Franksville Wisconsin N-scale modutrak module buildout

[lashedup]

Got initial cork down last night for the mainlines on the south module. I need to sketch in where the crossover and turnouts are located. I thought I had two more #10 right-hand turnouts, but I can't find them anywhere so I'll have to get out to pick some up. More later...

So, why not just cover the whole module with 2" foam?  Instead of the center 2" masonite 'spline'?  Is it for noise?

Because the foam deforms if you press on it or hit it during transport. Wherever there is mainline track or track that has to cross from one module to the next, we reinforce it with Masonite so there is a rock solid foundation underneath.

The rest of the module gets covered in 2" foam (see post below).

[Sokramiketes]

The rest of the module gets covered in 2" foam (see post below).

Hmm... not much pink foam in this post...  ;D

[up1950s]

This is a super toot , thanks .

[lashedup]

Hmm... not much pink foam in this post...  ;D

Yeah, yeah... I'm working on it. How's that curve module you're supposed to be working on?   


Tonight's update: I found some thinner cork sheet material at Hobby Lobby that I ended up using on the industry siding. The Milwaukee Road trackwork in Franksville in the 1950's had the siding track at nearly the same grade level as the mainline. However they used heavier gauge rail on the mainline than on the siding. I have a whole case of Atlas Code 55 here and decided to use that instead of buying some Micro Engineering Code 40. So to simulate the slight difference in height I picked up some sheet cork material that was just less than a 1/16th of an inch thick and I doubled it up for the siding. This brought the cork on the siding just slightly below the level of the mainline track. I put a couple pieces of track on it to see how it looked:



I also cut in 2" thick pink foam to fill the rest of the space in the module:



I didn't glue any of the foam in place yet because I need to determine exactly what I'm going to do with the landforms first. It is easier to shape and cut them before they are glued in place.

Next up will be soldering feeder wires to track pieces and getting track down. I'll also start sketching out locations of buildings and such. I have a number of mockups of the buildings done with card stock to get a better idea of how and where everything will fit.

- jamie

[Sokramiketes]

Hmm... not much pink foam in this post...  ;D

Yeah, yeah... I'm working on it. How's that curve module you're supposed to be working on?   

I don't know, maybe you can take a picture of it and let me know if the layer of dust has changed?    ???

[sirenwerks]

I hope you don't mind me revisiting the spine construction for the roadbed, but did you guys ever consider one long spine (as opposed to the two) cut with notches that interlocked with similarly notched cross ribs? Or one that includes just the top and cross ribs with foam used in between, leaving the long pieces out? Save on cost and weight (ok, it's negligible on the 1st suggestion)? Just wondering if you thought about these and ruled them out for one reason or another.

[Sokramiketes]

I hope you don't mind me revisiting the spine construction for the roadbed, but did you guys ever consider one long spine (as opposed to the two) cut with notches that interlocked with similarly notched cross ribs? Or one that includes just the top and cross ribs with foam used in between, leaving the long pieces out? Save on cost and weight (ok, it's negligible on the 1st suggestion)? Just wondering if you thought about these and ruled them out for one reason or another.

The masonite spline experience goes back to the BraNch-Trak layout that was a spin off of Northwest N-trak back in the mid-90's.  Some of the construction was featured in an N Scale magazine article.  Basically, we'd draw the centerline of the track on the plywood base like normal.  Then we'd glue a masonite strip on edge along that centerline.  Next layer out from center, both sides, was 1/2" or so spacers glued every 6" or so.  Then two more long strips of masonite were glued and clamped across the spacers bringing the total spline roadbed width to 5/8", or just about perfect for flex track.  The cap was also 1/8" masonite, and was glued on, allowed to set, then routered with the flush bit that Jamie shows.  This was a very positive construction sequence, meaning that once the centerline was drawn in place, there was no fiddly measurements or complex cutting to do. 

