Second update on the new module

With the plan to do the layout in Sacramento in September progress on this module has been jump started.  This is what has been accomplished within the past few days.

Masonite fascia boards have been added on both sides and all exposed surfaces have been re-sealed with a primer coat.   With both ends being held straight for 5 inches, the bent stick method was used to mark the track center line.

Then the outside of the module frame was given a coat of black enamel.   Cork road bed was installed along the track center line.  The base of the bridge over the highway made was from a scrap of Masonite.

The bridge will be a two section through girder type on a curve.  To double check the clearances I temporarily pinned down some track and I used an 89 ft American passenger car which is longer than any of the stock that would run over this bridge.

I also ordered and received some Green Max retaining wall sections which are are the gray pieces shown set loosely in place in this photo.  Both the bridge and retaining walls will be covered in more detail in future posts.

First update on the new module

Several things have been accomplished over the last week or so in the rebuilding of this module. The modification to the module that I started to give it a channel for a highway underpass is now complete.

The underside has been re-sealed with some left over paint and the aluminum brackets for the electrical connections pointed out here with the blue arrows are done.

I finished a new set of legs for this module.  This is a copy of the set I built for the first module last year and is covered in some detail in THIS POST.

These legs are adjustable to the 2 heights we set the layout up at.  Both sets are shown here with each being at a different height.

Starting the 2nd 45 degree module

I know I've been away from this blog for awhile working on my American Prototype home layout and also doing some traveling.  Over the course of this summer I will be rebuilding the second of the two 45 degree modules for the AsiaNrail layout.   These modules were originally built in the 1970's by Jim FitzGearld.  I rebuilt the first of these two modules last year and call it the Kaigan or Shoreline module as the scene I created is a shoreline.  The blog posts on it's re-construction can be see HERE.

This is what both modules looked like when I got them.  These were about 40 years old at that point.

As with the first module, I wanted to use the depth of the module frame to some effect so I decided to create a highway underpass.  In this photo the cuts have been made and base lowered for the highway.  More posts to follow as this project progresses.

Concept for the new curved module

With the Musashi-Koyama modules and my American Prototype home layout being ongoing projects it would seem like starting another module is crazy.   Sometimes for me having something small to work on and actually completing is needed to get re-focused on the bigger projects.

I have had several ideas for this pair of skinny modules with 45 degree curved tracks but decided to use the ones that would take advantage of the depth of the module frames.

On this first one I wanted to create a scene of a rail line that closely follows the coast line.  The geography of Japan requires that many of the coastal rail lines do this.  This will be simple, with a single track and no structures.  I am calling this the Kaigan module which in Japanese means shore or coast.

In this photo I have cut away a section on the inside of the curve and added a new bottom from a scrap of Masonite.  This will be an area where there has perhaps been some erosion or landslides so will get some tetra-pods and rock to prevent future problems.

New Masonite fascias have been added to both sides.  The one on the inside of the curve is to allow for a bit of a lip to hold the Envriotex I am using to simulate the water and on the outside of the curve is a higher profile to support the hillsides the will be built up there.


The legs have received a coat of black semi-gloss enamel and the module frame a coat of primer.  New cork roadbed has also been installed.

Starting a new AsiaNrail module

With the 9 day long Hiller exhibit now behind us, I have started on a new module project.  This is not exactly a "new" module and is actually quite old, let me explain.

Back in the 1970's Jim Fitzgerald, Paul Ingraham, and a few others here in the SF Bay area had a modular layout standard they called "Interail".  The dimensions were metric, and Paul's AsiaNrail module standards that we are currently using borrow some parts of the Interail standard.   From Paul's memory they had set up this Interail layout about 10 or 12 times including at the NMRA National Train Shows in Calgary in 1979 and in San Mateo in 1981.

A few of Paul's current AsiaNrail modules had originally been Interail modules and he had a pair of old Interail modules that had originally been built by Jim that he gave to me.

This is one of Jim's old Interail modules.  The modules are in metric dimensions.  They have a 22.5 degree angle on each end and if put together can make a 90 degree turn.

The first order of business to bring these old modules back to life was to give them legs.  These legs would need to adjust in height between the two heights we use on the AsiaNrail layout.  I had not made legs for this narrow of a module before but had some experience with legs for narrow modules from helping Paul set up his modules.

