T-TRAK

[GaryHinshaw]

Gorgeous!  Europeans really do kick a$$ with their scenery work.

[dem34]

@arbomambo - can you ask him how he does his Catenary?  That wire is amazing realistic.

Thanks for sharing!

Looks like its stiff wire soldered together.

[wm3798]

His description on Facebook notes that the catenary is built from guitar strings...  Does that mean it has a built in sound system?

I wouldn't fret about it!

That scenery really strikes a chord!

I got a million of them...  Don't forget to tip your waitress.
Lee

[C855B]

Don't forget that musicians spend their entire careers going from bar to bar.

A C, E-flat and a G walked into a bar. Bartender hollered "Get out! We don't allow minors in here!" So they left, decided that E-flat had to go home, went back into the bar, where they shared a fifth between them.

What are oboes good for? Kindling for bassoon fires.

I've been told I have the makings of a great conductor... by standing in a bucket of water. (I actually wore a real "CONDUCTOR" uniform hat to conducting class once. The other students thought it was funny, professor just rolled his eyes.)

[wm3798]

My favorite... What do you say to a banjo player wearing a tie?

"Will the defendant please rise"

Lee

[Dave V]

How do you get a viola player to play pianissimo tremolando?  Mark the passage "solo."

[PiperguyUMD]

Don't forget that musicians spend their entire careers going from bar to bar.

As a trombonist, I resemble that remark!  🍻

[mcjaco]

Don't forget that musicians spend their entire careers going from bar to bar.

Some of us work in them too!

[arbomambo]

[Philip H]

i never tire of watching trains roll through Arbo Canyon.  Thanks Bruce!

[arbomambo]

  Time has allowed progress on another 'Southwest Desert" module; this one is a double that features a crossover.
I'm using my carved insulation foam (extruded polystyrene foam) method to create the small-ish mesa next to the tracks.

a few photos depicting the basic method:

First, stacking and laminating 1" sheets on top of each other. Because we live on the Gulf Coast, we only get 1" foam here. It's not an issue because the layers actually help me to duplicate the type of formations I'm modeling. Simple white Elmer's "Glue- All" does the trick; no need to spend money on anything else.



After 24 hours it's dry enough to pick up by the top layer...yes, simple Elmers Glue-All. About 30 minutes with a serrated knife and/or hot wire knife, followed by a small hand sander with 80 grit yields this:



I sanded the topmost portion horizontally flat to make it easier to model the eroded 'tower'. I transferred, with tracing paper, the outline of the flat surface to four pieces of foam, then cut those to shape and laminated them together, again, using the Elmers Glue-all.
After 24 hours dry time, I took the piece outside, and, using a steak knife, butter knife, and a small retractable Xacto-style knife, I cut, chipped, and scored the foam to resemble an exposed sedimentary rock outcropping, ravaged by wind and water over time. Here is what it looks like before I use a stiff bristle brush to clean up the 'fuzzies' and loose foam bits.







After cleaning up the carved piece, I glued it in place atop the mesa, using the same Glue-All method, and a heavy weight on a book to keep the piece pressed onto the top of the mesa overnight.








Before I paint, then add various pigments, powders, soils, and rocks, I'll cast some hydrocal rock formations to model the cut that is adjacent to the trackage.

[Ed Kapuscinski]

I know I asked elsewhere but figured it never hurts to double up.

Do you know how well those crossovers are insulated? Since TTRAK has one track backwards I figured it'd be helpful to know if I need to perform surgery before gluing things down.

[arbomambo]

They come insulated frog to frog.
Of course I don’t utilize them unless I switch polarity, at the power source, so that both lines are the same polarity.
Otherwise I’d cause a short when I choose the diverging route.

[Ed Kapuscinski]

They come insulated frog to frog.
Of course I don’t utilize them unless I switch polarity, at the power source, so that both lines are the same polarity.
Otherwise I’d cause a short when I choose the diverging route.

Ok, cool, that answers my biggest question. I think.

Thanks!!!

[chicken45]

Holy hell this is so true!

I view TTRAK modules as hiku's.

Sure, you can rip out a "Man from Nantucket" one, but you can ALSO create real beauty.

Personally, I like a good mix of dick jokes and symphonies.

Don't you mean limerick instead of haiku?

Also you guys inspired me to finally do a module. Thank you!