Free-moN Staging Yard - 16"x10'

[3DTrains]

I belong to the N-Land Pacific FreeMoN group here in So Cal, and after the hassles of clamping modules, we've since moved to using a couple of 1/2" carriage bolts to secure one module to another and make final alignment adjustments. Using the bolts saves a great deal of time when setting up for shows. Out of the 30 or so modules, I think only one or two still need clamping, mainly because of tight clearances inside the end plates.

FWIW, here's a shot of our end staging (a second yard is in the works for inline-staging ops, similar to what MC is creating):



Cheers!
Marc - Riverside

[M.C. Fujiwara]

Thanks for all the feedback and suggestions on the legs.
[and Marc: that's a great-looking yard! I've always been impressed with the work you guys do!]
While there's some swaying, we really didn't have any problem with shifting alignment (those welder's clamps work wonders!)
The worst thing that happened during the show is that parents would take our step-stools to look at other layouts, leaving kids to do pull-ups on the sides of the modules 
But a quick re-clamping was enough to restore the mainline.

Here's the last video of the Hiller show, showing steam & diesel running through the whole layout:
 

Thanks for watching!

[M.C. Fujiwara]

BTW:
All the music in the videos was written by my brother (and used by permission).
The super-cheezy elevator-type music was the background muzak in a supermarket for a Doritos commercial, so imagine it coming out almost inaudibly from a very crappy speaker while cruising the snack aisle at 2am.
I'm trying to get him to record some Johnny Cash-ish / Neil Young-ish / Tom Waits-ish more train-like music for me, but he's a busy guy down in LaLaLand.

Until then we're stuck in the elevator just like Shallow Hal with Tony Robbins.
 
Now onto today's adventure!
 
I might have over-emphasized the finickiness of aligning butt joints in the early posts.
 Yes, it's not a two-second snap together, but it's not that hard to get the modules aligned.
 Especially with two people: one to align, the other to clamp.
 And most modules have a single main, so all you have to align is two rails (no matter the off-chance of endplate warping or wacky floor).
 And what we've found is that even if there's a significant gap, trains will still run over it fine!
 It's pretty amazing what long trains are able to run over.
 Now, of course, it's better to get as close as possible to flush & smooth.
 But there's a lot of lee-way.

 Drop-in sections of track or even the pre-ballasted joints where you drop in two rails also have their place: we've found that those options actually have more variables than necessary (and the drop-in rails can get bent very quickly), and take longer to set up & take down.

 Bolts & pins are great between sections, but not between modules: it's just too hard to get people from all over to precision-machine-place pins in the correct spot to allow alignment on either side of the module in any combination with anyone else's module.
 Maybe if we machined endplates out of steel and then all used the same...
 Ugh: the weight!

 So butt-end joints over 6"-tall 3/4" birch ply have proved (for us) to be the most practical and repeatable.

 Just to prove a point: today I connected the 2-foot, 15 deg. insert between the two yard sections in less than a minute, all by myself:



 Perhaps having multiple tracks actually makes it easier to align, as (theoretically) just aligning the two outermost rails should line up all those in between.
 But sometimes the Free-moN gods are with you, and sometimes they give you the fumbly finger.

 You can see I also sprayed on the first layer of flat black along the sides.

 Once I got the insert aligned and clamped, I cut track to fit the three remaining curves, laid down some caulk, placed the track, eyeballed it to have a 2" straight off the sides and then a smooth curve (1 1/2" track centers).
 The caulk gives you plenty of time to adjust, test with a car, and then solder at the ends:



 The fun thing about this part is that there are no rail joiners and you don't have to put styrene between the sections.
 Just run the rails up to the ones already flush on the yard sections (ok, leave a slight gap, like hair-width).
 So no cutting with the Dremel or filing, either.
 And everything lines up lovely:



 Now I've only tried the insert in one direction: I'm really really really hoping that it all lines up when I flip it around (and there might be a slight bit of filing to be done).
 But as of now, we have all 7 yard tracks (a main with two staging tracks and a runaround on each side) up and running.
 Or will, once I drop feeders on the insert section after the caulk cures.

