Building A Modular Model Railway! - Episode 1: The Plan
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 5 ก.ย. 2024
- It's time to build new model railway... and my plan is to make it modular!
Well today's video is a rather big one as it marks the start of me building a brand new model railway layout! In this first episode I'll be explaining why I'm building a new layout and how I'm going to go about it in a way that allows me to keep expanding any adapting it. It's won't be very exciting to start off with as there's obviously not much to see yet but make sure you stick around for a surprise!
Let me know down in the comments what you think of my grand plan for a new modular style layout and in the meantime I really must come up with a name for this new line... 🤔
Thanks for watching!
I have been struggling with a layout design for years with all my stock stuck in the loft. This solved it for me so I can now move forward. Thank you!
Awesome, glad to hear it and best of luck with your layout. Thanks for watching 😃
It would be cool to see if you could integrate Pickwick Yard into the layout. Maybe a junction to it from the station? Operationally, it could just be a little industrial line. Several heritage railways actually serve small industries, so it would be a unique feature.
It would be cool but unfortunately the basic construction of the two layouts is so different that it wouldn't really be possible. I have considered remaking a new Pickwick Yard to mach my modular standards but I thought that it would rather overshadow the charm of the original. Thanks for watching 😃
Just want to say that your videos are an absolute godsend.
I don’t have the space for a permanent model railway but I’m hoping in the future to build a temporary layout that will function as part of my Christmas decorations. I got a Hornby Santa Express kit a few years ago for that purpose and have thought a lot about expanding it from just an oval of track that runs around my Christmas tree to eventually building proper scenery for it (and maybe 1 or 2 other trains) to run through.
Thank you for taking something that looks and feels very intimidating to a newcomer, and breaking it down into much more manageable pieces.
Thanks Jason, really glad you're enjoying them! If you haven't seen it already, maybe check out my Christmas Tree Layout Build from last year as that is essentially the same concept. Thanks for watching 😃
@@ThatModelRailwayGuy I have seen it. That’s actually the main thing that put the idea of building a layout into my head. It honestly amazed me what you were able to do with a limited space. :)
Awesome, glad it's given you some ideas! You could actually make it even smaller if you went for N or TT:120, although I appreciate that 00 is the more popular scale/gauge.
I think this is actually one the first videos I’ve watched.. ever? That I haven’t skipped forward in since I loose interest very easily- But I watched this video through completely and it held my interest the entire time! Can’t wait to watch the rest of these videos!
That's awesome to hear! Personally I think the videos in the modular layout series only get better and more interesting as they go on so hopefully you'll enjoy them just as much, if not more. Thanks for watching 😃
yeah sounds like a plan. i think a lot of the fun is building the layout as well as running trains. good luck.cheers tom
I certainly hope so as I've got a lot of building ahead of me! Thanks for watching 😀
I'm glad to see this video. I want to plan a modular layout as well, similar to what you have, start with one and go from there. Looking forward to more!
Awesome, it's definitely been a really fun challenge for me. I started this series over a year ago now so there's a whole playlist for you to catch up on. Thanks for watching 😃
Nice to put a face to the voice! Sounds like an interesting project. Don’t forget the famous Rule 1 - ‘It’s my layout, I’ll run what I like!’ Funnily enough I’m slowly building a layout on 3 small boards, and one area I’m stumped is joining them. I’d be very interested if you showed us how you did your joining-up of the boards. Cheers!
Absolutely, I'm sure there will be plenty of Rule 1 running sessions along the way! I'll definitely be doing a more in-depth video on how I join the modules in the future but until then I'd recommend looking at alignment dowels as a good place to start. Thanks for watching 😃
So glad to see this as, this is exactly what I plan to do due to space, and each module with have the a single track in and out, always at the same distance from the front of the baseboard. Can't wait to see this progress.
That's great to hear! I've actually made quite a bit of progress on the modular layout already so there's a few more episodes you can catch up with right now: th-cam.com/video/nlqnN3o_kVo/w-d-xo.html
Thanks for watching 😃
Sounds like an interesting project.
One of the best modular layouts I've ever seen was on only three very small boards but the way they could be rotated and combined allowed for a long run that effectively covered all of the modules twice to get from one end to the other.
