Ron, Thanks for showing this Video, so people who don’t have room for anything but a tiny layout or no room at all can enjoy Model Railroading. I have a 3 x 6 foot N Scale layout that I built 40 Years ago. Prior to that I modeled in HO, but I bought a row house in a historic neighborhood in Baltimore City and only had enough room to put the layout on the dining room table and leaned it against a wall when not running it so I switched to N Scale. After living in that house for 21 years I move to a much larger in the North East corner of Maryland where I have a 12 x 26 foot room but I didn’t have the time or money to build a larger layout and when our youngest child lost interest in the layout and needed space to hang out with her friends, the layout was leaned against a wall again. Fast Forward to 2018 I found out that my then 10 year old Grandson was interested in trains while he was staying with us so that night I went down to the basement and checked the layout and found that it was in good shape except fore a couple wires I had to replace along with a section of flex track. The next morning I showed it to him and he blurted our “CAN WE RUN IT !!!” We had it up and running by 9PM that evening. When I originally built the layout I laid out my curves with easements using the same method as you do, but after watching your video on that subject, along with wanting to change some of my track for better operations, my Grandson and I also tore up all of the mainline curves that were not going to be moved and relaid them with Hyper Elevation using your method, what a great look it adds when running trains. Any way I am getting off track, that summer we went to a train show at the Maryland State Fairgrounds that fills up a three acre building where there were a dozen modular layouts, and I joined a group called Bantrak (Baltimore Area NTrak), and I am designing some Modules showing scenes of areas Baltimore area Railroads. Barry Broyles
It was a pleasure meeting you at this event Ron. It was also a delight to see so many people enjoying the trains, and having a good time. Thanks Spring Creek Model Trains, and the many modelers who made this happen.
As an Aussie watching this for the first time it would be great if you first talked about the modules and how they are connected together and the tracks are joined, power connected etc...
Hello Ron, I throughly enjoyed this. Thank goodness for the internet and online buying. Otherwise a hobby store like that would not survive. There’s always a silver lining to all adversity. The pandemic not only increased interest in the hobby itself but helped out the hobby retailers that had online shopping capabilities. You production was great on this and was very interesting and informative. Thanks for your efforts. Bye for now.
Ran into a Free-Mo HO set up at the last Springfield, MO show about 1 1/2 years ago. We have one coming up again in Sept so depending on life events between now and then I can join them. On a side note I did an order with Spring Creek Model Trains back in 2020. Sent a email to make sure what I wanted was still on hand and placed the order. Took less then a week from beginning to end to get it in my hands.
Some wide angle shots of modules and the whole layouts would have been nice to see. Or even just a brief overview of how the modules are hooked together. I feel that those are things that people might be intrested in seeing.
Great visit, Ron. These modules are very well rendered by their owners. I was thinking that this Free-Mo concept would also work in a situation where someone, such as an apartment tenant who might have to move, would have to dismantle his or her layout. Something modular would be a lot easier to do this with.
We don't do this in the UK. Its a really interesting concept. It would certainly get people together who don't have local clubs and societies to be members of.
look into Fre-mo, its the original standard from Europe that the US one is based on. It is very popular in Germany and I believe in a normal year they do 50 or more setups.
Hi Ron! I wish I had realized that you were coming up for this - it would have been fun to come down and meet you. I am about 90 minutes from Spring Creek Model Trains. It looks like a good time was had by all! The Zucker family are all great hosts for the Deshler events and he Free-Mo guys are always friendly (based on talking to them at other events). At least you hit some good weather!
Nice to see this event even in vidio, one of my friend from California, LA area went I was so jealous I wanted to go gut it was too late for me to change plans as it's a 21 hour drive so maybe next time😀👍👍👍👍
I was only there on Saturday, and there was no fee to attend, so I don't know how many attended nor do I know if there was any sort of count. There were not a lot of spectators there on Saturday but mostly people who came to run trains. As for accommodations, there are no hotels in Deshler, but there are several in surrounding towns within 30 minutes drive.
I believe it was 37 between the two groups. Some stayed in Hebron about 10 miles away, others in Belleville, KS or Geneva, NE. One guy stayed in his RV.
All I can say is WOW, what a great vedio. I'm still trying to wrap my head around 17 scale miles. What do they use to drive the trains. I would guys a few dcc units. Anyway it was great to see both modules. I wish we could do this in New York city. I have trouble trying to squeeze space out of the basement.
@@RonsTrainsNThings - Thank You -- I just can't believe the space out in the country, you guys have. NYC, Brooklyn is cramped. I'm still working on my DCC++ and a Sprog-pi. My layout is small it's 4 by 6 feet.
