Very Lightweight Modules

Very nice!  It certainly would be lightweight and easy to set up!

Bill nice to see you doing something with your trains, I had herd they were all packed up and in storage and hadn't seen you on the forum. 

That is an interesting, speedy setup. Tell us more about heritage day, when and where etc.

Very cool, Like the use of tubular track. This would be fun to use at a back yard party.

Let your friends see your trains in action.

Cheers from Michigan

Gary

I cut out two more 80 x 7.5 straights today and painted one side of them.  Still need 2 more.  Might get them all done in time if I just spend an hour a day...

heck this section I instantly thought lightweight tunnel out of pink foam doesn't have to be attached just made to fit and taken with you when you setup  and set over the track for scenery.

Funny I was vaguely thinking about a tunnel on tHe straights!

Nice idea, Bill!  Better yet, you are taking the trains to the people!

This is one of the O45 / O54 half turns.

They will fit nested inside the O72 / O81 turns.

Prepping four new 80 x 7.5 inch two track straights as well. 

All four are cut, sanded and painted.  One even has track. 

Next steps: complete trackage on the other 3 straights, add little round half circles for rubber bands and lastly test them out!  (clear off deck furniture!)

That is really cool.  I like the idea of using half circles of wood on each piece to hold them together.  There was a fellow on the forum awhile back that had some straight sections of 2" thick blue foam that had dowels inserted on both sides at each end.  They protruded about an inch and were wraped with rubber bands to join them.  Cleaver ideas.

Darrell,

For several years I would do this one day show with just track on on banquet tables.  It would move around and each piece of track needed a rubber band to hold it to the next... 

That led me to this

Neat Idea Bill, maybe we can do that for NPOG modules, they'd be a lot easier to transport!

John after many years of modular, I have come to the value speed of setup and ease of transportation in a whole new way

I haven't done it nearly as long as you Bill, and I already see the value.

I was testing the modules today on my deck.

Four loops total, 042(O45),   O54, O72 and O81

All the wire connectors checked out ok. 

I did find that some of the semi-circles that hold the rubber bands popped off. They were only glued.  So I re-glued and then secured them further with wire cable ties.

Lastly you see the bright morning sun on my deck. That makes for bad photos with the high contrast to the shady parts. 

However the sun also did a job on my Z4000.  I left a Z4000 in the sun for about 30 minutes while I took lunch.  That was enough to set the unit into overheat mode!  Put it in the shade and put a fan on it for about 15 minutes to get it operational again.

PS - See I did actually clean the deck!

Well... sort of.

There's no evidence you actually tested the modules, I don't see a single locomotive or car.

John, It sure does look that way...

Zoom way in on Pics 1, 2 and 4 and you can see a little black box that is actually an MTH Rail King PRR E33!

It was hot in the sun, so I did not pull out cars and stuff :-)

I will be under a tent for Heritage Day.

I know about the sort of clean, now that the deck is a little clean its much easier to see that it needs to be refinished...  It's never ending.

My deck looks the same way, except it's not clean.

My deck is pristine, having just been rebuilt and looking brand new, because, well . . .  it is.  I have been warned that if I try to set up trains there, or in the backyard, I can start planning to move out.  My wife likes my trains - in their place.  She had told me the backyard is not that place!

I have to say that there is a certain appeal to the plain green board, sliver track and black ties. 

My friend Simon would call it minimalist.

Lee, from the looks of your layout and your project list, I'd say your wife is pretty understanding, don't rock the boat!