Your plan is massive in comparison to that and should be quite a challenge from a scenic perspective.
Making scenery that looks right while allowing for future expansion is going to take a lot of planning but I suspect you're already picturing in your mind exactly how it will look when completed.
Thanks James, yes I've seen similar layouts which is where I got my ideas from. Of course I'm making it difficult for myself by taking it to the extreme! 😆
I do have a plan for the scenery (which I'll go into in a future video) but essentially the end of each module has a standard endplate to keep the profile of the land consistent at the joints. Thanks for watching 😃
Fantastic video and I am excited to see your progress with this project.
Wishing you all the best with this very inspiring model railway 😎👍
Glad you enjoyed it! I can't wait to get stuck in so hopefully it won't be too long before I can share my progress. Thanks for watching 👍
Hi you started in the same way that i am about to do by having a 00 gauge shunting/industrial layout i think we all need to learn the basics first and then once more experienced move on to do other things which you are now about to do in episode 1 so i will watch like and learn with great interest how your modular lay out develops im sure it will look amazing Paul
Yeah I'd definitely recommend getting the basics down on a smaller project first before attempting something larger. The modular layout is an interesting project though because it's essentially lots of very small layouts that join together to create one large layout. The good news is that I've just finished filming a new batch of videos for this series so stay tuned for more episodes coming soon! Thanks for watching 😃
Liking the idea of the modular approach, makes sense, offers interchangeable modules to change it up, will follow progress with interest, thanks for upload. Take it easy. Brian
Thanks, I'm definitely excited to see where this goes too and hopefully with the modules being interchangeable it'll keep the layout feeling fresh. Thanks for watching 😃
Great video! We are going to watch your modular layout series to help get tips for our layout which has so far got track working
Awesome! There’s a fair few videos in the series now so hopefully it’s a good watch. Best of luck with your own layout and thanks for watching 😃
Looks like an interesting project, I look forward to seeing your progress!
Thank you! The next step is to try doing some scenery on the modules I've made so far so (fingers crossed) that'll be out later this month. Thanks for watching 👍
As someone who's been in several Modular MRR clubs, and is very size constrained at home, I cannot stress enough that *BUILDING STANDARDISED MODULES AND FIDDLE YARDS IS A TERRIBLE IDEA IF YOU HAVE LIMITED SPACE.*
Standard modules like FREMO are excessively rigid and never allow the entirelty of your limited space to be used to its full potential. They disallow having any curve that isnt 30°, 45° or 90° and thus limit what you can do pretty severely. The inability to have tracks end at an angle to the module edge, or not end at the module center, further wastes space. It also makes for boring scenery if the train is always the same distance from the baseboard edge and thus the observer. And if you really want to use your space, verticality would suit you well. Having tracks on 2 or more levels with spirals or a gradual climb is a great way to make the best use of very limited room. Modules disallow this entirely.
Modules are in general just terrible for space efficiency. Building modules should only be considered when you have an intent to take those modules to an exhibition. A model railroad can be designed to be disassemblable without a need for inefficient modules. This is what you're actually looking for.
Similarly, fiddle yards are a waste of scenic space. A station yard is expensive as it is, with all the switches prociding a financial, and the ladder a spacial cost. I have yet, in my 10 years of modellling, heard any good reason for not decorating any station area.
The one exception being for fiddle yards speicifically intended for use in exhibitions, but those should be provided by the club organizing the exhibition. Not you. If you want a fiddle yard on your space constrained layout, a hidden station beneath the baseboard or under scenery, with acess from the side or below, would serve your purposes much better.
This is a great series, Ive heard people say. Unlucky Tug recommended you and from what little Ive seen you have a good idea of what your doing, mind you. Im just pointing out that the way you chose to build this layout is very suboptimal and could be highly misleading to people just starting out in the hobby. I recomment taking a look at Unlucky Tug's Layout Part 3 under the 'redesign' section to see how space can be better utilized on a disassemblable baseboard without the use of modules.
All of this said, I look forward to watching the rest of this series. It's great to see a different point of view, even if I vehemently disagree with it, to see what I can improve on my own future design.
And one more thing, slightly unrelated. You've mentioned that people might say "oh, hes making a preserved railway so he can run whatever he wants, eyeroll" and then commented "yes, which is why im doing it strictly prototypically." Don't listen to rivet counters and don't be a slave to prototype.
