T-TRAK

[samusi01]

What about some sort of acrylic? I have a partial sheet of very dark semi-transparent blue 1/4" thick in my laser materials stash... I've not bothered to check, but they may make black?

edit to add: So much for cheap, mostly likely...

[Ed Kapuscinski]

Remember it will get beat up a bit, so the idea of thin masonite is the way to go.

[Dave V]

Remember it will get beat up a bit, so the idea of thin masonite is the way to go.

Ugh... Masonite is heavy. But yeah. I get it. "Thin" is 1/8" which is still substantial. I'm planning on using that for a 10-12" backdrop.

[CRL]

Door skins.

[Ed Kapuscinski]

Door skins.

It's Dickens.

[Point353]

Remember it will get beat up a bit, so the idea of thin masonite is the way to go.

Do as @arbomambo does and make the backdrops/skyboards removeable.
His bolt on and have mounting slots. You can handle them separately from the modules and install them at the show.

[packers#1]

It's Dickens.

How’re ya now?

[arbomambo]

No problem staying motivated…
When weather dictates inside activities, I’m trying to get something/anything done on various T-TRAK modules, including details on existing modules.
Example: one of my existing ‘Mother Road’ Southwestern-themed modules, “Sunset Motel” is built on a T-Mods module kit, from the late Russell Higginbotham.
It is 14” deep (as compared to all my other 13” deep modules) and did not come with a skyboard.
 Although it fits right in with the other ‘Mother Road’ Southwest-themed modules, it distracts from the setup a little because of the lack of a skyboard, breaking up the smooth transition of the scene.
  While waiting to purchase an extra skyboard from Stuart Denniston, I ‘borrowed’ one from a single-in-waiting, and drilled the holes in the back of the module, installed the T-nuts for mounting, and painted the ‘sky’ color, and black on the rear.
  I also strung the power poles with fine EZ-Line.

[arbomambo]

The lineman have finally gotten to the ‘Two Guns’ double module and have strung the power poles on it (after re-aligning and adding 2 more poles).
There is so much more that needs to be done to this double. It’s too ‘clean’; there needs to be a lot more ‘clutter’ behind the buildings-litter/trash, a few abandoned vehicles, a few trees (Acacias, Cottowood), and definitely some more signage on the diner/cafe.

[Dave V]

@arbomambo ,

As always, inspirational. I think you more than anyone (apologies to @Ed Kapuscinski ) have inspired me to try my hand at T-TRAK, though I doubt my stuff will ever measure up to yours. And as @wm3798 said, "be the change you want to see in the world (with regard to T-TRAK)," and I see modules like this changing perceptions about not only T-TRAK, but N scale as a whole. For every module like this, the influence of the Christmas village and haunted house modules is diminished.

[wm3798]

Don't sweat the details.  No on looks at your module for more than 10 seconds...

[Point353]

... though I doubt my stuff will ever measure up ...

You're too modest.  Don't sell yourself short.

[arbomambo]

After ‘finishing’ stringing my power poles, I realized the “Sunset Motel” single didn’t have the down line poles with step down transformers like the others did.
I built two, painted them, drilled and installed them, then strung them.
Now the module fits ‘in’ better with the others.

[atsf_arizona]

I uploaded some of my old photos of ballasting N scale Kato Unitrack, to this PBase album:   https://pbase.com/atsf_arizona/ballasting_kato_unitrack

Included are:









With these ballastings and painting the sides of the rails oily brown.... as others have shown, it's hard to tell that originally this was that shiny Kato Unitrack.

[randgust]

Hey John....

As much as I've admired your ballasted Unitrak, every time I've tried it it's been, well, a challenge.

I've been using Arizona Rock & Minerals cinders and PRR brown mix.    The only place I ballast on the T-trak modules is on the little pieces of track that are Kato at the ends, and then immediately transition to Peco C55 on cork, that's easy to ballast.  Sorta works, but on the end pieces that take some vertical and horizontal beating, it still would flake off. So I actually used Goo to hold that side ballast layer in place as a last resort.

But for Kato switches - particularly on the cinder yard trackage - I pretty much gave up.  But I did discover that it was WAY easier to simply paint the Unitrak ballast section flat Loco black - admittedly with a small brush and rather painstaking, but it was still easier (and safer) than trying to put those cinders over a Kato switch without really messing it up.

That approach translated over to my Nn3 test loop on the McCabe module - the Rokuhan Z stuff that is imitation Kato - now you're really pushing it with Z track, but if I painted the gray ballast earth brown, painted the ties gray and weathered them, and painted the rail, oh my goodness it looks very presentable without resorting to actually ballasting anything.   I had to paint another entire section in black to get 'cinders', that worked quite well.  I'm doing Nn3 logging railroad here, it would be on a slight earth embankment, probably little or no ballast.

That's one of the real problems with Kato track - and Rokuhan Z.  Even the lowliest industrial siding looks like a main line.   

If you're game enough to try ballast, you're game enough to paint, or both.

My Kato switches on T-trak modules have held up pretty well, actually, and man, they get HAMMERED on a show.   About the time somebody takes a TGV through a Kato 4 and a reverse curve at about 120mph with a 14-year-old driving, you hope a random speck of ballast hasn't drifted somewhere!