MODULE BUILDING STANDARDS
RUSS REINBERG AND GARY RAYMOND
IF YOU LOOK around the country, it becomes apparent no three clubs share exactly the same philosophy about modular railroading. As a result, it is almost impossible to interchange the modules of most clubs. Even if the overall dimensions of their modules were close and members made adjustments for differences in height, the mainline tracks would never align. We found only two clubs sharing a common measurement from the centerline of the front track to the front edge of the module, and that may be the most critical of all dimensions!
Here is a small sampling of what modular clubs from around North America are doing:
The Lake Tahoe, Truckee & Northwestern Garden Railway Society hand lays code 250 rail on individual ties. The ballast is cat litter. The modules have a single track mainline and the distance from the front track's outside rail to the front edge of the module is 8 inches. The tables are 3 x 6 feet and the distance from the floor to the top of the rail is 42 inches. As is the case with most clubs, the module builder has complete freedom with respect to scenery, additional trackage, or structures.
The Western New York G-Scale Club's modules use a more common 2'6" x 4'11 5/8" table size but a height above the floor of only 34 inches, give or take an inch. The mainline is single track, with the front track's center line 3 1/2 inches from the table's front edge. The rail is code 250 on individual wood ties. The group glues its ties to a 6mm luan plywood sub-roadbed to bring the top of the rail to the same height as a similar module using LGB code 332 track.
The Genesee "G" Gauge Railroad Society in Rochester, New York wanted to be able to interchange with the Western New York group's modules so they set the distance from the center line of the first mainline track to the front edge of the module at 3 1/2 inches. Then the Western New York group decided to replace its LGB code 332 rail with code 250. The Genesee society retained its own LGB track and went ahead with plans for a double instead of a single track mainline. Its modules measure 47 1/4 x 32 inches with a height of 36 inches from the floor to the top of the railhead.
In Canada, the Central Ontario Garden Railway Society prefers a longer, narrower module so it will sit on the back seat of an average sedan and require fewer sections to make up a bigger layout. The overall dimensions are 60 x 16 inches, with the top of the rail 36 inches above the floor. The center line of the single track mainline is nine inches from the front of the module and the rail is code 250 on individual ties. Now for the interesting part: The Gauge One track is three-rail with the inside rails in 32mm (O) Gauge. That means the outside rails represent 1:24 scale Canadian prototype 3˝ foot narrow gauge and the inside rail represents 1:19 scale 2 foot narrow gauge.
The Greater Three Rivers & Cedar Creek Modular Model Railroad Club in Fort Wayne, Indiana has adopted the acronym "GTRAC" and takes standards very seriously. Its members have modified N-TRAC and NMRA HO scale dimensions to accomodate large scale model railroading. Their modules measure 47 1/4 x 36 inches and stand 40 inches high from the floor to the top of the rails. The double track mainline is on 7 9/32-inch centers and the center line of the front track sits 5˝ inches from the front of the module. GTRAC uses LGB flextrack and turnouts.
The San Diego Garden Railway Society designed its modules to interchange with Del Oro Pacific's. The basic modules are 30 by 47 1/4 inches with the top of the table 40 inches off the floor. They have a double track mainline; the centers are 7.28 inches apart. The centerline of the front track is 4 inches from the front edge of the table. The San Diego club is one of the most creative in North America so, as you might guess, its members tend use standards as a launching pad for their own artistic conceptions. It is perfectly all right to deviate from standards as long as you do it within the confines of your own module.