While it is nice seeing accurate recreations of trains running on ultra realistic and prototypical landscapes, that is both A) expensive and B) gets boring very very quickly. Some of the best layouts in history (John Allen's Gorre & Daphetid comes to mind) were highly unprototypical and focused more on what looked and operated well rather than being accurate. This is a lession more modellers should take into account in my opinion. Fantasy is fun! My own layout will eventually operate a mixture of US equipment spanning 1880s-1960s, on a layout that will contain elements from both the 50s-60s transition era, but will also take heavy inspiration from Weird West and the American mythos.
Make weird and unique stuff! Make fun scenes! Be whimsical! The goal for the average modeller is ultumately to have fun, not to to build precisely accurate stuff. And in my opinion, the more people realize this, the more fun there will be to go around.
Thanks for reading this text wall lmao
Wow, what a lot of text to tell me I can’t do what I’ve already done.
The layout works fine thanks, it fills the space I have available and is easily packed away for when the room is needed for other things. As I said in the video, the point of building this layout was to allow me to configure it in a different way each time its setup and on that basis I have succeeded.
That's a great little video and given me ideas for my model railway thanks very much for sharing.
Thanks, really glad it's given you some ideas! Thanks for watching 😃
Look forward to seeing this get built. I'm just starting to look at building a small shunting years along the lines of your own Pickwick Yard. If I get 5 minutes that is. Good luck!
Thanks Michael! That's fantastic to hear, best of luck with you shunting layout and I hope you find the time to build it soon. Thanks for watching 😃
Looking forward to seeing how this progresses. Nothing at all wrong with modelling preserved railways. I'm planning on doing the same myself. There are so many interesting locos I want to see running 😁
Thanks, hoping to have the next update out later this month! Absolutely, it's a hobby we can do whatever we want! I think sometimes people use the preservation theme to run literally anything on a more train set style layout (nothing wrong with that either!) which is why some "serious modellers" turn their noses up at it 😆 Thanks for watching 👍
Brilliant
Thanks, it's come long way since this video! Thanks for watching 😃
Good luck with it all
I to are in the early stages of building my OO modular layout. Frames built just finalising track plans etc.
Nick Australia
Thanks Nick, best of luck with your own layout! Be sure to keep us updated with how you're getting on. Thanks for watching 👍
Love the plan and am definatly going to follow along, how do you insure that the boards align every time and how about the power transfer?
Thanks, there’s quite a few episodes out already which you can find here: th-cam.com/play/PLrxCs5t2FkmxNd-_hB6asSke8Ss-sDgGe.html
Episode 3 shows how I align the boards while episode 6 goes into how I transfer the power across boards. Hope that helps and thanks for watching 😃
Came up as a recommendation- looks like a very ambitious plan. Subscribed and looking forward to see how it works out.
Yes the algorithm seems to have smiled upon this video! 😆 Glad to hear you're looking forward to seeing more. Thanks for watching 👍
wow, the most refreshing channel up at the moment... nice to put a face to the presenter... your delivery is top!
btw although you will be working on the new build please let us still see shunting on Pickwick... stay safe and again awesome channel... Neil
Thanks Neil... although you didn't see all the bits I cut out! 😆
Don't worry, Pickwick Yard won't be disappearing anytime soon. I've still got lots of things I want to do with it and it'll be a while before this new build is properly ready anyway. Thanks for watching 😀
This Design Has Inspired Me, I’m A Very Indecisive Person And A Fixed Layout Would Be Satisfying But Kinda Boring To Me. The Dimensions Are Fantastic, And I’m Gonna Be Using Them (But Adding 10CM In The Size For Corners And Width For Straights Because Mine Will Be Double Track And Not Single) Once I Start Building I’ll DEFINITELY Look To These Videos For Tips Since I’m Just Starting Out. (Also If Anyone Reads This Far, Does Anyone Have Suggestions For What Model I Should Get To Test With?)
