What would keep you from building a TTRAK module?

[robertjohndavis]

 It's funny Jimmy from DIY & Digital Railroad just did a video on "Gatekeepers" in the hobby and how not to be one, and there is a lot of gatekeepers here.

One lesson I have learned over my years is to challenge gatekeeping no matter where you find it. It is a behavior that is used to protect something - revenue streams, ego, position etc. - and its goals are to create artificial levels of status , lock people out and stifle change unless it’s change the gatekeepers deem valuable to them.

One can understand how gatekeeping might arise in billion dollar industries. But in model railroading? Come on.

Gotta run. I think I am going to plan a TTrack module of a railroad connecting Mos Eisley to Anchorhead.

Rob

[signalmaintainer]

One lesson I have learned over my years is to challenge gatekeeping no matter where you find it. It is a behavior that is used to protect something - revenue streams, ego, position etc. - and its goals are to create artificial levels of status , lock people out and stifle change unless it’s change the gatekeepers deem valuable to them.

One can understand how gatekeeping might arise in billion dollar industries. But in model railroading? Come on.

Gotta run. I think I am going to plan a TTrack module of a railroad connecting Mos Eisley to Anchorhead.

Rob

Hmmm, "challenge" sounds more like "gate-keeping" the hobby's so-called "gate keepers." An interesting idea. But what makes your gate keeping more righteous or valid than theirs?

The video makes some great points, and certainly I have been guilty of violating the principles Jimmy lays out. But there comes a point when I see something so outrageous deemed as "model railroading" that I must speak up.

[robertjohndavis]

Hmmm, "challenge" sounds more like "gate-keeping" the hobby's so-called "gate keepers." An interesting idea. But what makes your gate keeping more righteous or valid than theirs?

Maybe I should have been more clear… the challenge is NOT about building my own gate, it’s about making room for whatever creativity may evolve without artificial limitations.

I have no desire to create a self-deluded fantasy where what I like should somehow be a standard. There is nothing righteous about it.

I think that’s why I can find equal appreciation for the art of a person who creates in incredible N-scale prototype layout as I can for the joyous racket of a 3-rail O scale empire or the squared-off world of a Lego layout. It’s all art.

And if I see a layout or module that doesn’t speak to me personally, I move on. It’s no different than paintings in a gallery; you can spend hours in front of the ones that you connect with, and you walk past the ones that you don’t.

There is beauty in all corners of this wonderful hobby. Gates block the view.

[wm3798]

Okay.  We'll always have modules with carnivals and dinosaurs, miniature golf and drive in theaters.  In addition to being "crowd pleasers" at public shows, consider that they are also vehicles to include a modeler's wife or kids in their hobby.  I've seen lots of modules that were built by cub scout troops, even girl scouts.  So you have to watch your $300 locomotive pull $1,000 worth of double stacks across scenes you deem inappropriate.

The modules are a foot wide for cripe sake.  Look away if you must, for the 4 seconds your engine is on stage with a stegosaurus.

If the collective TTrak layout at Altoona is any example, the whimsy usually makes up less than 10 percent of the run.  Frankly, I have more issue with the modules where the builder wants to be hyper realistic, and adds acrobatics to the trackwork like crossovers, or tight curves, or transitions to lighter rail that interrupt the smooth flow of traffic, and adding bumps and irregularities that cause uncouplings, electrical continuity problems, or derailments.  (My steel bridge on the Cumberland set gets a lot of attention before a set up to make sure my fancy trackwork doesn't become a nightmare)

Altoona also demonstrated that there are clubs out there who do have set standards for scenery and continuity, and their layouts always look and run great. 

Again, if you have a particular itch to scratch with your modules, you can probably find a group that's amenable.  There's also no rule against building a complete layout for your own enjoyment using a modular standard.  I'm heading in that direction, and I'll be able to bend the standards as needed to fit my track plan and space, but I'll still have modules that I can pull out and take to a show.

Whatever floats your boat.  Have fun with it.
Lee 

[TrainCat2]

Honestly, this might end up being the motivation for me to build one.

Make it so #1 ….

[Dave V]

Actually that's the case for all modular layouts to some extent . there are exceptions where clubs have specific standards, and I suspect some also have work sessions to coordinate scenery etc ..

That's why the only modular club I've ever joined was SlimRail...narrow gauge to exacting standards.

Maybe it makes me a "gatekeeper," although I've never once uttered a discouraging word to another modeler...but my side of the hobby tent is grounded (mostly) in reality. Even my new Wild West fantasy layout will keep one boot on the ground.