 So here it is:



 While I was working on this, my daughter was using her model railroading skills to build a diorama of the BFG's cave for a class project (many layers of carved pink foam caulked together, sculptamold slathered on top, now painting the blue rocks), and my son was... ??? dancing / practicing karate / painting water pictures on the driveway.

 So it was a good day.
 Thanks for looking, and for all your comments and suggestions.   

[Bremner]

I need to hire your kid to do my trackwork! She does a better job than me

[mcjaco]

I think any of us in Modutrak will tell you the butt end track thing works well.  Especially if you have endplates for transport, and/or handle everything with care.  We've discussed swapping the Atlas plastic ties for the last 1/2 inch to PC ties to irridicate the possibility of a rail getting snagged. 

N scale is far more forgiving than when I was in HO. It seems the pivoting trucks in multiple axis will get them over some pretty significant gaps, and bumps. 

[M.C. Fujiwara]

Here's a video I made on how I make the butt joints over a Free-moN module section:
 

Again, I apologize for the length & rambling, but I wanted to take the mystery out of a potential deal-breaker for anyone wanting to build a Free-moN module.
 This is for 7 tracks on plywood, but can also be used for 1 or 2 tracks on foam / cork.
 The same technique can be used for other modules, or swing-out / lift-up sections.
 (At the single-main endplate of a module you can just solder the rails so they stick out & file back flush)
 
Hope this helps spread the Free-moN flow, and thanks for watching (and for all comments / suggestions!)
 Cheers!

[M.C. Fujiwara]

Built a couple of Bullfrogs and started figuring out how to install them.
 While I could just screw them into the 1/2" ply, that wouldn't leave much room for the control rods to drop 4" to the sides, especially when install right next to the edge.
 So I'll probably mount the Bullfrogs on some 1 1/2" square blocks (leftover leg material), but we'll see.
 
First, though, I have to deal with another issue thrown my way, specifically this:
 


The Atlas C55 turnouts, while nice for their power routing & easy-to-wire frog set up, have a weakass plastic throwbar / point rail clip that actually pushes the point rail up over the stock rail when thrown to the far side.
 "You're throwing too hard!" you might say.
 Well, so does the Bullfrog, so I gotta work with that.
 And I have no problems with the Bullfrog working my handlaid turnout with PC board throwbar on the Shoofly.
 
So, before I started butchering the turnouts already installed on the staging module, I practiced with an Atlas C55 turnout I'm saving for another project (muhahahaha):
 


Just cut the point rail clips with rail nippers and soldered.
 I use HO scale PC board ties for throwbars as I'll be drilling holes for the Bullfrog wire & the N scale ones are a little thin.
 [Note to self: remember to cut the gap on the throwbar before installing & soldering ]
 Seemed to work out pretty well, so now it's on to performing surgery on the 17 Atlas turnouts already installed!
 Thanks for looking.

[M.C. Fujiwara]

Sooooo, last night I tried replacing a throwbar on an already-installed turnout and tweeked the point rail: they really like to bend and pop out of the hinge!
 I think it'll be repairable, but otherwise I don't mind replacing one with a handlaid turnout.
 
But, thinking about how people had been talking about shims, I decided to give it a try.
 There's a little channel in the throwbar under each stockrail, so I just slipped a small section of 0.02" x 0.06" styrene strip into the space:
 


Seems to work great.
 I also tried 0.03" x 0.06", but that thickness doesn't allow any give around the point clip, and the tension pops the point rail out of the hinge hole after a bit.
 The 0.02" x 0.06" is still thin enough to slide under the point rail clip & allow it some play, while still keeping the throwbar down under the stockrail to keep the point rail flush (and not ride up like it had been).
 
So far, I think you only have to do it on the side opposite the ground throw / bullfrog wire, but the groundthrow might be keeping that side down.
 When I install a Bullfrog I'll see how it works, but it seems the worst case is that I slide another styrene strip on the throwbar under that side of the stockrail.
 
K.I.S.S. really is a great principle to live by.
 Thanks to all who made all the suggestions / alt ways to skin the cat!