Hi Ron ..my names William and I'm new to model railroading and I'd like to say first I enjoy your videos ... I have a question .. I'm looking in to the bacmann ez app trains and was wondering if you know anything about them ? And I like the look of the blue star ez app trains set but I didn't know if that would be a good starter set for me would you be able to give a newb like me some guidance on this ?.. thank you .. from the mile high state
Hi, William. I'm sorry but I have no experience with or knowledge of the Bachmann EZ App trains. I would advise finding a hobby shop that carries them and see if the owner or manager has some knowledge. You may also do a Facebook search for others who have experience with them. Good luck.
There's something I'm looking to find. How to people get their modules to come together perfectly without having a special piece of track that goes between both modules? I want to be able to run track straight up to the end and have the trains keep going. I get the idea of having a brass screw or a pcb plate of sorts that the rails are soldered to, but I don't know how to make sure they always join up exactly the same, and how to install those.
Thanks Ron. I'm waaaayyy over here in Oz (Australia) and looking to build a Free-mo module; wondering if someone can explain a particular Free-mo spec to me. Why are the single track module ends 24" wide and dual track 26" wide? I would have thought that logically the single track spec would just pick up one of the dual tracks. Don't some get togethers involve joining both types together? I understand that you still can; but why the difference? Thanks in advance folks. Paul.
I wish this could have went into more detail of what a Free Mo module looked like, how they join together and the different configurations of them. Looks like there was a wide variety of them there. It would have been nice to go down a section and show each module as they complete a layout.
@@rickykeil4467 Thank You that is what I was looking for. It would be nice to see a video of the unloading and putting together to see how these modules are shipped around as well. I am thinking of putting together a home layout but am planning a move as soon as things sell so it can’t be too permanent.
@@RonsTrainsNThings Thanks I have done research on the standards, no one has done a good video of the modules coming off the vehicle and being assembled into a layout. It would also be interesting to see them being prepared to move and how that is done as well.
@@asquithmainlines699 I may still have a time lapse of a setup several years ago. No unloading though. People use all kinds of methods to transport, laying them in the bed of a truck, cases and crating systems. I can show you my crating system.
Ron, recently I made a comment on a video of yours about electrical issues. I made comment that I felt it was irresponsible. You responded with some harsh comments about your situation in the USA. I responded by unsubscribing to your channel because I felt that you misunderstood my concerns. I truly like what you do and hope you don’t hold any hard feelings against me. I enjoyed watching this video and look forward to more. I know you are a man of the cloth and I am an atheist but this should not have any effect on our mutual enjoyment of trains. Please forgive me if I was out of line, my ignorance of your situation was uninformed and ill researched. My apologies for any confusion about this unfortunate misunderstanding. Regards from Melbourne Australia 🇦🇺
I didn’t come across your original comments, however I was impressed that you took the time to apologize to Ron. We’ve all had occasions in life where we speak too soon and later come to regret what was said, but not all of us man up to set things right, or at the very least attempt to do so. The internet and the ability to hide behind a keyboard makes it so easy to be judgmental and harsh these days and there is far too much of that going on. Good on you that you took the time to do the right thing. Cheers from Canada. 🇨🇦
Hi Greg. Thanks for your comment. I would like to say that I didn't intend my previous comments to be harsh, although some comments by other viewers were certainly more harsh. I was rather trying to explan my video content. I did find the "irresponsible" comment a bit hard to swallow I must admit. That said, I certainly hold no hard feelings here, and especially so now with your comment. As for our belief system differences, I find them to be irrelevant in the context of model railroading and have always tried to keep that completely separate from my work on this channel. I consider any hatchet that may have existed here burried. Please be aware that I will leave this comment up for a day to make sure you have time to read this (please give some acknowledging reply when you do), but then I will take it down. That is no reflection on you, it just doesn't contribute to the video topic and can get people caught up in the "drama." Thanks again and I look forward to seeing you around TH-cam.
@@RonsTrainsNThings Ron, thank you for your very gracious reply. This is the best hobby in the world and we should all be supportive of each other’s efforts. I have always enjoyed your videos and learned from them. I never meant anything by my comments. Here in Australia the law says only licensed electricians can do mains power so it was a knee jerk reaction. No harm intended. Please understand I am a big fan of your channel... With great respect and sincerity, Gregory Bowen
@@dexterdog62 Thank you for the nice comments. I am truly apologetic about the way I said some things and I know that I should be better informed about what I comment upon in the future. I’m glad this is behind us and we can all get back to enjoying the best hobby in the world...