I decided on a design that uses pairs of 2 inch wide strips of cabinet grade plywood that are held together by 1/4-20 bolts.  The upper sections have 2 holes with Tee nuts set 8 inches apart while the lower sections have 3 holes set 8 inches apart.  To raise or lower the legs, different holes on the lower sections are used.

The first photo showed the legs at the 43.125 inch height.  This second photo shows the same set of legs raised to support the module at a 51 inch height which is the normal for AsiaNrail.  The cross supports on the top and bottom are bolted to the legs with 1/4-20 bolts into Tee nuts that are on 1/2 inch thick plywood wings that are attached to the leg sections.

For leveling and fine height adjustments, there are four 5/16-18 bolts on the bottom feet.

When not set up the pieces are re-assembled into a storage configuration with the leg sections being sandwiched between the cross supports.

Here is the module up on it's new legs.  There is not much on either of these modules except for code 80 track and lots of old ground foam scenery.  I have some plans for these that will be much more interesting and with the differences in type of track and wiring I am going to completely strip these down to the wood structure.

So being satisfied with the legs, the next step will be to paint them and then move on to the module itself.

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.

Adjustable height leg system

To make the height of the track correct so that the AsiaNrail layout can interchange with an Ntrak layout Mountain Division track using the Hot Springs Junction Ntrak module, the AsiaNrail layout has to be lowered from 51 to 43 inches.  Back in the fall of 2014 we did a layout exhibition using this configuration which included for the first time the Musashi-Koyama modules and at the time I simply shortened the legs.  All of Paul's AsiaNrail modules have adjustable legs and that's what I need to have for the Musashi-Koyama modules as well.

When I had shortened the leg assemblies to 40 inches I had to make new top cross boards.  Those boards never got painted as I knew I would need to someday make the height setting adjustable to use the modules at the 51 inch height again.

This is what the leg assemblies looked like after I had done that first modification.  Now I am cutting again at the locations shown in this photo.

A new pair of legs was added to the upper section inside of the cut off sections of legs that remained at the edges of the top cross boards. 1/4 inch thick plywood strips were added to one side of each leg so that when put together the legs are sandwiched in between.  10-24 bolts and tee nuts are used to hold the leg at one of two different heights.

Here is a photo of one of the completed leg assemblies set in the lower position.  A leg height of 40 inches will set the track height at 43 inches with the screws at the bottom of the legs at about halfway in their 2-1/2 inch adjustment range.

The black parts are the original structure and the unpainted parts are new material.  When finished everything was repainted with a black enamel.

Here is the same leg assembly set at the 48 inch height.  This sets the track level at 51 inches.   Some modifications were also made to how these legs go together in their stored mode for transport.

With the experience of modifying this set of legs I will be building an entire new set of legs for the Hot Springs Junction Ntrak module.  I currently have two 4 foot Ntrak modules but only one set of legs.  An adjustable leg set for the Hot Springs Junction module will allow it to be used in either an Ntrak layout or in an AsiaNrail layout.  It will also allow me to have both of my Ntrak modules in a layout at the same time.

Installing profile boards

As this module is going to have terrain above the level of the main bench work, I felt it necessary to install fascia or profile boards above the main bench work.   If the module were being built from scratch as a mountain division module, then the framework of the module could have been designed with this in mind but since this is an old flat module, these will need to be retro fitted.

First step is to cut out the pieces needed and shape the contours.  I used 1/4 inch plywood that was left over from building the light weight sky board for this module.

Before placing the profile boards, I installed a strip of 1/4 inch plywood as showed in this photo.  In some places on taller sections, a brace can be added to help strengthen  and hold the alignment.  Everything is glued with yellow carpenters glue.

In the case of a module like this one, it is important to get the new profile boards on the ends in alignment vertically with the existing module frame.

Later, I'll seal both the insides and outsides of these profiles boards to seal them.  Then the terrain on the inside will be filled out with layers of foam insulation board.

Building the AsiaNrail line

In the past week I did manage to get out to the garage a few times and continue with the bench work phase of this project.  I did install the cork roadbed on the Mountain Division and AsiaNrail lines so I could better finalize the track plan.  I decided on the more conservative single crossover between the lines so that I could allow for a wider radius curve on the AsiaNrail line and for a longer platform siding at the station.  Also started on the fascia on the sides and the front of the module.

This view from the front of the module shows how I placed the piers to support the AsiaNrail line as it diverges from the Ntrak Mountain Division line.




The piers are made from 1/2 inch plywood and attached to the module base with screws and then the AsiaNrail lines sub-road bed is attached with pneumatic cabinet nails.  Of course yellow carpenters glue is also used in both places.

