The N scale Pennsy Juniata Division 2.0 - TTrak!

[Dave V]

For posterity: yes, they are insulated/gapped.

Good to know. As you said, the Kato people are very smart and they think about this stuff before I do.

[Ed Kapuscinski]

@dem34 , can you talk a bit about your bigger corners for Dave?

[Dave V]

@dem34 , can you talk a bit about your bigger corners for Dave?

Are you implying that Dave likes big curves? 

[dem34]

So yeh, if you are a fan of some voluptuous curves but don’t want to commit to a giant module there are Inside/Outside 19” corner modules. Nice and light, can be used as outside corners or inside corners and permit running even the fussiest Passenger Cars without issue. Key is that the module is built in a crescent shape that follows the track. Though I imagine if you made it a little bigger you could also throw in an inner set of curves for some proper Pennsy action.

[Dave V]

Ed suggested I start simple... So I'm doing just the double-length module with that 1" fill. No crossovers for this one. Just parallel mains with scenery above and below.

Ordered the module kit and the Unitrack.

[Sdynamo]

For a low-cost command station, consider rolling your own with DCC-EX.

https://dcc-ex.com/#gsc.tab=0

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[OldEastRR]

Is that pre-made module base wide enough for a four-track main? 

As for the HO layout, did you build it in segments, not necessarily modular, but with "break apart" joints that would allow you to take it away in manageable pieces that keep everything relatively intact? Every once in a while I hear of somebody who has a big layout they have to move and complain they should've "made it sectional". Also, this is a great selling point when you wish to get rid of it. No big hassle for the buyer in moving and re-assembling it.

Keep that in mind for this next one. Who knows, you might decide to relocate to Germany someday.

[keeper]

So yeh, if you are a fan of some voluptuous curves but don’t want to commit to a giant module there are Inside/Outside 19” corner modules. Nice and light, can be used as outside corners or inside corners and permit running even the fussiest Passenger Cars without issue. Key is that the module is built in a crescent shape that follows the track. Though I imagine if you made it a little bigger you could also throw in an inner set of curves for some proper Pennsy action.

That sounds interesting. Do you have by any chance an image to show?

[Dave V]

Is that pre-made module base wide enough for a four-track main? 

As for the HO layout, did you build it in segments, not necessarily modular, but with "break apart" joints that would allow you to take it away in manageable pieces that keep everything relatively intact? Every once in a while I hear of somebody who has a big layout they have to move and complain they should've "made it sectional". Also, this is a great selling point when you wish to get rid of it. No big hassle for the buyer in moving and re-assembling it.

Keep that in mind for this next one. Who knows, you might decide to relocate to Germany someday.

The HOn3 one started that way, but the peninsula with Windy Point and Bridge 45A would never make it up the stairs now that there are mountains on it.

It's OK. It's around-the-walls so the chances of me finding a space exactly the same are pretty trivial. I can save every structure, tree, and trestle, but I don't mind starting over. I do need to go out to RGS country and get more dirt though!

Backdrops would be a loss, as would be the benchwork, like I said, that's OK. I have ideas for the next space if I continue in HOn3. There are always mistakes than can be corrected with the next iteration!

T-Trak, I think I'd stay 2-track mains just to remain compatible. It's all good.

[packers#1]

If you’re seriously considering the Buffalo Line Dave, can I suggest picking up a back issue of the September 2022 RMC if you don’t already have one? They covered two different Buffalo Line layouts in that one with a quick blurb about the prototype as well.

[Dave V]

If you’re seriously considering the Buffalo Line Dave, can I suggest picking up a back issue of the September 2022 RMC if you don’t already have one? They covered two different Buffalo Line layouts in that one with a quick blurb about the prototype as well.

I may do that. But as someone who's focused on painstaking prototype modeling already on the RGS, I look forward to doing a more generic Pennsy T-Trak setup. The Pennsy is entirely too big and too diverse for me to pick a favorite section. I love the Philadelphia Division under the wires, the Middle Division, the Curve, the Bald Eagle Branch, the A&S Low Grade Line, the Northern Central, and so on and so on... I couldn't pick a section if I tried.

[Ed Kapuscinski]

If you’re seriously considering the Buffalo Line Dave, can I suggest picking up a back issue of the September 2022 RMC if you don’t already have one? They covered two different Buffalo Line layouts in that one with a quick blurb about the prototype as well.

You still need that magazine though!

As someone who's regularly operated on one of the layouts, it IS a blast.

Photos: https://photos.app.goo.gl/WN8haeWLDwAAsTjf7

[Mike C]

  @Dave V  When you finally get settled in State College I will be in Mt Pleasant Pa so there will be another HOn3 layout in the area . Welcome any time .   Mike

[OldEastRR]

You still need that magazine though!

As someone who's regularly operated on one of the layouts, it IS a blast.

No passenger trains?

[Ed Kapuscinski]

No passenger trains?

There are definitely passenger trains. Steven models the 60s, so they're small and ratty, which makes it even more fun.