# New Club Building and Unitrack question



## Fifer

I have secured a building at the Southern New Mexico Fair Grounds to house a VERY small group of guys to start a club in. Free rent free electric and bathrooms.
My actual question is does anyone know of any club that is currently using Unitrack simply for the ease of use and no under table accessories?
We would do DCC up front as well.

Mike


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## sstlaure

All of the club layouts I've seen have typically been flextrack. The only time I say the Kato unitrack used was on a recent Model Railroader project build.


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## Fifer

It has been some time since I have posted on this but we have made great progress and we now have a web site up so all can keep up with the progress.
Please let us have your comments.

http://www.las-cruces-model-railroad-clubs.com/html/n_scale.html

Mike


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## Fifer

Current News

We had a work session on Wednesday the 15th of August and several members attended. 

We were able to get the yard ladders put together and got about 70% of the unitrack laid out for the test fit.

So far so good and really seems to be taking a shape now. When you see it in person it has a lot of vacant real estate for the future.

We have a Business meeting and work session this Saturday August the 18th at 9:00 AM for all who would like to attend.

Special Thanks to ALL of our members who have been adding sweat equity as well as funds and have made it possible to make great progress on the building and to all of our members for the support and ideas.

Ross came to the building today and is ahead on dues and has put his $50.00 into the ring as well for the tables , Thanks Ross.
We also have all of the bus wire we need as well as some feeder drop wire as well.
Bad news is we need to come up with $250.00 for our half of the insurance which was paid by the HO group last month.

We also need everyone to consider if and when you may be able to work at the fair grounds during the fair. The fair dates are the 3rd through the 7th of October.

Also bring a locomotive to run on saturday. We will not have all the track done but will have a Digitrax Zephyr and MRC pack there for pictures and test runs.


I have updated the page.
http://www.las-cruces-model-railroad-clubs.com/html/n_scale.html

Also Donnie and Laura Joule in Las Vegas are sending some more track our way as well!!

Thanks , Mike
http://www.fiferhobby.com


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## Carl

Mike.......Very nice to see the progress on your club's layout.


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## Fifer

Carl said:


> Mike.......Very nice to see the progress on your club's layout.


Thanks Carl , you just need to move closer !!!!!!



Mike


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## Carl

Well Mike........moving to New Mexico is not really on my bucket list...hard to leave the Gulf Coast waters. Keep us up to-date on the progress of the club

Carl


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## Fifer

Carl said:


> Well Mike........moving to New Mexico is not really on my bucket list...hard to leave the Gulf Coast waters. Keep us up to-date on the progress of the club
> 
> Carl


OK , but it is a dry heat !!!!!










Mike


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## Fifer

I have updated the page as of today 8/31/2012.
http://www.las-cruces-model-railroad-clubs.com/html/n_scale.html


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## Carl

That really is a very nice layout you folks are putting together. Hope the Air Conditioner is working.


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## Fifer

Carl said:


> That really is a very nice layout you folks are putting together. Hope the Air Conditioner is working.


Thanks Carl , The cooler works fine but we did have trouble with the Homasote sagging so it came off and foam went down.

Mike


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## gunrunnerjohn

That will be a very impressive N-scale layout, you'll have room for some impressive running! Too bad you can't make that a modular layout and take it on the road for shows. Are you planning on having public shows when you get it running?


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## Fifer

gunrunnerjohn said:


> That will be a very impressive N-scale layout, you'll have room for some impressive running! Too bad you can't make that a modular layout and take it on the road for shows. Are you planning on having public shows when you get it running?


Thanks John , Yes we will be open for many events at the fair grounds. 
I have no desire to do any road show stuff. Have been there and done that.
Mike


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## gunrunnerjohn

We did our first modular show, it was a hoot. It is a lot of work, but the smiles on the faces of all the kids makes it all worthwhile.


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## Fifer

gunrunnerjohn said:


> We did our first modular show, it was a hoot. It is a lot of work, but the smiles on the faces of all the kids makes it all worthwhile.


True and agreed but we have so far to go to anywhere that would entertain modules.

Mike


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## gunrunnerjohn

Yep, it's a different style of building, that's for sure. Also, there are a lot of limitations that you don't have for a fixed setup.


