#modular_monday No. 4 Modules types show how variety goes along with standards. The following lines base on n scale. All standards I know of have in common that they are 40cm wide. The length may be set individually but a scheme of steps in 30 cm has become standard. By experience 120 cm are just the size that you can still handle alone and carry around. So the most typical dimensions are 40 by 120 cm. Half of this is the most common size for small modules, because two of those match with the long ones and fit in the same boxes or match for stacking. With size set, you will decide for either centered track positions (and the FREMO world) or discentered track positions (and the INGANET world). Besides: whereas INGANET defines 3 cm as trackdistance, the more prototypical 2,5 cm is standard with FREMO. A modeller´s club from the UK that follows the INGANET standard is the West Sussex N Gauge Society https://www.wsng.co.uk/ngs.htm. With centered track positions there is no distinct left or right hand side of a module; you may turn them around by 180 degrees and they will still align. In the universe of discentered tracks the tracks usually run closer to the viewers side, making this the front side, which is often referred to as „North“. Discentered tracks allow for more room for landscape and builts in the other two thirds of the module´s depth, i.e. "behind the tracks" (see pic 1). Discentered tracks allow for some variety as the layout may change sides and tracks may run behind the scene on the opposite side to the viewers. You then need „side-changing modules“ (like pic2) as a type of module foreign to the FREMOs. Yet the FREMOs make up for it by offering variation through different shapes of modules „heads“. Whereas INGANET defines a flat silhouette on both sides of the track, you will find slopes on one or boths sides or elevated track beds with the FREMO standard. Besides both distinct in double or single track modules. There is on last distinction on module types you should take into account. The "track modules" have only a straight piece of track with no turnouts, sidings or interchanges. All this is key to the "functional modules" (see pic 3). On show layouts it needs an operator at the functional spots with track modules in between them. This is pretty straight forward because I skipped all "curved modules". They assure for much part of the variety in layouts and are good for a closer look on their own. As a lesson for life it is always worth to stay flexible within your standards. This is provided by "joker modules" (see pic 4) that allow for interchange in between standards. In modular model railroading Joker is the nice guy.😉

Posted by jo-bahN at 2022-02-20 21:24:23 UTC