We've streamlined this a bit since then, having used it on our home layout, N-trak modules, and now Modutrak.  Now we just put the outer strips in place with some wider spacers.

For an interlocking method like you suggest, it's doable... But, it's more work, requires a slight bit more planning and 'fiddly' work, etc.  The HO Modutrak crew is into that sort of stuff.  Their module construction is completely different.  For us, the 18" x 5' modules are pretty light no matter how you build them, so weight savings isn't as big of an issue for us.  The HO guys were coming from 60 lbs modules with plaster scenery... Where as we won't notice a difference between a 22 lbs module and a 23 lbs module.  I like being able to layout the curves and transitions with the long masonite strips to keep everything flowing.  With the interlocking method and leaving out the long splines, you have to layout the masonite cap to precisely the layout you'd want, and cut it with a jigsaw.

Lots of ways to skin a cat, just depends how you like to work.   

[lashedup]

Mike, do you have a CAD drawing or photo of one of the new HO Mod-U-Trak curves? I couldn't believe the complexity of those things when I first saw them.

[Hyperion]

Next layer out from center, both sides, was 1/2" or so spacers glued every 6" or so.  Then two more long strips of masonite were glued and clamped across the spacers bringing the total spline roadbed width to 5/8", or just about perfect for flex track.  The cap was also 1/8" masonite, and was glued on, allowed to set, then routered with the flush bit that Jamie shows.

This seems like a pretty interesting idea, but I'm wondering if I'm either; 1> confused (most likely), or 2> you meant something other than 1/2" spacers.

You put a 1/8" central spine or Masonite.  On each side of that you put a 1/2" (?) spacer, and a piece of 1/8" Masonite on on the sides of that.

So now your cross-section looks like 1/8" + 1/2" + 1/8" + 1/2" + 1/8"... if I gather right.  That's 11/8" across the spline, a lot more than 5/8".

And how do you secure the spline itself to the main base board?

[Sokramiketes]

Next layer out from center, both sides, was 1/2" or so spacers glued every 6" or so.  Then two more long strips of masonite were glued and clamped across the spacers bringing the total spline roadbed width to 5/8", or just about perfect for flex track.  The cap was also 1/8" masonite, and was glued on, allowed to set, then routered with the flush bit that Jamie shows.

This seems like a pretty interesting idea, but I'm wondering if I'm either; 1> confused (most likely), or 2> you meant something other than 1/2" spacers.

You put a 1/8" central spine or Masonite.  On each side of that you put a 1/2" (?) spacer, and a piece of 1/8" Masonite on on the sides of that.

So now your cross-section looks like 1/8" + 1/2" + 1/8" + 1/2" + 1/8"... if I gather right.  That's 11/8" across the spline, a lot more than 5/8".

And how do you secure the spline itself to the main base board?

I wasn't clear... 1/2" wide piece of 1/8" thick x 1-7/8" tall.  Basically we take a scrap of the continuous strip and whack it into 1/2" pieces to use as spacers, spacing in the 1/8" dimension.  This is rather than running 5 continuous strips of spline...  I'll try to find my diagram at home. 

Elmer's capenter's glue works great for gluing the spline.  You'll need to support it while it dries, but it will hold firm from there.

[Sokramiketes]

Mike, do you have a CAD drawing or photo of one of the new HO Mod-U-Trak curves? I couldn't believe the complexity of those things when I first saw them.

Nada, sorry.  Maybe I can acquire one.

[lashedup]

Next layer out from center, both sides, was 1/2" or so spacers glued every 6" or so.  Then two more long strips of masonite were glued and clamped across the spacers bringing the total spline roadbed width to 5/8", or just about perfect for flex track.  The cap was also 1/8" masonite, and was glued on, allowed to set, then routered with the flush bit that Jamie shows.

This seems like a pretty interesting idea, but I'm wondering if I'm either; 1> confused (most likely), or 2> you meant something other than 1/2" spacers.