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## flyvemaskin

*unitrak by Kato*

Well, being as you folks have begun, no need for advice. I live in Luna, Nm and my club is a T-TRAK club and most of our track is kato unitrack, and personally I like it. 
You folks are lucky beyond belief to have a place like that for a club project, make sure you stay on the good side of the building owner. I'd kill for that building. My group uses the T-TRAK modules cause we have no place for a home layout. I live in a three bedroom home, just me and the wife, and I'm not allowed a layout room, nor another shed outside for a layout. So count your blessings guys.


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## sstlaure

Really nice area to work in....coming along great.


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## Fifer

sstlaure said:


> Really nice area to work in....coming along great.


Thanks so much Scott.
We are having fun!!!!

Mike


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## Carl

Mike......Glad to hear you having fun.


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## Fifer

Carl said:


> Mike......Glad to hear you having fun.


My fun out there is now somewhat limited as I have a new job so will have to make it out when I can.
Mike


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## Fifer

Here is the updated page from today 12/15/2012.

http://www.las-cruces-model-railroad-clubs.com/html/n_scale.html

Thanks , Mike


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## Carl

Very nice Mike.....the progress is outstanding


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## matt785115

that is a wonderful space you guys have. looks like a lot of fun, can wait to see more updates!


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## Fifer

Well, we are making great progress so far and the county is now in charge of the grounds. It seems as though the county will do some exterior repairs to the building and help us as they are able.

http://www.las-cruces-model-railroad-clubs.com/html/n_scale.html

I would like to take a moment and thank all of the people who have contributed funds and products to our layout.

Mike


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## gunrunnerjohn

That should be one impressive display!


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## pmcgurin

That's an impressive layout. It will be a lot of fun for you to run on it.


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## santafe158

Great work on the layout. I'm a big fan of the Unitrack system. My dad has a Kato N scale starter set with that system and I just bought a loop for my HO collection. At a recent show I saw a modular club using the system and it looked pretty good.

Keep up the good work!


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## Carl

Must say, you folks are doing a great job.


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## Fifer

hanks to all of you for the kind words and we are making prtty good progress. I just uploaded some new pics today from yesterdays work.
We got a few bridges in and the refinery is coming along well.
Thanks all , Mike

:thumbsup:


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## Fifer

Here is the latest news and pictures of the club.

http://www.las-cruces-model-railroad-clubs.com/html/n_scale.html

Mike


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## Fifer

Well Gents, we had an open house last week and fairly good attendance for our area and the fact we are 16 miles outside town.
We have gotten the fascia up and the top edge cut and will soon move on to our hybrid skirting (hard and soft combo).

http://www.las-cruces-model-railroad-clubs.com/html/n_scale.html










Mike


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## Carl

My goodness, a open house. That is great news for your club, Mike. Glad to hear that you have progresses to the point of an Open House.


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## Fifer

Carl said:


> My goodness, a open house. That is great news for your club, Mike. Glad to hear that you have progresses to the point of an Open House.


Thanks Carl , Ohhh Yeahhhhh we are havin FUN !!!!
:thumbsup:

Mike


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## gunrunnerjohn

It's great to have all that space.


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## Fifer

gunrunnerjohn said:


> It's great to have all that space.


Well yes but we tend tobuild stuff too large.

Mike


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## outlaw bill

Congrats on the open house, Mike. :thumbsup: How soon before we can start seeing pics of the progress? And keep up the good work. Bill.


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## Fifer

outlaw bill said:


> Congrats on the open house, Mike. :thumbsup: How soon before we can start seeing pics of the progress? And keep up the good work. Bill.


Thanks Bill , I try to keep up pictures on the club site which is the link above the photo.
I need to do a video maybe ?!

Mike


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## Carl

Another video.........


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## Fifer

Here is the latest from the Southern New Mexico N Scalers.
We are happy to announce we had a huge donation from a couple in Alamogordo NM of nearly $5000.00 worth of N scale structures and supplies.
We have all of the fascia and hard skirting painted and are currently working on the sky board.
Please take a moment to look at our web page.

http://www.las-cruces-model-railroad-clubs.com/html/n_scale.html

Here is a static recent shot.



















Mike


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## Carl

Progress.............looks good, Mike


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## Fifer

Well here we go with a new video of the Southern New Mexico N Scalers.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uoc59WBgkpA

Thanks , Mike


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## eljefe

First time I've come across this thread, but that is a pretty neat project your club is putting together. I take it you're located near Las Cruces?

The video made a comment about your building being a former military barracks. Is the fair grounds on a former base? What kind of base was it?

You need to work a little Jeff Gordon car in the layout somewhere to go with your hat!


