Top: 36 inches wide and 70 inches long.
Use either wafer board or plywood 1/4" or 3/8" thickness. You
don't want your module too heavy to carry. When you buy the board you want, have Home
Depot or Lowe's cut the board to 70 inches long and then cut lengthwise so that the top
board is exactly 36 inches wide and 70 inches long. This allows 7 pieces of 10 inch straight track to be laid down for
the two mainlines. The piece that is cut off will be 70 inches long and about 11-7/8
inches wide. This will be your backboard.
Backboard: Approx. 6 inches tall and 70 inches long. They are
usually made from remnant of wafer board
or plywood and should be painted a pale blue.
Side Boards and Supports: Use five (5) 1x4x6 pine boards.
Make sure these boards are straight and not twisted or bowed. You will
need the instructions to be able to put it together unless a club member is there to help
you.
Four Legs made from 2x2 boards. Top board height is exactly 36
inches. Your legs will be cut last and will be slightly less than 36 inches long.
Subtract the board thickness from 36 to get the correct length. These boards must also be
very straight.
Other items needed:
Four clamps to clamp your module sides to the modules on either side of yours.
Screw - 1-1/2 inches long are best to screw all the parts together.
Paint the backboard sky blue; add personal touches if you are an
artist; clouds, mountains, buildings, etc
We use outdoor carpeting to cover the top board. We staple it down - NO
Glue. Currently we are looking for a source for this material.
Every now and then Lowes or some other hardware store will have it
available. You just have to watch for it and get it whenever it
becomes available. It usually goes out quickly too.
You will need to keep your module dry so it does not warp. You will
also need a way to transport it to the train shows we attend, keeping it dry out of the rain or snow. Most club members use a
truck, van or trailer - use whatever works for you.
Each module must have two mainline tracks that have only wide
radius curves. All other tracks may
be designed and constructed according to the personal preferences of the builder.
Each module must have a clear plastic panel 2 inches high
attached to the front of the module at all shows in order reduce the chance engines or
cars will fall to the floor in the event of a derailment. The plastic
strips are held in place by 2.5 inch dowls. Quarter inch holes are
drilled into the front of the module about every 12 inches and the
dowls are inserted into them at the start of the show and them removed at
the end.
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