See how I paint, weather, and ballast track. Checknout this video: th-cam.com/video/HYspNRlTCVg/w-d-xo.html
Ron, Thanks for showing this Video, so people who don’t have room for anything but a tiny layout or no room at all can enjoy Model Railroading. I have a 3 x 6 foot N Scale layout that I built 40 Years ago. Prior to that I modeled in HO, but I bought a row house in a historic neighborhood in Baltimore City and only had enough room to put the layout on the dining room table and leaned it against a wall when not running it so I switched to N Scale. After living in that house for 21 years I move to a much larger in the North East corner of Maryland where I have a 12 x 26 foot room but I didn’t have the time or money to build a larger layout and when our youngest child lost interest in the layout and needed space to hang out with her friends, the layout was leaned against a wall again. Fast Forward to 2018 I found out that my then 10 year old Grandson was interested in trains while he was staying with us so that night I went down to the basement and checked the layout and found that it was in good shape except fore a couple wires I had to replace along with a section of flex track. The next morning I showed it to him and he blurted our “CAN WE RUN IT !!!” We had it up and running by 9PM that evening. When I originally built the layout I laid out my curves with easements using the same method as you do, but after watching your video on that subject, along with wanting to change some of my track for better operations, my Grandson and I also tore up all of the mainline curves that were not going to be moved and relaid them with Hyper Elevation using your method, what a great look it adds when running trains. Any way I am getting off track, that summer we went to a train show at the Maryland State Fairgrounds that fills up a three acre building where there were a dozen modular layouts, and I joined a group called Bantrak (Baltimore Area NTrak), and I am designing some Modules showing scenes of areas Baltimore area Railroads.
Barry Broyles
I used to live in Rising Sun, moved to SC where I am working on a layout of the Harpers Ferry, WVa area.
I like how they snuck the Rock Island logo into their sign.
Yeah, Rock Island used to go through Deshler. One one time they were home to a very large broom factory served by rail.
Thanks Ron for sharing this and thanks to Dave and Deb for sponsoring the show.
It was a pleasure meeting you at this event Ron. It was also a delight to see so many people enjoying the trains, and having a good time. Thanks Spring Creek Model Trains, and the many modelers who made this happen.
Thanks Ron, I love seeing videos of free-mo meets!
Thanks for the video Ron, very interesting concept.
As an Aussie watching this for the first time it would be great if you first talked about the modules and how they are connected together and the tracks are joined, power connected etc...
My wife and I Miss Going to Train Shows.
I’m glad you made it for the event Ron. While the interviews are nice, it would have been nice to see more of the layouts.
AWESOME!!! Thank you for sharing and keep up the good work.
Very informative. Thanks Ron.
So cool! Thanks for covering this!
Thanks Ron. The interviews were great and loved the bridge angles on the layouts. Thanks for taking us along.
Love that hobby shop- it's 50 miles from home🤗
Thanks for showing this! Just ordered a ScaleTrains KCS ET44-C4 Rivet counter NScale from them!
Hello Ron, I throughly enjoyed this. Thank goodness for the internet and online buying. Otherwise a hobby store like that would not survive. There’s always a silver lining to all adversity. The pandemic not only increased interest in the hobby itself but helped out the hobby retailers that had online shopping capabilities. You production was great on this and was very interesting and informative. Thanks for your efforts. Bye for now.
Ran into a Free-Mo HO set up at the last Springfield, MO show about 1 1/2 years ago. We have one coming up again in Sept so depending on life events between now and then I can join them.
On a side note I did an order with Spring Creek Model Trains back in 2020. Sent a email to make sure what I wanted was still on hand and placed the order. Took less then a week from beginning to end to get it in my hands.
Soks (Southern Kansas) Freemo is planning to attend Springfield this year.
I may be there with Southern Kansas folks again. I was at that setup .
Thanks for sharing Ron. Great video. Spring creek is a great shop
Well now I need to build a Free-mo module.
I know, right? Me too.
@@RonsTrainsNThings @DIY and Digital Railroad That would certainly be a good way to meet new people and fellow TH-camrs!
If you're looking at Free-mo for the first time, also look at a derivative - Speed-mo. There's a channel on Facebook.
Thanks Ron. Just Awesome.
Some wide angle shots of modules and the whole layouts would have been nice to see. Or even just a brief overview of how the modules are hooked together. I feel that those are things that people might be intrested in seeing.
True!
Nice meet at Farmers on the HO Freemo, and Dave is such a ham!! Wish I could have made the trip north!
Great visit, Ron. These modules are very well rendered by their owners. I was thinking that this Free-Mo concept would also work in a situation where someone, such as an apartment tenant who might have to move, would have to dismantle his or her layout. Something modular would be a lot easier to do this with.