You put a 1/8" central spine or Masonite.  On each side of that you put a 1/2" (?) spacer, and a piece of 1/8" Masonite on on the sides of that.

So now your cross-section looks like 1/8" + 1/2" + 1/8" + 1/2" + 1/8"... if I gather right.  That's 11/8" across the spline, a lot more than 5/8".

And how do you secure the spline itself to the main base board?

As Mike pointed out all of the Masonite we use comes out of a 1/8 inch thick 4x8 sheet. We rip it into strips that we use for the roadbed and everything else. If you look at this photo you can see all the pieces of 1/8 thick Masonite used to create the roadbed:



I glued this down with Titebond wood glue and once it sets you can lift the whole module by the roadbed - it is very strong.

-j

[Andrew Hutchinson]

How does the masonite  module work as far as sound deadening is concerned? The last time I tried using masonite it echoed a lot. I was supporting it with a single piece of dimensional lumber underneath (probably 1 X5/4 firewood I confiscated from my parents at the time) and glued that to the open grid benchwork. There was no table top like you guys are using on the Midwest modules and that has me wondering if I should be including one. On my most recent modules I used some 1/4"ply+ ceiling tile on either side of my 3/4" plywood roadbed, again not tied into the roadbed for a variety of reasons. It isn't as quiet as I would like either. I guess what I am asking is if it is a priority to have all of the table top components interconnected for the purposes of sound abatement? Is the foam crucial to achieving this?

On his layout group, Six has been advocating foam plus ceiling tile to achieve this. I stayed away from this because of the depth this adds to the module frame, but now I am wondering if it might be worth reconsidering having seen more and more progress on the midwest modules.

Thanks,

A most interesting tutorial

Andrew Hutchinson   

[Sokramiketes]

Ok, found some photos of a single track section I did awhile back, these should clear up the spacer confusion:
















Funny story about that second photo, after I posted these on Atlas a few years back I get a random email from some German publishing company asking for permission to use the photo.  I told them OK, just send me a copy of whatever they use it in.  I got some German language teacher's guidebook for mathmatics in the mail one day.... with that photo in a section about calculating arcs.  Crazy, it's not even a good photo!

[Sokramiketes]

How does the masonite  module work as far as sound deadening is concerned? The last time I tried using masonite it echoed a lot. I was supporting it with a single piece of dimensional lumber underneath (probably 1 X5/4 firewood I confiscated from my parents at the time) and glued that to the open grid benchwork. There was no table top like you guys are using on the Midwest modules and that has me wondering if I should be including one. On my most recent modules I used some 1/4"ply+ ceiling tile on either side of my 3/4" plywood roadbed, again not tied into the roadbed for a variety of reasons. It isn't as quiet as I would like either. I guess what I am asking is if it is a priority to have all of the table top components interconnected for the purposes of sound abatement? Is the foam crucial to achieving this?

On his layout group, Six has been advocating foam plus ceiling tile to achieve this. I stayed away from this because of the depth this adds to the module frame, but now I am wondering if it might be worth reconsidering having seen more and more progress on the midwest modules.

Thanks,

A most interesting tutorial

Andrew Hutchinson   

Hard question to answer, but I can tell you that the noise isn't bothersome to me.  Is it louder than flex track spiked to homasote?  Yeah.  Is it thunderous?  No. 

It's like, no matter what you have as a roadbed, you end up hard gluing a bunch of rock ballast to it.  Woodland Scenics had those thump-testers showing how their foam roadbed was quieter than dried out cork.  Except once you go and glue a bunch of rock over the top, they both sound the same. 

Straight spline on plywood is kinda loud.  Then you get cork under the track and it quiets down.  Then you stuff foam on either side and you get less drumming.  Then you glue the ballast down and it gets a half decible louder again.

Six's method works because it's dissimmilar materials.  Any pairing of dissimilar materials should work to keep the layout from acting like a drum head.