# Module question.



## jhon weaver (Oct 14, 2018)

are there any books, or any reference materials that give advice on building them. i want my lay to be able to move as we do, but i want some durability and easy of assembly. so that one mod is a switching yard, then another is a industry and so forth. thank you.


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## CTValleyRR (Jul 26, 2014)

jhon weaver said:


> are there any books, or any reference materials that give advice on building them. i want my lay to be able to move as we do, but i want some durability and easy of assembly. so that one mod is a switching yard, then another is a industry and so forth. thank you.


The question is not "are there any books or reference materials", but how do you find out which ones are the most useful.

I would say check out Model Railroad Hobbyist magazine (www.model-railroad-hobbyist.com).

This is a terrific on-line (only) magazine and is a great resource. If you only read one publication in this hobby, that should be it in my opinion. It is subscriber-only, but since it's free to subscribe, why not?

In addition to hundreds of articles on various topics, for about the last 2 years now, they have been advocating TOMA, or "The One Module Approach", which basically advocates building an entire layout of any size as a series of modules. You will find dozens of descriptions of how people design and build modules. And it's fully indexed so it's easy to find the articles you want.


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## jhon weaver (Oct 14, 2018)

thank you:sold:


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## DonR (Oct 18, 2012)

All those books and web sites can be very helpful
but sometimes what they suggest can be very
complex and expensive.

Building a modular based layout is actually quite
simple.

Measure the space you'll have available for your
first module. Decide the size that you will build.
It should be 5' wide by, say 4 or so feet long.
(you can get a 22" radius curve in the 5' width).

Get 1"X3' or 1"X4" lumber and a supply of screws
and bolts. Never use nails.

Make a frame of the 1X3s screwing it together.
If longer than 4' add a cross brace. 

Construct legs using 2 1X3s screwed together in
an L shape. Bolt these in the 4 corners. Build 
such additional modules of whatever size to
create the end size of your layout. Bolt the
modules together. Drill several holes where the
frames abutt for future wires. You may want
to add leveling devices to your benchwork legs.

Use 1/4" plywood for a top with perhaps 2"
foam on that. The foam depth makes possible
ditches, ponds and the like. The plywood is
screwed on, the foam is attached by some
adhesive, but use it very sparingly.

You can add similar modules later on as your layout
grows. They may be larger or smaller as you
layout design requires.

Don


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## D&J Railroad (Oct 4, 2013)

Here is a module system that I put together to use with the modular club I'm a member of. This picture is when I was doing work on them in my living room.
There are four modules, each one is 5' long. They meet the NMRA module standards at the ends to include wiring. I transport them in a box that I can slide into the back of my pickup truck. The last picture is the modules set up at the Timonium show. My modules are on the right.


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## Chaostrain (Jan 27, 2015)

NMRA actually has specifications for building modules. It's worth taking a look at on their website. 

That being said we're building on 6' folding tables.


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## CTValleyRR (Jul 26, 2014)

Chaostrain said:


> NMRA actually has specifications for building modules. It's worth taking a look at on their website.
> 
> That being said we're building on 6' folding tables.


But again, the question is " do you plan to mate your models with those of others?" If you don't, using some set of outside specs will only limit what you can do. The modular concept can be applied to a home layout by building a section at a time, and you only need to worry about the interface to the next one you build, so it can be whatever you need it to be to suit your layout.


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## traction fan (Oct 5, 2014)

*Sectional/modular layout*



jhon weaver said:


> are there any books, or any reference materials that give advice on building them. i want my lay to be able to move as we do, but i want some durability and easy of assembly. so that one mod is a switching yard, then another is a industry and so forth. thank you.


 jhon;

Kalmbach publishing https://kalmbachhobbystore.com/products/books Has a book called "Building Sectional Layouts." You may find the info you want there. 
Technically, a "module" is a part of a model railroad specifically designed to mate with other modules built to the same standards.
If you don't care about doing that, then (again technically speaking) you are building a "sectional" layout. It does not need to be compatible with anybody's standards but your own. 
The technical terminology isn't really important. The terms "modular" and "sectional" are often used interchangeably. The only reason I brought the terms up at all was to illustrate the difference between the two different concepts. What does matter is which type of layout you want to build. The key question has been asked, Do you want to be able to connect to the modules of others or not? 

Traction Fan:smilie_daumenpos:


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