Modular Model Railroads

This month’s feature is the Spokane International Railway (SIRy) submitted by Mike Pagano, the layout’s builder and a contributing author to N Scale Railroading magazine. The SIRy is an N-scale, lightweight, portable layout consisting of 4 sections with two separate track loops depicting the SIRy near Sandpoint in the Idaho panhandle. The portable layout is available for exhibitions and is headquartered out of Bellingham, Washington.  Photos and some text by Mike Pagano.

Layout Name: Spokane International Railway 

Famous for: Mike’s prototype signature scene on the SIRy is the Sand Creek Trestle, which was pictured on the cover of the July/Aug 2007 issue of N Scale Railroading. The Jan/Feb 2008 issue of N Scale Railroading describes how the project was conceived, including fitting the 650 foot scale trestle onto a portable layout. On the SIRy website, you can compare Mike’s efforts, as featured on the front cover of N Scale Railroading, with the prototype photo by Laurence Shawver in the 1950’s. It was important to Mike to have a historical railroad background for his project railroad and to also have a signature scene that would give the layout an identity. Read the rest of this entry »

This month’s feature is the St. Alban’s Railroad Fellowship (StARR) submitted by Frank Martin, StARR’s Operations Manager.  The StARR is a large HO scale layout includes both 2 and 4 track NMRA modules with strong point-to-point operations, and in the future, will include Free-Mo modules.  The StARR is located in the suburbs west of Philadelphia.

Club Name: St. Alban’s Railroad Fellowship

Famous for:  The club is most proud of Albanwood Steel.  There is no particular prototype but its basic layout and operations were designed by our regional “steel mill expert”, Mike Rabbitt.  It is a 24-foot module in three 8-foot sections with a blast furnace, electric furnace, soaking pit, rolling mill, and administration building.  Most of the buildings are from the Walther’s cornerstone series.  During an operating session, the steel mill is served by three trains: a coke/limestone train, an ore train, and a mixed commodities train; and, two “pours” of the blast furnace are simulated during each operating session.

Description:  Fellowship includes railfans and model railroaders from all walks of life.  While individual interests and skills vary widely, the railroads that helped build our nation are the common bond.  To satisfy varied interests, the program includes clinics, presentations, videos, socializing, trips, and model railroading.  While affiliated with St. Alban’s Church, the fellowship is a non-sectarian group of railfans and model railroaders mostly in the western suburbs of Philadelphia. Read the rest of this entry »

The NZ120 module standards are an interesting example of localization and adaptation using availbable materials to model New Zealand local prototypes.

The Automationz webpage explains, “NZ120 is the common name (within New Zealand Model Railway Guild circles) for a scale more accurately referred to as TTn3.5, that is 1:120 scale (or 1/10″ to the foot) modelling of a 3’6″ prototype (the gauge of all of New Zealand’s rail lines).”  This page also has a thorough review and comparision of other popular module standards and how NZ120 came to be.

 The New Zealand Model Railway Guild publishes the NZModel Railway Journal and has links to plan sets, FAQ, suppliers, photo gallery and events listings.  The sample article, One Thing or Another, is a sample article showing the flavor of New Zealand railway modeling, including wonderful railway model photos.

 The Chosen Scale Cooperative has their 1999-2002 newsletter index online and provide additional details regarding NZ120 cost, model availability and techniques.  The Cooperative also has a brief “What is NZ120” introduction available.

The Railmodel Electronics and NZ120 page as links to photo galleries, NZ120 module standards, and thorough discussion of the NZ120 design concept.

 There are also several active blogs covering the world of NZ120, including:

• Motorised Dandruff -Active
• Little Trains of Thought

Finally, there is also a very active Yahoo NZ120 group with almost 100 members and 20-80 messages per month as of December 2008.

This month’s feature is the Pocatello Model Railroad & Historical Society’s large NMRA HO modular layout located on the Union Pacific Railroad’s premises in Pocatello, Idaho.  The club’s history details various moves that have been possible because of the modular layout.

Club Name: Pocatello Model Railroad and Historical Society, a 501c3 non-profit.