Good luck, this was definitely a really fun project for me. You may find with adding extra width that the modules become a bit too big to move easily. I actually talk later in the series about reducing the size of some of the modules for this very purpose. Best of luck and thanks for watching 👍
@@ThatModelRailwayGuy Hey, So You Wouldn’t Happen To Have An Answer To That Last Bit? I’m Still Trying To Pick A Loco And Small Consist To Test With. So Far I’ve Decided Smaller Than A 9F And Bigger Than A Peckett. (Doesn’t Narrow It Down Much But It’s A Start) If I Could Get The LBSCR H1 Atlantic In Umber Brown It Wouldn’t Be A Question, But It’s Very Expensive And I’d Also Have To Pay For International Shipping (I’m An American). So Any Suggestions?
Very interesting video. Look forward to more updates. Plenty of preserved locos to choose from. Cant wait for the next installment. Maybe a j94 on a xmas special.
Thanks! Yes lots of preserved locos to choose from...and I might push the boundaries in a few special circumstances. 😉 Santa Specials might be a bit ambitious for this year but perhaps some brake van rides could be organised for the section of line that has restored so far! Thanks for watching 👍
Look forward to watching your modular layout developing, it seems that Wimbltrain does a similar module system called T Trak, but eager to see your idea's too.
Ah yes I've seen a bit of T-Trak but I thought it was more for N Gauge. The concept is virtually the same but just I'm building it to my own set of standards. Thanks for watching 😀
This is great now subbed and I am wanting to do the same sort of thing so may even build along with you 😁
Thanks Michael, that sounds great! Best of luck with your own build and thanks for watching and subscribing 😃
Looks great mate can’t wait for this to continue
Thanks, I'm hoping to have at least one new video of this layout up before Christmas - just depends on how quickly I can do the scenery! Thanks for watching 😃
Great video mate. I really enjoyed it. I my opinion it should be double track so you can have two trains running at once but its your layout so do what you want. Keep up the great work. Jack
Thanks Jack! I did consider making it double track but it didn't really suit the heritage railway setting... there's only one I know of that has double track! But maybe we'll see a mainline extension in the future 🤔
Thanks for watching! 👍
Very interesting! I like the phase animations 😀
I have a layout which is a heritage railway, I only actually have 2 heritage locos for it, both real life preserved industrial locos - something you'd expect from a heritage railway. 👍
As you are modelling a heritage railway, I think it would be fitting to have the line ex-double track with tunnels and/or bridges designed to support double track even though they no longer do.
You also mentioned phase 5 'sky's the limit' 🤣 I think a small 1 coach request-stop halt would be interesting on one of the side boards
Looking forward to more!
Thanks, well I had to find a way to make the video more interesting than me just talking 😆 You read my mind there with it being an ex-double track line, so it's definitely something I'd like to incorporate if I can. Ooh a small halt is a really interesting idea for a future board, I'll put it on the ever expanding list! Thanks for watching 😃
Great debut aswell btw, if this was your first on video recording even more impressive. I've watched this series over and over and it's just really well put together, love the idea of modular. Have you been able to use it in different shapes at all?
Thanks, it wasn't my first time ever on camera (I've been on screen plenty of times before) but it was the first time I appeared in person on this channel.
At the moment I generally either use the modular layout in either the full circuit or end to end horseshoe configurations - depending on whether I'm filming or just running something for fun. As I keep adding more modules though I imagine there will be more setups I can try out! Thanks for watching 😃
@@ThatModelRailwayGuy great 👍 👏 seeing more of the configs would be great, this is a great idea. I was thinking of using insulation board parts in a similar way when I've had a bash at a simple oval, I'm not sure if it would work or not, but in theory it should.
out of interest…. how do you plan on ‘storing’ the modules when not in use?
Love the idea, and its sparked my interest in exploring this further
Hi Neil, they all stack vertically on top of each other. They occasionally appear like that in the background of videos when not in use. The concept works but it needs a little refining and once I've done that I'll be making a full video on storing the layout and the process of setting it up/packing it away. Thanks for watching 😃
This oddly shows up in my feed just as I was thinking about seeing if Modular Layouts could work. Would probably aim for N-scale personally.
