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Modular OO Layouts

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murrayec

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Hi

 

That other link BosKnoay posted - take a look at the photos on the page and read the text to the side. I think their simple concept is good?

 

http://royersfordmodular.org/Modules.html

 

murrayec

 

That looks a good example to use as a reference Eoin. It would be a great project for the group bringing members from all parts of the Island together.

 

Rich,

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I saw a youtube video of the first two DARTs sitting in the depot - I had the idea of a model of the shed with one side open with this scene and another of a DART under service or re-painting!

 

Some say Dort in the south but the most I hear is Daaarrt!

 

murrayec

 

I think it has been a great success Eoin. It is one of my favourite Suburban railways and there is every kind of scenery on it.

A mainline Station

Inner city Stations

County Dublin and Wicklow Stations

Some marvellous coastal scenery

 

I remember one of Michael Palin's Railway journey programs from the early 90's featuring himself and The Edge on the Dart before he travelled the East Coast to Rosslare. Swifty a Waterford based Bus Eireann driver gave him a spin to Waterford on the back of his Harley as there were no trains on a Sunday.

 

Rich,

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The biggest issue is getting the track lined up between baseboards, anyone have any ideas on this?

 

Hi Dave

 

I going through the NMRA Module specification and think this is a good idea;-

 

The track is left short 50mm at each end of the board, when the boards come together a short length of track of 100mm is inserted and fish-plated up- this means the track joins are 50mm away from the board joins. Insulated fish-plates would be the ideal to use for this, easy to slide in position with a tweezers.

 

Legs should also have height adjustment bolts to level the boards

 

What do you think?

 

murrayec

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That's a good idea Eoin, we will have to agree a standard for the track to finish at. Say 100mm from the front of the baseboard to the edge of the sleeper to ensure a set standard between modules.

As Rich said earlier I could fit brass screws for the track to be soldered to.

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It's none of my business, but it seems to me that all that matters is that the board abutments are to a standard - the length of any individual board will have no bearing on compatibility, but be a matter for the constructor and his transport arrangements.

 

Unless the intention is to produce a circuit, of course.

Edited by Broithe
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Hi Broithe

 

That's a good point on the board abutments- length does not matter on a liner layout and will always work regardless of who turns up to show. A circuit has the problem of- for each modeller's creation their has to be an equal size creation or community track to close the circuit- a little more difficult?

 

murrayec

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It's not my intention to complicate the issue but, if it's thought about and agreed at this stage, then people might be able to avoid unnecessary scenic issues and problems with track layouts where they're trying to avoid board joints that could just be a short distance away in what is a more convenient place for them to be.

 

If it's going to be an end-to-end run, then people could make whatever length suits them, depending upon their home situation, vehicle dimensions, etc..

 

Feel free to carry on how you like, just my tuppenceworth.

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Hi Dave

 

I'm committed- I cant wait to put the Martellow Tower on a 12x6 and to complete my drawings on Dun Laoghaire station

 

I think it is a bit early in the planning stage just now for some to grasp what's is involved as the spec is not yet agreed. Also we should allow a bit more time for members to find this thread and come on board.

 

Though no problem doing head count along the way

 

murrayec

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It's not my intention to complicate the issue but, if it's thought about and agreed at this stage, then people might be able to avoid unnecessary scenic issues and problems with track layouts where they're trying to avoid board joints that could just be a short distance away in what is a more convenient place for them to be.

 

If it's going to be an end-to-end run, then people could make whatever length suits them, depending upon their home situation, vehicle dimensions, etc..

 

Feel free to carry on how you like, just my tuppenceworth.

 

Not complicating the issue at all, more difficult means that there has to be a system in place for a circuit which involves the community track boards where a liner set up can be just modellers creations.

 

A circuit layout will fit into small display space easier than a liner one.

 

I should have a few preliminary layouts to look at and return comments.

 

murrayec

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Broithe hit the nail on the head when he said Genius! I always imagined building the whole Northern Line but never like that. I'd love to build Donabate bordered by two estuaries, the beautiful strecthes of coast at the Lady's Stairs and Gormanston Airfield, a busy Drogheda station with Enteprrise,s Tara Mines and Cement, then Boyne Viaduct and beyond!

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It would be a great way to get something very exciting and potentially very large together!

I think the freemo standards are a great starting point for board joins and alignment and I think stations would need to be single modeller even if over multiple boards or a longer board in the same width and alignment.

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Broithe hit the nail on the head when he said Genius! I always imagined building the whole Northern Line but never like that. I'd love to build Donabate bordered by two estuaries, the beautiful strecthes of coast at the Lady's Stairs and Gormanston Airfield, a busy Drogheda station with Enteprrise,s Tara Mines and Cement, then Boyne Viaduct and beyond!

 

Hi can I ad my Gort Railway Stadion to itGort in Wexford.jpg thanks to Wanderer for the Pic's

Gort in Wexford 2.jpg

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Watching this thread with interest guys!

 

Early days but what are you thinking of doing for control, DC or DCC? IMHO DCC is really the only way to go with a modular layout....

 

Hi irishthump

 

Most modular systems seem to be running them by DCC. This will have to be discussed with the modellers that get involved- I think it would be great the have a dual system so that analogue could run to- there is a lot of analogue users out there. I know this might cause a lot of difficulty and discussion but we should at least look at the possibility and the problems.

 

murrayec

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It would be a great way to get something very exciting and potentially very large together!

I think the freemo standards are a great starting point for board joins and alignment and I think stations would need to be single modeller even if over multiple boards or a longer board in the same width and alignment.

 

Hi BosKonay

 

I just did a calculation on an 8 coach DART;- it is 2157mm long so going on this a station platform would be over 3 boards to allow for trains of 8 coach and the engine.

 

Here is a sketch idea for a Viaduct and this design could be used for the Dalkey Hill Tunnel- the lower section would be the beach! The sketch is over two boards in this example.

 

Modular OO Layout-00 Sep 8 2013-A4 Sheet 4.jpg

 

murrayec

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DCC is definitely the way to go, we could run a single line along the main line for analogue. It would be a nightmare to try run the two together. The big question is what DCC controller? If we have a long run train control will need to be handed over along the way. What about JMRI and a sprog? Any ideas?

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DCC is definitely the way to go, we could run a single line along the main line for analogue. It would be a nightmare to try run the two together. The big question is what DCC controller? If we have a long run train control will need to be handed over along the way. What about JMRI and a sprog? Any ideas?

 

Good points....

 

We're dealing with a small pool of DCC users and there isn't much consistency when it comes to what brand of controller they use.

Also if you're handing over a controller when running the layout it either needs to be wireless or you need sockets at various points.

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Hi Dave

 

I reckon they would only be run separately - analogue or digital.

 

Computer scheduling is a good idea and probably the only way to set up timetable and keep an order to the system.

 

DCC control systems should comply with the most compatible system over the different makes - we will have to look into this? The Royersford Modular Club Rules pdf document I posted earlier has a section on this- refer to pdf.

 

murrayec

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Hi Guys

 

I watched a couple of vids last night and came across one of a guy building modules and he had a good point to say about alignment dowels;- 'using the C-Clamps eliminates the need for dowels, which can cause trouble if a builder gets them slightly off line. The forces in the clamp hold the boards rigid with no movement, thus eliminating the dowels and makes life easier'

 

murrayec

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