Conrail's Allegheny Crossing as NTRAK Modules

[Dave V]

What you need is a white trailer to haul the modules, but painted up for Conrail Trailvan or Mercury service.

[asciibaron]

What you need is a white trailer to haul the modules, but painted up for Conrail Trailvan or Mercury service.

what we need is for you to buy us the trailer.  ;D

where is all this anyway?  when should i start building, i'm making too much progress on my home layout and need some excuses to keep from working on it.

[Hiroe]

What you need is a white trailer to haul the modules, but painted up for Conrail Trailvan or Mercury service.

Also, who gets to haul it, and whose' house does it live at when not at a show?

[Ed Kapuscinski]

Ok, so I've been thinking a bit more about this, and I want to have a few more conversations with some people, but I'm really thinking that maybe this should still adhere to NTRAK standards.

I know, there have been a good number of arguments against it, but I think they all come down to appearance. Meanwhile, the arguments FOR it all have to do with more infrastructural meta-issues. Things like support base, component reusage, etc... and I feel that those more than outweigh the aesthetic issues which can, to a good point, be mitigated in a number of ways that the creative individuals involved can handle.

[davefoxx]

Ok, so I've been thinking a bit more about this, and I want to have a few more conversations with some people, but I'm really thinking that maybe this should still adhere to NTRAK standards.

Perhaps now is a good time to b*tchslap you.    Seriously, there are a good number of people who have posted, myself included, who have no interest in building a module that adheres to NTRAK standards.  You might want to keep that in mind, i.e., compare the number of people willing to contribute to this project versus the number of folks that are willing to build NTRAK-compliant modules.  The number of participants may help you decide what to do to get this project going.  I will admit that I am willing to build a module, because it would give me something to work on and photograph in the absence of having a home layout.  Unfortunately, though, NTRAK standards (e.g., Code 80 track) just don't do it for me.  Sorry.

Dave Foxx

[wm3798]

I've stayed out of it, but I'll agree with Dave.  All the infrastructural stuff is invisible to the public, and can be 100% N trak compatible in terms of table legs, nuts and bolts and wire connections.  There's no reason to re-invent all the wheels.  But the one thing that is in EVERYBODY's faces, both builders, admirers and casual observers is the Appearance.  In my book, a special project like this deserves to take no prisoners when it comes to appearance.

This group, by and large, is populated by people who don't mind stretching their skills a little bit in order to gain an aesthetic and authentic edge.  I believe I speak for a fair number of us when I say that maintaining a level of fidelity to the subject trumps just about every other consideration.  If you insist on the 100% N trak compliance, I think you'll have lots of opportunities to show your module with other groups, because there won't be much of one building modules to go with it....

Not dissin' N trak, I'm jus' sayin....

Lee

[Ed Kapuscinski]

Now Dave, I know you can handle either using the Peco 55, or the ME 70 (or hell, ME55).  That leaves the track spacing as the only issue to resolve, and I really think the positives far outweigh that.

The fact of the matter is that I don't want to start a new "club", or anything like that. I just don't have the personal bandwidth to manage it. Building the modules to NTRAK standards means that those things are already done.

[Ian MacMillan]

God, you are more flip floppy than talking to a drunk on the way to the jail...

[Sokramiketes]

Ed,

Just remember that there's always blow hards who won't ever ante up to build something, they just want to tell you what to do... 

Really, I would just start building what I wanted and if anyone wanted to join in, great.  If not, you can still bring it with to NTRAK.

If there really is an interest to do another version with it's own standards, then those guys can go that route and it doesn't have to affect what you're working on.

[davefoxx]

Now Dave, I know you can handle either using the Peco 55, or the ME 70 (or hell, ME55).  That leaves the track spacing as the only issue to resolve, and I really think the positives far outweigh that.

The fact of the matter is that I don't want to start a new "club", or anything like that. I just don't have the personal bandwidth to manage it. Building the modules to NTRAK standards means that those things are already done.

Ed,

I hear you, but, for me, the reality is that if I build a module, it may very likely become part of a future layout, so that would mean Atlas Code 55.  That aside, I really couldn't live with the NTRAK standard for track spacing.  I agree with Lee, though: All of the guts of the table could absolutely be pursuant to NTRAK standards.  That would not bother me; it's the visual impact that is important to me.

Dave

[Guilford Guy]

That aside, I really couldn't live with the NTRAK standard for track spacing.

I'm curious, if you increased the length of the jumper tracks between the modules, if you'd be able to have the track jog over to connect with a standard N Trak module. I recall reading that Peco and ME Code 55 will support heritage sized wheelsets, it's Atlas's Code 55 that is the problem?

[John]

If you guys are going to go to all the trouble to make these "uber" modules, then just ban pizza cutters and the non compliant train set stuff ..

Just make sure you have an NTrak junction module so you can play with the other setups .. We do that in Bantrak .. Martin's "banjos" are a good example ..

[sizemore]

I'm with Lee and Dave.

Are we really hellbent for leather adopting the NTrak spacing standard? Why don't we just have two, say two foot gimmicks, that bring the nonstandard main back to the NTrak standard?  

[inkaneer]

If you guys are going to go to all the trouble to make these "uber" modules, then just ban pizza cutters and the non compliant train set stuff ..

Just make sure you have an NTrak junction module so you can play with the other setups .. We do that in Bantrak .. Martin's "banjos" are a good example ..

How are you going to ban pizza cutters and still expect to connect with other setups?  What if those guys with the "other setups" are running pizza cutters?  Are you going to tell them they can't run on your trackage?  How far do you expect that will go?

[Guilford Guy]

If I understand correctly, there would be the standard N track oval, and then a Wye Module, or something to that extent, with the Allegheny Crossing modules extending outwards away from the oval, similar to oNeTrak.