We don't do this in the UK. Its a really interesting concept. It would certainly get people together who don't have local clubs and societies to be members of.
I would think the UK would be a perfect place for modular meets like this, especially for people who do not have space for a larger home layout.
@@RonsTrainsNThings haha you know we don't get basements like you guys. I'm very jealous!
look into Fre-mo, its the original standard from Europe that the US one is based on. It is very popular in Germany and I believe in a normal year they do 50 or more setups.
Great video, glad to see N scale being covered so well on this channel!
Hi Ron! I wish I had realized that you were coming up for this - it would have been fun to come down and meet you. I am about 90 minutes from Spring Creek Model Trains. It looks like a good time was had by all! The Zucker family are all great hosts for the Deshler events and he Free-Mo guys are always friendly (based on talking to them at other events). At least you hit some good weather!
Very cool Ron, looks like a great extra hobby to get into, thanks for sharing! BTW I think you missed your calling, great commentator 😊
Nice to see this event even in vidio, one of my friend from California, LA area went I was so jealous I wanted to go gut it was too late for me to change plans as it's a 21 hour drive so maybe next time😀👍👍👍👍
Loved the modules.
Awesome interviews, great tour. Thanks for the video
I wish there was Free-moN in the Metro NY area!!
Great coverage of the event and the shop.
There were 2 n-scale modelers from that area there. One from Delaware and one from New Jersey.
The Albany, NY area has some FreeMo N modelers. You might be able to catch up with them at the Springfield Train show next January.
thank you for detail video
God I love the Shop.
Be careful, you can drive right by it!! It is worth it by far!!
I love this video🚂🚂🚂👍
Nice... I like your Chanel... I have subscribe you.. Sorry my Englisch I am from Switzerland... Alex 😊😊👍👍
I can understand you so your English is just fine. Welcome to the channel.
OK. Nice... Thank you... I have also a Chanel.. Grettings from Switzerland.. Alex 🤔😉😉😊😊👍👍🇨🇭
great vid ron, again ty for n scale
Wow, some distances covered there! And the unanswered question . . . . how many attended and were the heck did they stay in a 2 horse town!
I was only there on Saturday, and there was no fee to attend, so I don't know how many attended nor do I know if there was any sort of count. There were not a lot of spectators there on Saturday but mostly people who came to run trains. As for accommodations, there are no hotels in Deshler, but there are several in surrounding towns within 30 minutes drive.
I believe it was 37 between the two groups. Some stayed in Hebron about 10 miles away, others in Belleville, KS or Geneva, NE. One guy stayed in his RV.
Saturday had the biggest crowd of local residents at about 100! Which is a little lower than average.
All I can say is WOW, what a great vedio. I'm still trying to wrap my head around 17 scale miles. What do they use to drive the trains. I would guys a few dcc units. Anyway it was great to see both modules. I wish we could do this in New York city.
I have trouble trying to squeeze space out of the basement.
The standard for Free-mo is Digitrax and clearly a few power boosters are needed for setups of this size.
@@RonsTrainsNThings - Thank You -- I just can't believe the space out in the country, you guys have. NYC, Brooklyn is cramped. I'm still working on my DCC++ and a Sprog-pi. My layout is small it's 4 by 6 feet.
Hi Ron ..my names William and I'm new to model railroading and I'd like to say first I enjoy your videos ... I have a question .. I'm looking in to the bacmann ez app trains and was wondering if you know anything about them ? And I like the look of the blue star ez app trains set but I didn't know if that would be a good starter set for me would you be able to give a newb like me some guidance on this ?.. thank you .. from the mile high state
Hi, William. I'm sorry but I have no experience with or knowledge of the Bachmann EZ App trains. I would advise finding a hobby shop that carries them and see if the owner or manager has some knowledge. You may also do a Facebook search for others who have experience with them. Good luck.
Ron, do you know if Dave & Deb are having their bi-annual train show this year? I've also thought about doing an HO Free-Mo module!
Theybare having the train show, last weekend in July.
Great video Ron! Isn't Deschler and Spring Creek Trains great?
There's something I'm looking to find. How to people get their modules to come together perfectly without having a special piece of track that goes between both modules? I want to be able to run track straight up to the end and have the trains keep going. I get the idea of having a brass screw or a pcb plate of sorts that the rails are soldered to, but I don't know how to make sure they always join up exactly the same, and how to install those.
Thanks Ron. I'm waaaayyy over here in Oz (Australia) and looking to build a Free-mo module; wondering if someone can explain a particular Free-mo spec to me.