[signalmaintainer]

Maybe I should have been more clear… the challenge is NOT about building my own gate, it’s about making room for whatever creativity may evolve without artificial limitations.

I have no desire to create a self-deluded fantasy where what I like should somehow be a standard. There is nothing righteous about it.

I think that’s why I can find equal appreciation for the art of a person who creates in incredible N-scale prototype layout as I can for the joyous racket of a 3-rail O scale empire or the squared-off world of a Lego layout. It’s all art.

And if I see a layout or module that doesn’t speak to me personally, I move on. It’s no different than paintings in a gallery; you can spend hours in front of the ones that you connect with, and you walk past the ones that you don’t.

There is beauty in all corners of this wonderful hobby. Gates block the view.

Okay, I see your point now. And it's a good point. Using your example, I for one quickly walk by the modern art section.

I do think we're all gatekeepers by nature to one extent or another. Some folks like you just keep theirs wide open as a matter of choice or personality, and that's what works for them. Some folks aren't inclined to do that as much. I don't think either way makes one more right or better than the other, that's all. It just is.

The key is recognizing when my style of gate-keeping might be inadvertently pinching someone else's fingers.🙂

[Dave V]

So I watched this video...it's Altoona 2022 (not 2023), but I suspect that this is pretty close to what was there this year as well.

I could get into this. Obviously some of the modules are a work-in-progress (ain't nothin' wrong with showing the public what these things look like before they're done). A few of the modules are "simpler," but none that I saw distracted from the theme of East Coast railroading. Some were downright jaw-dropping. Many of them made you forget you're looking at Unitrack.

Unfortunately I don't see that kind of homogeneity with TTrak specifically around here, but it's nice to see a TTrak setup that looks as good (with a hint of a unifying theme) as some of the high-end modular narrow gauge setups I do see out here. I still think a beginner modeler could build something that would look good and work with that setup. Don't need the wedding-cake airport or the haunted house ferris wheel...just some simple scenery that looks like the real outdoors.

At the moment I don't have a reason to be working in TTrak but I'm coming around on the idea.

[crrcoal]

Could always do a "Proto TTrak" group. TTrak but for the more prototype oriented modeler.

[Ed Kapuscinski]

Could always do a "Proto TTrak" group. TTrak but for the more prototype oriented modeler.

There have indeed been discussions about that.

But I think the idea is more a "loose confederation" that comes together when possible. No need to add bureaucracy.

[Bendtracker1]

I don't have any interest in building TTrak module or joining a TTrak set up/club/group, but I've often wondered about a Proto TTrak system. 
If this would ever arise, what kind of standards would there be?
For example, would there be a minimum radii be applied?
A different type of track?

If any of this was addressed, then how far would one be from getting away from the original concept of TTrak?
Would it be better to just start a new system with newer standards but follow the basic idea of two track modules, be that Unitrack or more traditional track like Altas C55?

[Dave V]

I don't have any interest in building TTrak module or joining a TTrak set up/club/group, but I've often wondered about a Proto TTrak system. 
If this would ever arise, what kind of standards would there be?
For example, would there be a minimum radii be applied?
A different type of track?

If any of this was addressed, then how far would one be from getting away from the original concept of TTrak?
Would it be better to just start a new system with newer standards but follow the basic idea of two track modules, be that Unitrack or more traditional track like Altas C55?

Yeah, I can't help but think that different track systems, radii, and geometry would just be some new modular standard and not TTrak. For all of its limitations, the simplicity of TTrak is nothing short of beautiful.

It's that beautiful simplicity that makes it difficult for me to use for the sort of modeling I prefer to do in N scale, to wit:

[altohorn25]

To be clear.....I have nothing against modular layouts.......I just don't care for the unrealistic scenes that so often accompany them.....

Case in point:  The photos below are of two N-trak modules that were built probably 20+ years ago by Joe Valario and Andrew Hegsted.  They are excellent examples of what CAN be done with modules.  They are good old 4 feet by 2 feet modules.

I have seen similar work done on T-trak modules (some of the photos in this thread are excellent examples).

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[wm3798]

At the moment I don't have a reason to be working in TTrak but I'm coming around on the idea.

Be the change you want to see in the world..

Lee

[robertjohndavis]

The key is recognizing when my style of gate-keeping might be inadvertently pinching someone else's fingers.🙂

That’s it!