The G&O N-trak club wishes to build an entry module for our travelling layout. Duck-unders are not appropriate for our older members. Online research has produced only 2 sources; the Teton Short Line and the Pocatello. Neither seems to meet our needs.
must be portable
light enough to be carried by 2 adults
must carry all N-trak required wiring
Any plans, comments or whatever would be appreciated.
Bill Estes
Quick Google search reveals:
“Geezer Gate” by David Derway (scroll down to bottom of the page)
There may be more, I didn’t go past page 1
At the the N Scale traction resource page, NCatanery, halfway down the page are two weblinks:
NTrak.org, and a 2-page T-Trak Module PDF on how to construct N-Trak-compatible benchwork with corner module trackage tips. Here is the N-Trak weblink to organizations all over the globe.
Cuyama, Thanks, this is almost exactly what we are looking for.
Bill
Check out the “Geezer Gate” that Nashville N-Trak uses.
We built one last summer for our HO modular layout. Instead of using wood, we built the frame out of 1" x 1" x 1/8" (1 x 1) square steel tubing. We like using this because of the temperature extremes our layout sees in Minnesota. It works great.
Ours is built to our standard 6’ long x 2 ft wide but there is no reason it couldn’t be put in a 4’ module, especially if the opening were a little narrower. It helps if you can weld, though this could possibly be built using hardware and sheet metal screws to hold things together.
Starting on the bottom, we cut parallel 1 x 1 running the length of the module with 1 x 1 across at each end and at the crossing area.
We then drilled in a drill press 7/16" holes vertically through the tube near the crossover area. We then welded on a 3/8" nut on the bottom of the tube on each hole and a second on the top of each hole. We then drilled out the top nut with a 3/8" bit. These holes are for leveling the module. We threaded a 3/8" x 6" carrage bolt through the hole with the head on the bottom and plug welded a 3/8" nut on the top of the bolt for an adjusting wrench.
We then welded together the bottom frame, making sure it was flat and square.
Next were 6" vertical risers welded to the bottom frame at each corner and the walk through area.
We then made up foldable leg sections using 13" long 1 x 1. Two sections were butted together and attached with a hinge. A hinge was then welded to the ends on the opposite side. This will eventually allow the legs to be collapsed and form a locked “knee” when up.
When the legs are set up, we secure the joints with 1/8 x 3/4" strip welded to one side of the joint and bolted to the leg with a 3/8" bolt and welded on nut on the other side. We then attached the