I am thinking about building an HO scale module and was wondering what are the most popular specifications to build it to, and where do I find them. There is not an HO modular group in my area, so if I build this, I would like for it to be able to work with others if I ever get the chance to participate in a modular layout.
Hi Ken:
Here is a link to the NMRA module standards. Scroll down a bit:
http://www.nmra.org/index-nmra-standards-and-recommended-practices
Dave
The most popular at the present time in HO is probably Free-mo
I’ve been grappling with this myself lately. I just broke down my 2x16 layout ahead of a move and I doubt I’ll reassemble it any time soon. We have active modular HO clubs in both of the common module standards.
I’m leading towards the NMRA-style module myself. Those seem to be more rigidly designed clubs with a penchant for continous running. But the frontloaded track hems you in design-wise.
The Free-Mo guys come across as more open and more loosely affiliated. They lean towards more point to point running (the free form shape makes it hard to build a loop and the balloon track modules are enormous (so you don’t see a lot of them)). I like the ability to break free of the demands of the front loaded, relatively straight track of the NMRA style that Freemo affords.
I’d suggest the Free-Mo, really, if there wasn’t a club in my area. The whole “anyone is welcome” angle that those guys have means you do have more mobility and opens at shows.
Although, if you’ve got the space, you could go with one of each!
One nice thing about FREMO is you can pretty accurately depict many actual prototype locations. I have seen masny FREMO modules that without being told I knew exactly tle location they representated. Other standards (the NMRA for instance) are so rigid that doing so more difficult to impossible for most locations. Very good loking modules can be built in either standard.
The trouble with rhe module standards is they always use complex ways to hook them together, especially the electrical. Unless you are joining a module club, do your own and if you do a 2’x4’ as your basic, you can always do a transition should you join a club. Another note on module construction, you have to build it light if you ever want to move it, I have a 4’x4’ module loop fit into my layout (30’x15’+ and all modules) that I can pick up with one hand (could use just 2 fingers till I used a lot of plaster).
While there are some clubs that have that do have connection standards that require jigs to layout and may have complicated electrical standards, they are local not national standards. Neither the NMRA nor the FREMO connection and electrical standards are complex. Just read and understand them, test your work, and ask questions if you don’t understand something. If possible look under existing modules at a setup to see how others have done it.
As rrebell says make them as light as possible, but remember they must also be strong and dimensionally stable. If you use good quality materiala and good construction methods, as recommended on the Module standards sites, both goals can be achieved.
I guess this may be a dumb follow up question to add to this post, but I’m just back to model railroading the last couple of years so here goes. What exactly does the term free-mo stand for? I gather it means a more free lance type of modular setup, but I have not actually heard a good definition yet, so please can anyone confirm that or explain it for me? I was away for more than 20 years and have a lot of catching up to do.
From http://www.fremo-net.eu/index.php?id=23&L=6
“FREMO stands for “Freundeskreis Europäischer MOdellbahner”, translated Friendship of European railway modellers. In the USA there is another club, the Free-Mo for Free form Modules. Both clubs, the European and the American, are absolutely independent, but joined by common goals.”
Thanks DS, that does help clear things up and give me a better understanding.
I’ll check out the links from the other posts too and see what might be my best option.
Ken, this is a U-Tube video of a FREMO event that was in a posting from 2014. It is long, but with the on board ‘cab ride’ video, you can see what it is all about.
Awesome video. Thanks for sharing the link. I think I understand the Free-Mo concept better now. And thanks to everyone for helping me understand the differences better.
I just got back from a large public show last weekend. Our club had a modular railroad there. Ours is wood framed 2 ft x 6 ft modules held together with C clamps and stood up on PVC pipe legs. Three main lines, HO, DC. Setup takes about an hour and a half with 6 guys and teardown takes about 45 minutes. The modules are transported on steel racks with wheels in a tandem trailer.
It all depends on why you are doing the modules. If you are just making a movable layout either Freemo or your own standard will work fine. If you want to do public shows there are other considerations.
At the show I was at there was a Freemo group with a layout as large as a basketball court. Some of the scenery was magnificant, some was non existant, bare plywood where something will go someday. There were hardly any members of the public in the gym at any one time. Truth be told, the layout was way too high for small kids to see it and there was usually one train plodding along realistically somewhere on the horizon, just like a real railroad. Not enough to hold the public’s interest though very realistic from an operator’s standpoint.
At the other extreme were the tinplaters and Legos. Multiple trains running, low layout height, minimal scenery or mainly operating accessories, and lots of kids and adults around watching it. Boring and not real realistic to run but very popular.
There were many private layouts there, typically 4 ft x 8 ft or so, maybe smaller in small scales. Scenery and operating trains intense and the whole layout could be seen at a glance. They were popular, but the crowds didn’t linger.
In the middle are the Ntrack or similar HO modules with multiple main lines, varying amounts of scenery, and mainly a large loop setup. Also boring to run, but a train going by every 30 secnds or