[wazzou]

It's funny.  I see how your method of attaching the point rails to an isolated piece of PC Board works, but I am having trouble coming to terms with how the 0.020" x 0.060" styrene shim works in accomplishing the same thing as the new throw bar?

[M.C. Fujiwara]

Bryan maybe this will help:

Here's a short "How To" video on how to improve the Atlas C55 turnouts by adding shims to the throwbar:
 

I'll do another one on how I replace the throwbar with a PC board tie later (probably this weekend).
 
I've also started installing the Bullfrog turnout controls to the module.
 As there's no 2" pink foam, I added a spacer made out of 2" chunks of 1"x2"s.
 Here's with the control knob pushed in:
 


And pulled out:
 


Notice that I built the turnouts without the rod support option: the Bullfrogs in the center don't need the Tadpoles as the red control rod sheathes are stiff enough when short enough.
 When I install one on the side of the module I might need a Tadpole for the far side.
 We'll see!
 
The travel distance is about 1 1/8".
 Not thrilled with the distance (or the bright yellow of the rod), but I really dig the Bullfrogs themselves: keeps the points firmly secured and easy to power the frogs.
 
To protect the knobs and have something useful on the yard module I built some small shelves 4" high that stick out about 2":
 




[Haven't installed them yet: will drill all the holes for the Bullfrog knobs first]
 But not only to they protect the knobs, but will give us a surface other than the layout to place our Powercab and iPhone throttle, as well as any car cards / paperwork when we get to that point.
 
The mainline turnout knobs are centered equidistant between the bottom of module and bottom of shelf, while I'm going to offset the yard track turnout knobs: 1/2" higher for far side and 1/2" lower for near side.
 Also will carve a slight notch top or bottom to indicate direction of diverging route so operators can feel it rather than lean back to double check all the time.
 
Two Bullfrogs down & only 18 more to go!
 
Thanks for looking.

[Scottl]

I've been doing that shim trick too and it really works.  It also gives enough friction to keep the points snug without any kind of external mechanism.

[avel]

Wow, nice legs Zoxs

[wazzou]

MC -

Perfect illustration of the problem and the solution.  Thanks for taking the time to point that out.

[Chris333]

I've had to shim all mine as well. The throwbar is notched for the stock rails and that lets the points stick up. All I do is fill in those notches.

[M.C. Fujiwara]

So the two mainline turnouts of one section are now Bullfrogged:
 


I'll hook up the wires after I install all the Bullfrogs.
 They work pretty awesome (though I did cut the red sheath a little short on the left one).
 
Also installed the shelves on the handle side:
 




I used woodglue and screw on the first but then I realised that the paint might prevent a great bond (will the wood still emulsify if there's a layer of paint? wouldn't think so), so I tried... that's right: Gorilla Glue! on the second.
 
Both seem equally firm and steady, so we'll see over time.
 
I'm not going to install the shelves on the other side until I install 10 Bullfrogs on this section (much easier to work propped up and clamped on workbench like in photo above)
 
So I've been installing more spacers on which to mount the Bullfrogs, and came upon a new issue:
 


Originally, the bolts would stick out to the left.
 
While I was smart enough to plan ahead with the cross-braces to place them not under a hole for turnout actuating rods, I was not smart enough to think about the bolts for the legs and how they stick out into the Bullfrog.
 
So I've reversed the direction of the bolts so the leg plate goes on the "right" (outer) side and... that's right: Gorilla Glue!
 The bolt and washer on the inner side (where the Bullfrog will go) are now rocksolid attached to the crossbeam.
 If you look at the first photo in the post, you'll see I have room to slip the leg frame over the bolts, but I think I'm going to cut channels in the leg frame panels and make it a "slip-on" rather than "bolt-hole only" because I really don't want to whack the Bullfrog too much.
 Plus, slip-on is soooooo much easier & quicker.
 Just hope it doesn't over-weaken the 1/2" ply panel on the legs too much.
 
Alrighty, back to building more Bullfrogs!
 
Thanks for looking.