Brilliant! It’s definitely possible and I’m by no means the first to do it. If anything I’d say you have an easier time with N Gauge as the individual modules could be much smaller. Thanks for watching 😊
There is one of your videos (I think) where you you were making a layout on a reasonable size table. It commenced with an oval and then your added a branch which could have gone to the likes of a port. then a shunting puzzle was added and the oval was slanted on the table to not have the long sides parallel to the edge. I have searched again for this video but cannot find it. Does it ring a bell could you give me the title. AS a beginner I find the videos very informative and useful. Thanks
Hi Ian, hmm I'm afraid you've stumped me there. It sounds like the sort of crazy ambitious plan I would come up with but I have to be honest I don't think it was one of my videos as it doesn't ring any bells with me. Sorry I can't be of more help but thanks for watching and I'm glad you're finding the videos interesting 😃
@@ThatModelRailwayGuy Thank you for replying.maybe it was someone else. Keep up the good work.
Me I do model onto modular segments of 90 cm × 45 cm and using 610 mm as minimum Radius (24" Inches).
FREMO at continental Europe using maybe the 30" Radius as minimum Radius.
For my home a little too wide.
That's really cool! I think having smaller modules are actually a really good way to go as it can make setting up and storing the layout a lot more simple. Thanks for watching 😃
wow this is great I was thinking, as I'm mainly focusing on micro layouts at the moment, that I could make them interlink, but I love this idea. id love to know how each module is supported do they all have separate legs or do they share some legs to help keep them level with each other. either way really cool
Yeah, I originally started out wondering if I could join several micro layouts together until I decided I wanted something a bit bigger!
At the moment the layout is standing on mass produced a-frame trestles which are all the same height and allows me to add support to the baseboards where it's needed. Thanks for watching! 😀
@@ThatModelRailwayGuy ahhh trestles seem like the way to go. It would be great to have a British modular standard then there could be exhibitions with just one huge layout made up of all the different modules there. could even divide an exhibition hall based on era and region to please the rivet counters or have different people create models of real stations coming together to form a full real life route. theres so much that can be done.
I think there was an attempt to do just that a few years ago but it kind of died out because it didn't properly catch on, which is a shame. It definitely would be a sight to have several layouts all connected up to each other (just like those massive Free-mo exhibitions you can find on TH-cam!). I doubt you'd ever please the rivet counters though 😂
wish you went double track for the tracks instead of single
My reasoning for the single track was that I'm modelling a heritage railway, most of which are single track branchlines. I have seen someone else take this concept and do the same with a double track line though. Thanks for watching 😃
Hi! Just wondering which track pieces you are using for the fiddle yard becuse i thought it would be cool to build somthing similar myself😀
Hi Elias, it's all Peco flexitrack in the fiddle yard (as is the case for the majority of the layout) because they're nice long lengths. I also used Setrack points partly to save a little bit of space but mostly because I had several of them lying around! Thanks for watching 😃
Would you mind showing what kind of system you use to connect the modules and keep the track powered and aligned?
Absolutely, I'll definitely do a full video on this in the future! Thanks for watching 😀
Bloody hell, I had this exact same idea though not as large a scale as yours is.
Even down th corner board idea
My layout will have to be half put away though after use hence the swap to modular.
Well they say great minds think alike! Yes I'm the same, there's no way I could have the layout setup all the time so the plan is to have it stored away when not in use.
It also has the advantage of not needing the whole layout setup in order to work on it, I can just get a single module out and work on that. Thanks for watching 😃
@@ThatModelRailwayGuy that's just it with my situation too.
At the minute I have a rather nice, first attempt at an 8x4 double loop with sidings wedged into the corner of the bedroom.
After a LOT of measuring and faffing I've arrived at the conclusion that if I was able to sit inside the layout then I'd have much more room, and if it was modular the room wouldn't look so cluttered.
I could leave the back board and the right board set up more or less all the time and just put the left board and bottom board away when not in use!
I think I'll struggle getting the track to line up though, I've seen the video with the screws and that... you think it would work if I just used bolts and a guide hole?
I was thinking of using those brass bullets you used, however I'm not sure I'd be able to get them lined up properly, which is a shame because I could have soldered the power feed to each locator pin so that once it slotted together the power would be "on"
@@IronHorseRailways You probably could just bolt the modules together but I wouldn't recommend it. There would likely be a lot of slop between the two boards and even if it was only a few millimetres derailments would be more common.
