Updated November 17, 2006:
Basic standards were approved at the October 2, 2003 business meeting. Bob Cowles and Paul Boston made the six basic mokules that form a n oval when assembled. There are three tracks on the main and corner modules, centered at 3.5". 7.25" and 12" from the front edge of the platform. Modules are built on the 48" standard for length and 30" deep. Corner curved tracks are a minimum of 72" diameter and clearance adjusted for LARGE engines.
Electrical connectors are of the "Cinch / Jones" type with pins for each of the three tracks. With a nod to DCS requirements, each track has its own power and ground wires and does not have a common bus ground. The connectors will have six connections for track power, two connections for fixed low voltage, and two connections for fixed higher voltage.
The module set is up and running, but we are not happy with the difficulty of connecting the bridge tracks between modules when setting up. Bob Cowles put sound deadning foam on the bottom of each module and it seems to work well. Until the track issue is resolved the modules are bare plywood tops. It doesn't look to nice but doing scenery must come after the track is attached perminantly.
The photo below shows the module with (Left to right) Dave Brown, Wayne Ross, Walker Whitley, Butch Smith and Walkers wife.
If you are looking for more information about module construction, wiring and photos, try the Cresent Model Railroaders web site. They use DCS and MTH transformers and show a basic module, corner plan and wiring plans in their Roundhouse section.
The Paradise & Pacific Railroad Club has operated a traveling module for many years. The purpose of the module is to promote interest in model railroading by running trains in a public venue such as train shows and seasonal mall displays.
The old module was made up of four custom built tables that form a rectangle approximately 13 feet long and eight feet wide. There were four ovals of Gargraves track with the smallest diameter track at 72 inches.
Recently the membership has begun discussion regarding replacing the custom module with a modular design following the standards set out by the various Tinplate Trackers around the country. The argument for this is that each member would have the opportunity to build a small module that would be integrated with other member modules to form a display limited in size only by the number of members wishing to participate. The club would own a set of modules that would form the corners and perhaps a couple of seed straight modules and the members would supply the remainder of the display unit.
The following links will provide a great starting point for those interested in building a module to the Tinplate Trackers standard.
One of the most informative and complete on line Tinplate Trackers manual is from the late Albert R. Bailey and revised by Mathew C. Jackson.
The Tinplate Trackers of Austin, Texas web site has a lot of photos and shows how the specifications have been expanded to meet the needs of a particular organization.
The North Georgia Tinplate Trackers show a lot of photos and some great links.
For an extensive photo library to see what can be done try the Highrailers and get a look at what can be done. When looking at the photos notice the track spacing seems to be the Tinplate Trackers fundamental standard with WAAAY over the top design and building on many modules. Some of the modules suggest that a large truck would be needed for transport.