Famous for:  Replica of the Oregon Shortline Roundhouse with 53 stalls set at 6 degree intervals around a 100 foot long turntable.
     Walk thru module published in Model Railroader magazine.  Website has details for the prototype Lift-Bridge Module or an alternative Swinging Door Module.

Address: Union Pacific uilding B-59 SouthWest, near intersection of Main and Bonneville, Pocatello, Idaho, USA

Website: http://www.ida.net/org/pmrhs/

Photo Album: Yes, both of modular layout and historic Pocatello. Read the rest of this entry »

The Santa Fe Railway Historical & Modeling Society will host a meet at La Posada Hotel in Winslow, Arizona, on Saturday, April 19. Here’s the official meet website including the clinic line-up:http://www.atsfrr.com/convention/Winslow.htm

You do not have to be a Society member to attend the meet.

SouthWest Free-mo will again be part of the Society’s meet and will set-up trackside in the Depot waiting room at the La Posada Hotel. SouthWest Free-mo will be in the Depot on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, April 18-20. Here are photos from last year’s SouthWest Free-mo Winslow set-up:

http://www.pbase.com/intermodal/winslow_2007

The Hostlers 2008 Model Railroad Festival will be held February 29 to March 2 at the Union Station in Ogden Utah.  Adult admission is $5.00 and includes all Festival attractions as well as the Ogden Union Station Museums.  Children under 12 are free.  This the the intermountain West’s largest show, attracting about 7,000 people in 2007. Read the rest of this entry »

NMRA 4th Div, Pacific Northwest Region HO Module SIG has a photo album of its recent setups.  Of great interest to module builders are the two pages of recommendations and procedures on making setups at shows a better experience for both the public and the club.

The first page is titled, “Procedures and Reliability” and links to “during show” topics including: Read the rest of this entry »

Montana NTRAK will be at the Gallatin Valley Mall in Bozeman, MT on Saturday and Sunday, Jan. 26-27, 2008.  The Exposition will introduce Montana Ntrak and the hobby of Ntrak modular model railroading to the Bozeman general public.  We will have trains running continuously on four lines: Red, Yellow, and Blue with the big radius turns, and Green (the Mountain Line) up top.

The Eagle Rock Railroad Historical Society (“ERRHS”) in Idaho Falls Idaho held their annual Railshow 2007 on October 13-14, 2007.  The Great Basin Lego Train Club, the Rocky Mountain Hi-Railers and the Hostlers displayed operating layouts, along with the Eagle Rock’s permanent club layout in the basement.

Hostlers Model Railroad Club (“HMRRC”) from Ogden, Utah had their HO modular layout on display.  The Hostlers run NMRA compliant modules with 3 lines.  The outer line is DC and the two inner lines are DCC.

Hostlers wide radius corner modules. Read the rest of this entry »

The Four County Society of Model Engineers (“FCSME.org“)modular club was started in 1975 and is located in Central Maryland.  FCSME uses module specification that is “backward” compatible with the NMRA standards.  The FCSME module standards are available on CD for $10.  The FCSME website also features extensive photo galleries of past shows and layouts. Read the rest of this entry »

Usenet has several model railroading groups but none targeting modular or sectional model railroading. 

Most well known and largest is rec.models.railroad with over 100,000 messages as of June 2007.   There is a large amount of useful general model railroading information that is best found using a search engine, like Google.  Being usenet, it is unmoderated, and cluttered by trolls and spam. Read the rest of this entry »

Headwaters HOtrak is a group of model railroaders from southwestern Montana.  To date, the group has visited the Livingston Depot club layouts, the Idaho Fall’s Eagle Rock Historic Society modular layout, a private home layout in Idaho Falls and the Helena Train Fair.

The group’s current focus is on developing an HO gauge National Model Railroad Association (NMRA) compatible modular layout.  An scale drawing showing the modules and room layout is show to the left.   Interested parties are invited to participate in meetings and become involved in the club. Read the rest of this entry »

The Central New York Modelers (CNYMOD) modules are built to a modified HO NMRA 2 track standard.  The modules are wood framed, have an elevated subroadbed and are surfaced with extruded-foam insulation.  CNYMOD modules use code 83 track, have extra depth in front to allow more foreground scenery and are 51 inches high. Read the rest of this entry »