one video, but I have film in the can (so to speak) for the other 2 shows. Enjoy! This one is from the Kelso Model Train Show and Swap Meet.
Do your switch control boxes use capacitive discharge, or is there a center-off position on the electrical switches? I bet you could cut down a double track viaduct to support that 62mm double track straight piece bridging between two modules. Not that it needs it physically, but it might look better with some apparent support. I think the viaduct housings look better painted black (like DeaconKC did on his layout in progress.)
So that 62mm piece was a necessary adaptor that we had to improvise because there was supposed to be another module that never showed up. The geometry of the front to back didn’t allow for the 2 corners to align properly without it. We have not needed it since. But yes it would have looked better if it were a viaduct piece or something of the like. The toggle switches are for track power only. The push buttons connect to a DS64 under the module and that’s what throws the turnouts.
I finished the video for the Tenino Show. I think next year I am going to film a bit more than just the trains. This is such a neat place to have a layout in that I think it should be seen a bit more. Look for more next year, but for now enjoy!
And here is the last of the show videos for now. I cannot find a memory card that had footage of my club's Legacy Layout and some of the other things. I hope I didn't leave it at the show and that it's just still packed in my stuff. This one is a bit shorter than the others due to the lost footage. Edit to fix the video, you couldn't hear the music at all.
