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New Modular layout Model Railway Club


Selkent

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I have helped set up a new Model railway club which is aimed at those interested in building modular layouts which join together to make one huge layout in N, 00/Ho and O gauge. 

 

Some of the money from the Sevenoaks show at the weekend has been allocated to help set up this new club with a catchment area of SE London, East London and NW Kent area.

 

The idea is each module can be on any theme, with a common baseboard and track connection and they join up and we can then run numerous rolling stock on them.  We have a club night venue secured and donated a van and some money to build a storage shed and tooling.  

 

What we need now is people to join us

 

I have been promoted from person serving teas at model railway shows to membership officer and admin, so ladies and gents, some along to our first club night on Tues 9th Aug where I will be multi tasking with admin and running the bar while hubby talks trains AGAIN

 

details below

 

 

http://www.selkentmodelrailwayclub.weebly.com

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I have helped set up a new Model railway club which is aimed at those interested in building modular layouts which join together to make one huge layout in N, 00/Ho and O gauge. 

 

Some of the money from the Sevenoaks show at the weekend has been allocated to help set up this new club with a catchment area of SE London, East London and NW Kent area.

 

The idea is each module can be on any theme, with a common baseboard and track connection and they join up and we can then run numerous rolling stock on them.  We have a club night venue secured and donated a van and some money to build a storage shed and tooling.  

 

What we need now is people to join us

 

I have been promoted from person serving teas at model railway shows to membership officer and admin, so ladies and gents, some along to our first club night on the 11th Aug where I will be multi tasking with admin and running the bar while hubby talks trains AGAIN

 

details below

 

 

http://www.selkentmodelrailwayclub.weebly.com

 

Wish you well with this. Just what is needed to kick off modular layouts across the country so long as you can agree a suitable standard.

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Her hubby here, I am going to purchase two  module baseboards for 00 and the pack of three  for N gauge, and set the track width and electrics on these, including standard connectors possibly with a AC run for any building lights for any that want that option, lay track, set standard track height, ballast and these will be the mother module boards used as the starting datum point.  One of the OO/HO boards I want to use and model myself, the others given over to any new club members at a slight reduced rate as they are stuck with my ballasting colours who don't have transport to start their section and it will be kept on the premises.  I think using the same standard cut laser boards throughout may solve 50% of the problem.  With LED lighting, hopefully one AC transformer could power the entire building and street lighting needs leaving  a wire in and out of each module on the series for use if required, or have DCC.   Other options are no reason why the N gauge modules can't be 2ft wide x 4ft, or 2ft x 8ft for HO/ OO  instead of  if someone wants to as long as front follows the datum point and gives lots of room for extra track enclosed in that module space, and they run their own movements on the extra track in their module.  and that the backboards on the side aspect still come to the same point at the front. Lots to discuss at first meeting and hopefully we will get some new members who can simply solve the 50% of modular layout building left to solve. 

 

Also need to work out do we build a tray system at each end, to run numerous trains,  or a standard fiddle yard or do we go for a corner loop and 4 of them means we can double the size of the run by only extended our operating space by about 6ft,  having a U shape solves access problems as 4 and a loop would mean crawling under to get to the operating side.  One thing for sure, will be back operated. 

 

Any problems you can think of, let us know and I can bring it up at the first meeting

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Wishing you all the success possible. I do have a sense of deja-vu. I also recommend that you read through all the BritMod topics (there are more than one) to at least get an idea of what you will be up against and maybe get some pointers.

 

Kent is too far away for me to participate but I hope I can telepath some of my enthusiasm for the project.

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Good luck with the group having regular meetings in a fixed location to will help to iron out any issues and keep the momentum going but you seem to have some knowledge of the modular principle so go for it.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Fiddle yard baseboards have arrived for 00/ho and total 3m long, 3 modules when done.   DCC and the N gauge fiddle yard will get next week and be DC,    Just bought 10m  of cork for same price as 3 x 1 metre without the expensive word model railway on the packet.   6 members so far, one new one today who will be taking over the design of the N gauge fiddle yard

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Not another non-compatible with anything else module spec - I dispair, I wouldn't have liked, but could probably have understood, if you had chosen the RMweb spec over fremo, but to do something different again is just DUMB.

 

Sorry.

 

Jon

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It seems to me that one of the reasons why modular modelling has not taken off in the UK is partly due to the number of different standards available.  I personally don't see a future in modular modelling in the UK until such times as one particular standard attains a critical mass, which I would consider to be more than a single club or group of modellers in one part of the country.  I'd therefore hope that you choose to settle on an existing standard (whether that be BritMod (RMWeb), FREMO or something else) rather than create a new and possibly incompatible SELKENT standard.

 

I had hoped that last years modular challenge may herald a critical mass for the BritMod standard, but it seems that is probably still some way off: unless that is the standard that you decide on.

 

Good luck anyway.

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It seems to me that one of the reasons why modular modelling has not taken off in the UK is partly due to the number of different standards available.  I personally don't see a future in modular modelling in the UK until such times as one particular standard attains a critical mass, which I would consider to be more than a single club or group of modellers in one part of the country.  I'd therefore hope that you choose to settle on an existing standard (whether that be BritMod (RMWeb), FREMO or something else) rather than create a new and possibly incompatible SELKENT standard.

 

I had hoped that last years modular challenge may herald a critical mass for the BritMod standard, but it seems that is probably still some way off: unless that is the standard that you decide on.

 

Good luck anyway.

Which is why I'm sticking to the Freemo/NMRA standard. There are about 60 at last count people with module(s) to that standard across the UK. Its simple and it works. If I decide to make my next UK layout modular I'll go with the Dave/Brit-mod standards.

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