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## Fifer

eljefe said:


> First time I've come across this thread, but that is a pretty neat project your club is putting together. I take it you're located near Las Cruces?
> 
> The video made a comment about your building being a former military barracks. Is the fair grounds on a former base? What kind of base was it?
> 
> You need to work a little Jeff Gordon car in the layout somewhere to go with your hat!


Thanks Jefe , Yes the Fair Grounds are on an old military radar training base but the buildings were first used in the building of Elephant Butte Dam on the Rio Grande River by the WPA and later moved to the base.
As for Jeff we are planning a small racetrack and already have the Micro cars. All we need is time !!!!!

Mike


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## eljefe

Las Cruces is WAAAAY down there, but if I'm ever in the neighborhood, I'll have to check this place out!


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## Fifer

eljefe said:


> Las Cruces is WAAAAY down there, but if I'm ever in the neighborhood, I'll have to check this place out!


That would be WAAAAAAY cool!!!!
:smilie_daumenpos:
Mike


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## Fifer

Well , we survived another State Fair here with lots of visitors and lots of fun as well.
Here is the updated page on the website with new pictures. 

http://www.las-cruces-model-railroad-clubs.com/html/n_scale.html

Thanks , Mike


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## marzbarz

Looking nice as always!


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## Fifer

marzbarz said:


> Looking nice as always!


Thanks Marz , You should come up and maybe think about joining.
Thanks , Mike


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## Fifer

Here is a short video of the Kato FEF running on the SNMNS layout.

http://youtu.be/DYBTKqqe64Y

Mike


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## Fifer

Hi guys , this is just a quick video spot I shot at our run session last Saturday. We had a few visitors and everyone had a great time. We did have one small problem and that was we did not have enough throttles. Everyone shared though and lots of trains were run.

https://youtu.be/7SH2K7wBwaE

Thanks for taking a look.
Mike


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## Fire21

Wow, what a nice layout! Love all the room you have...makes for long runs for long trains. Thanks for showing us that. :smilie_daumenpos:


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## Fifer

Fire21 said:


> Wow, what a nice layout! Love all the room you have...makes for long runs for long trains. Thanks for showing us that. :smilie_daumenpos:


Thanks Fire , good to have you take a look.
Mike


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## Fifer

Good Morning Guys and Gals , Here is a link to the video of yesterdays run day at the N Scale Southern New Mexico N Scalers Layout.

http://youtu.be/lVjodhpeR5I

Thanks , Mike


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## DonR

Nice work. Beautiful layout and oh how we all envy the space
you have to work in.

don


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## Fifer

DonR said:


> Nice work. Beautiful layout and oh how we all envy the space
> you have to work in.
> 
> don


Thanks Don, We have a great deal here but it is getting to the point of needing something done with the corrugated roof and we do not have funds for it.
Mike


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## Fire21

Sorry to hear of the building and financial problems, but I agree with Don...it's a great layout and awesome space!


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## Fifer

Fire21 said:


> Sorry to hear of the building and financial problems, but I agree with Don...it's a great layout and awesome space!


The building is free to us as long as we need it BUT we need a roof repair.
We will figure out something I guess.
Thanks , Mike


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## Bone1977

If you have solid supports you could always do aluminum roofing sheets.


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## Bone1977

Also very nice layout. I love the amount of details and modules you can cram into a good sized N Scale layout.


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## Fifer

Bone1977 said:


> If you have solid supports you could always do aluminum roofing sheets.


Thanks Phil but it is a Quonset hut type roof and I have no idea how to fix it ,built like that.
Thanks , Mike


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## Fifer

Bone1977 said:


> Also very nice layout. I love the amount of details and modules you can cram into a good sized N Scale layout.


Thanks Phil, While it is not modular it is sectional (in case we ever loose the building).
Thanks , Mike
:smilie_daumenpos:


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## Fire21

Fifer said:


> Thanks Phil but it is a Quonset hut type roof and I have no idea how to fix it ,built like that.
> Thanks , Mike


Sounds like it will take some sort of rubberized coating or layers to fix it...


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## Fifer

Fire21 said:


> Sounds like it will take some sort of rubberized coating or layers to fix it...


That was sort of my thought as well , or even foam.
Mike


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## Fifer

Newest layout Video.






Mike


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## Fire21

Excellent! You guys do great work! :appl:


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## Fifer

Fire21 said:


> Excellent! You guys do great work! :appl:


Thanks so much for the kind words. It is a pretty good mixture of talent.
Mike :smilie_daumenpos:


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