Wednesday, July 20, 2016

Difference between a yard and a meter

When I started building the Musashi-Koyama module set in 2010 I tried to follow the AsiaNrail specifications carefully.  Everything in the AsiaNrail standard is metric, track spacing, track set back from the modules edge, etc.  The one thing I had overlooked was the dimension of the module frame.  I built a pair of modules 36 x 18 inches !

The depth of the module is no big deal but the length is.  This module set has been in several shows now and the way we have worked around it has been to use it as an end terminal on a branch line.  That's OK but it would be great to get it into the loop part of the layout and Paul has a nice 2 meter long staging yard that would match the length on the opposite side of a loop if this module set were the correct length.

It seemed like the best way to correct the problem would be to build another small module that could be attached to one end and bring the length of the set up to 2 full meters.  The length of the module would need to be 6 - 3/4 inches and the depth could be anything up to the 14 inch depth of the main modules.

So I built this small extension that can be attached to the right end of the pair of modules.  It is 6-3/4 inches wide and with it added the module set will be a full 2 meters.
With the top and bottom sealed and cork roadbed in place I am now mulling over what to do for scenery on this extension.  I do have a number of items already that will fit in well.






Anyone who has built a display layout or modules knows one of the biggest motivators to getting things done is having a show to take the layout to.  Because of schedule conflicts I have not had the opportunity to have modules in an AsiaNrail layout for almost 2 years and have been working on an American prototype home layout instead.  It is now planned for there to be a joint Ntrak / AsiaNrail layout at the Los Altos Train Day event on September 17th and 18th so I am motivated to finish this new small module and perhaps get some for scenery done on the main modules.

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