One potential solution could be to clamp the boards together in the correct position then drill your holes for the bullet dowels straight through the frames on both modules so you know the holes line up. Take it apart, put the dowels in and then maybe add some filler in the back end of the hole to stop them moving around.
This would only work if you were only going to set the boards up in one particular configuration though, where with my modular layout all the modules are compatible with each other. Hope that all makes sense though and potentially gives you something to think about 😃
@@ThatModelRailwayGuy that's interesting, yes there would be some element of swapping out, though only with the "bottom" module and potentially the left module.
The "top" and right modules would usually be left in place as the top is going to be a scenic fiddle yard area.
Thanks for the reply mate 😃
@@IronHorseRailways I wonder if you could drill the holes through two of your modules initially then use those almost as a template for the others. So clamping the board with holes already drilled to the another module and using the existing holes as a guide. Gotta admit though this is why I went with the laser cut endplates as it made things so much easier. 😂
What program did you use to make the plan that we see?
Hey there, I used Rail Modeller Express to make the original plan and the animations were done in Premiere Pro. Thanks for watching 😃
hi. you need to reverse the order of the playlist. at the moment, the playlist starts from the last video and then goes back in time.
Hiya, it's that way so that when new videos are released those are at the top. Thanks for watching 😃
Sorry for jumping ahead. How do you transfer power and control between boards? Thanks.
Hi John, no problem at all. Each board has a positive and a negative wire running underneath that feeds the track directly on that module. Then there are connectors on each end so that wires can join up to the corresponding wires on the next board. Hope that helps but I’ll definitely be going into this in more detail in a future video. Thanks for watching 😃
What is the thickness of the 50 cm X 122 cm board?
I generally use 9mm ply for the top surface on all my layouts. The battens vary but on the modular layout I went with 25mm to keep the weight down for portability. Thanks for watching 😃
What software did you use to make those layout plans? I'm trying to do my own in Photoshop (I really don't want to pay almost £40 for Railway Modeler)
Hi there, it’s been a while but I’m pretty sure I used Rail Modeller Express for these diagrams. The version I have is free but limits you to placing 50 items so depending on how complicated your plans are it may or may not work for you. Hope that helps and thanks for watching 😃
so how long is your layout from end to end ?
If you take all the straight modules and put them end to end it would be 17ft long. Obviously with the curves in place you get a longer run but the overall length is about 13ft. Thanks for watching 😃
How did you make the baseboards? What timber did you use?
Hi Terry, I'll have a whole video coming out on this in the future showing how I made the baseboards but to give you a quick answer now I used 9mm Plywood and 25x25mm Stripwood. Hope that helps and thanks for watching 😀
Does the board not flex over a longer span where your only using 25mm stripwood? And how does it sit on the A frames?
The stripwood creates a frame for the plywood top with additional bracing points underneath and so far everything's very solid. The stripwood is the part that sits on the A frames which are positioned to spread the load evenly and fully support the baseboards. Not sure if that helps but hopefully it'll be easier to see in the video 😄
Yeh Def recommend to show everything in detail. I'm going to do something similar so it can be moved from shed, to garden, to loft, to front room etc as space, weather and temperature dictate where I can use it being only a small house and no loft insulation for permanent setup there
hi can you use your hornby live stream on your layout
Yep, I did a video on exactly that here: th-cam.com/video/ahn4mp2IGK8/w-d-xo.html Thanks for watching 👍
whats a centimeter????????????
Hey Roger, it's a unit of measurement that comes between millimetres and metres. Thanks for watching 😃
see what you’ve done??????
laser cut end plates on order, hours lost buried in track planning software, new TT120 order placed, spare room being cleaned out, extra track on its way from Germany…. this feels like a bit of deep hole i’m getting into, and its ALL YOUR FAULT…..😂
Haha, I need to start adding a disclaimer to my videos: That Model Railway Guy cannot be held responsible for the planning and construction on any new layouts as a result of viewing this video. 😅 Best of luck with the new layout Neil, it's great to see people willing to jump on board with TT! Thanks for watching 😃
first
You win! 😆 Thanks for watching!
and also i am making a model railway two btw great job on the video
What software did you use to create the plan ?
Hi there, I used Rail Modeller Express for the plan in this video. It used to be free but I don't think that's the case anymore unfortunately. Thanks for watching 😃