All in favor of a modual Club
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CAT345C
- RedNeck Train Chaser
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All in favor of a modual Club
Whos in favor of forming a modual club of HO scale in the greater Oakland/Wayne/Washtenaw/Livingston County area? We should all meet somewhere and discuss this if anyone wants to give it a whirl.
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AARR
- Incognito and Irrelevant
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If I had time I'd join with you guys. Good luck and keep us posted.
PatC created a monster, 'cause nobody wants to see Don Simon no more they want AARR I'm chopped liver, well if you want AARR this is what I'll give ya, bad humor mixed with irrelevant info that'll make you roll your eyes quicker than a ~Z~ banhammer...
Geographic location isn't that big of a deal with a modular club, assuming you're not getting together to run trains all that often. Rails on Wheels is sort of based in Ann Arbor-Saline, but has members in Toledo, and even in London, Ontario. The club's modules are stored in a trailer that lives at one of the member's house, which means the club isn't dependent on individuals having to bring their modules in order to set up and run things.
RoW basically runs their modular layout at various model railroad shows. They won't commit to setting up and running at a show unless they know they have at least eight members who will help with setup and tear-down, as I can attest it is quite physically laborious in doing those!
Basic thoughts for a modular club are:
* Pick a set of standards such as length & height of modules, also how many tracks and how far from a particular edge.
* Where to store modules-- in a central location? At individual homes?
* DCC? Which system?
* Wiring standards--what kinds of connectors/polarity to connect modules.
Obviously, folks can pay for their own private modules, although there may be some shared costs for "club" modules such as corners and yards. Also, the DCC system should be purchased out of club funds.
-- Garry K
RoW basically runs their modular layout at various model railroad shows. They won't commit to setting up and running at a show unless they know they have at least eight members who will help with setup and tear-down, as I can attest it is quite physically laborious in doing those!
Basic thoughts for a modular club are:
* Pick a set of standards such as length & height of modules, also how many tracks and how far from a particular edge.
* Where to store modules-- in a central location? At individual homes?
* DCC? Which system?
* Wiring standards--what kinds of connectors/polarity to connect modules.
Obviously, folks can pay for their own private modules, although there may be some shared costs for "club" modules such as corners and yards. Also, the DCC system should be purchased out of club funds.
-- Garry K
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fmilhaupt
- Railroadfan...fan
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- Location: Ann Arbor, MI
- Contact:
This might be of interest to anyone who wants to be involved in a new modular club.
On Tuesday, May 20, John Young will present a general introduction to Free-Mo, with a view towards what it will take to get a Southeast Michigan Free-Mo group off the ground. Topics to be covered include:
* A discussion of what the Free-Mo idea is, and what it can be used to achieve.
* An overview of the core module specs. This is not intended to be a detailed discussion of them.
* The costs involved. Both to build a module, and to host a meet.
* Source materials, and suggestions about what constitutes adequate construction techniques.
* Mini-mos, and their use.
* Control systems and electrical requirements
* A display of some Free-Mo modules
This will be held at the Livonia Senior Center at Five Mile and Farmington Roads, starting at 7:30pm.
If you're not familiar with Free-Mo, you can find a basic introduction at http://www.free-mo.org . It's a change from the traditional "double-track raceway" style of modules, and lends itself very well to modeling prototype scenes. It is extremely flexible: Module lengths can vary and modules don't need to be rectangular. It isn't really designed to be set up as a large oval, like the traditional module arrangements.
While much of the initial activity in Free-Mo has taken place on the West Coast, there has been a very active group in the Cleveland area for a number of years, and another group is starting in Dayton.
At last year's National Train Show, a few Great Lakes-area Free-Mo groups got together to assemble the Free-Mo line that was connected to the North Carolina Switching & Sipping Society's enormous layout.
A couple of us have already begun building Free-Mo modules, and have built a set which models Annpere junction. It is operable, with the basic ground cover in place. I believe that John will be showing that module on the 20th.
On Tuesday, May 20, John Young will present a general introduction to Free-Mo, with a view towards what it will take to get a Southeast Michigan Free-Mo group off the ground. Topics to be covered include:
* A discussion of what the Free-Mo idea is, and what it can be used to achieve.
* An overview of the core module specs. This is not intended to be a detailed discussion of them.
* The costs involved. Both to build a module, and to host a meet.
* Source materials, and suggestions about what constitutes adequate construction techniques.
* Mini-mos, and their use.
* Control systems and electrical requirements
* A display of some Free-Mo modules
This will be held at the Livonia Senior Center at Five Mile and Farmington Roads, starting at 7:30pm.
If you're not familiar with Free-Mo, you can find a basic introduction at http://www.free-mo.org . It's a change from the traditional "double-track raceway" style of modules, and lends itself very well to modeling prototype scenes. It is extremely flexible: Module lengths can vary and modules don't need to be rectangular. It isn't really designed to be set up as a large oval, like the traditional module arrangements.
While much of the initial activity in Free-Mo has taken place on the West Coast, there has been a very active group in the Cleveland area for a number of years, and another group is starting in Dayton.
At last year's National Train Show, a few Great Lakes-area Free-Mo groups got together to assemble the Free-Mo line that was connected to the North Carolina Switching & Sipping Society's enormous layout.
A couple of us have already begun building Free-Mo modules, and have built a set which models Annpere junction. It is operable, with the basic ground cover in place. I believe that John will be showing that module on the 20th.
Last edited by fmilhaupt on Wed May 14, 2008 2:31 pm, edited 1 time in total.
-Fritz Milhaupt
Fritz, did you mean the Livonia Senior Center on *Farmington* Rd just south of Five Mile Rd in Livonia?fmilhaupt wrote:This might be of interest to anyone who wants to be involved in a new modular club.
On Tuesday, May 20, John Young will present a general introduction to Free-Mo, with a view towards what it will take to get a Southeast Michigan Free-Mo group off the ground. Topics to be covered include:
[...]
This will be held at the Livonia Senior Center at Five Mile Road and Middlebelt, starting at 7:30pm.
[...]
Garry K