Why are the single track module ends 24" wide and dual track 26" wide? I would have thought that logically the single track spec would just pick up one of the dual tracks.
Don't some get togethers involve joining both types together? I understand that you still can; but why the difference?
Thanks in advance folks.
Paul.
Nice little video!
That’s How I Roll I Model Ho And N Scale Don’t Know what Anyone Else Rolls.
So, when do you start your Free-Mo module?
That is a good question. I have considered getting involved in Free-mo when I retire in a few years and have a little more flexibility to travel.
I wish this could have went into more detail of what a Free Mo module looked like, how they join together and the different configurations of them. Looks like there was a wide variety of them there. It would have been nice to go down a section and show each module as they complete a layout.
If you are on Facebook, I do a walk around video of the HO setup. The page is Free-mo Model Railroading.
I supplied links in the video and description to the standards that give all of those details.
@@rickykeil4467 Thank You that is what I was looking for. It would be nice to see a video of the unloading and putting together to see how these modules are shipped around as well. I am thinking of putting together a home layout but am planning a move as soon as things sell so it can’t be too permanent.
@@RonsTrainsNThings Thanks I have done research on the standards, no one has done a good video of the modules coming off the vehicle and being assembled into a layout. It would also be interesting to see them being prepared to move and how that is done as well.
@@asquithmainlines699 I may still have a time lapse of a setup several years ago. No unloading though. People use all kinds of methods to transport, laying them in the bed of a truck, cases and crating systems. I can show you my crating system.
What do people usually build?
Nice Layout. Anyone catch the derailment in the very first video of the run? :)
yep at 5:45 ... hurts my eyes lol
@@tony791999 Everything runs great until you get visitors....
Are there any differences between Free Mo and the european FREMO standards?
Yes, FREMO was around first and Free-mo was adapted to US measurements. There are some other differences in them but the concept is the same.
Does Bruce have a web site or an email address where I can get ahold of him. I really like the opening and closing door.
Ron, recently I made a comment on a video of yours about electrical issues. I made comment that I felt it was irresponsible. You responded with some harsh comments about your situation in the USA. I responded by unsubscribing to your channel because I felt that you misunderstood my concerns. I truly like what you do and hope you don’t hold any hard feelings against me. I enjoyed watching this video and look forward to more. I know you are a man of the cloth and I am an atheist but this should not have any effect on our mutual enjoyment of trains. Please forgive me if I was out of line, my ignorance of your situation was uninformed and ill researched.
My apologies for any confusion about this unfortunate misunderstanding.
Regards from Melbourne Australia 🇦🇺
I didn’t come across your original comments, however I was impressed that you took the time to apologize to Ron. We’ve all had occasions in life where we speak too soon and later come to regret what was said, but not all of us man up to set things right, or at the very least attempt to do so. The internet and the ability to hide behind a keyboard makes it so easy to be judgmental and harsh these days and there is far too much of that going on.
Good on you that you took the time to do the right thing. Cheers from Canada. 🇨🇦
Hi Greg. Thanks for your comment. I would like to say that I didn't intend my previous comments to be harsh, although some comments by other viewers were certainly more harsh. I was rather trying to explan my video content. I did find the "irresponsible" comment a bit hard to swallow I must admit. That said, I certainly hold no hard feelings here, and especially so now with your comment. As for our belief system differences, I find them to be irrelevant in the context of model railroading and have always tried to keep that completely separate from my work on this channel. I consider any hatchet that may have existed here burried. Please be aware that I will leave this comment up for a day to make sure you have time to read this (please give some acknowledging reply when you do), but then I will take it down. That is no reflection on you, it just doesn't contribute to the video topic and can get people caught up in the "drama." Thanks again and I look forward to seeing you around TH-cam.
@@RonsTrainsNThings Ron, thank you for your very gracious reply. This is the best hobby in the world and we should all be supportive of each other’s efforts. I have always enjoyed your videos and learned from them. I never meant anything by my comments. Here in Australia the law says only licensed electricians can do mains power so it was a knee jerk reaction. No harm intended.
Please understand I am a big fan of your channel...
With great respect and sincerity,
Gregory Bowen
@@dexterdog62 Thank you for the nice comments. I am truly apologetic about the way I said some things and I know that I should be better informed about what I comment upon in the future. I’m glad this is behind us and we can all get back to enjoying the best hobby in the world...
@@gregbowen617 Thanks for the reply!
Ron how are you going to get all excited and get us all excited and not show us the figure 8 turn around :P lol
derailment at 5:39,
Ouch, that derailment at 5:45