Here's a view from the other direction and the AsiaNrail is seen passing over the Ntrak main lines being represented at this point by three black marker lines.




Also seen here is some of the front fascia board.  I'll talk more about that in the next post.

Adding the Ntrak Mountain Division

After all this effort to remove some of the weight from the original module, it is now time to start adding some back.  Remember that old 1/2 inch sky board mentioned a few posts back?  Well some of it got recycled here to make the road bed for the mountain division track.  A strip 2-7/8" wide was cut lengthwise on the table saw and this was attached on the center line 4" from the sky board

 

Ntrak specs call for the sub road bed to be 3-1/8 inches higher than the main lines.  I cut a strip of 1/2 inch plywood 2-7/8 inches wide, then drilled a series of holes with the hole saw.  I was able to make these holes with the drill press which made it easier.  This got attached edgewise on the line 4 inches from the rear of the module.  The photo above shows this from the rear of the module.  

For the actual sub road bed, another strip of the 1/2 inch plywood was attached to the edgewise to give the mountain division line the required height of 3-1/8 inches.  As there would be a siding for the station on the front side of the mountain line, several scraps 2-7/8 inches long were placed as shown in the photo above to support it.  Besides carpenters wood glue the edgewise strip was attached to the module with screws and the sub road bed was attached to edgewise strip with 7/8 inch finishing nails from a nail gun.  

Building a light weight sky board

The original sky board had been made from the same 1/2 inch cabinet grade plywood as the module frame and deck.  Building a new sky board from 1/4 inch plywood would take some weight out.  I added a second layer of 1/4 inch plywood around the top and sides to strengthen it.  

Here is a view of the rear of the sky board with some notes on it's construction.  For the front I plan to use a nice forest scene backdrop that was given to me and will fit in well with the modeled scene.


I also added a place to install a Digitrax UP5 panel and framed the spot with 3/4 inch wide strips of the same 1/4 inch plywood .  The frame will help protect the panel in storage and transport.  I did not use any nails on the sky board, just glued with Elmer's wood glue and clamped until it was set.

Sealing the module bottom

After drilling the holes in the module deck to remove some of the weight, I put a coat paint on the bottom of the module to seal all of the hole edges and all the other scars left from the wiring and other things that had been installed there in it's previous life.

I used some left over pale yellow paint from a kitchen paint job a few years ago.  I have found that I like to use light colors in this application because it makes it easier to find things when trouble shooting a problem when the module is set up.

Notice in this photo some other holes besides the ones I mentioned in my last post.  The long narrow holes on the deck were where I had some uncoupling magnets installed on the old module setup.  And the ones on the back frame, in the bottom part of the photo are from the Digitrax UP3 panel I had also used in the old setup and another smaller one that I just added for a Digitrax UP5 panel that I will use in this time.

Lightening the load

This is the point where I want to take some of the weight out of the module itself.  The deck and frame are made of sturdy 1/2 inch cabinet grade plywood and because I plan to place foam insulation board over most of the surface, I can remove some of the deck where it will be covered.

This photo shows the holes I made.  The black horizontal lines show where the tracks will be and those areas were left solid.




In case you were wondering what a hole saw is, it is a round device that fits into an electric drill motor with saw teeth along the leading edge that cut a nice circular hole.  There is a 1/4 inch drill that guides the alignment of the larger saw blade.  After cutting about halfway through on one side, I switched to the reverse side to finish the hole.  The drill bit will have made a hole all the way through that will insure the cuts on each side will line up.

This photo shows a set of hole saw blades along with the drill motor and the wood disks that were removed from the module.

Because of the density of this wood those disks represent about 3 pounds.

New beginning for an old module

In the previous post I mentioned cleaning off the old module.  Here is a view of the top of the module with the sky board removed.  All of the track, roadbed, buildings, and scenery have been stripped off and anything that could be salvaged set aside for re-use or to sell.  When I first started this module almost 20 years ago I had sprayed a good coat of clear urethane on the top to seal it to stabilize the wood.  I think this also makes it easier to remove scenery materials later without damaging the wood.

The front of the old module was at the top of the photo, some marks can be seen from the tracks and the bridge abutments at the edges of the river.  I plan to turn it around for this project and use the bottom of the photo as the front of the module.  Many small holes can be seen and those were from turnout machine linkages, and uncoupling magnets.