Initial Modules

So far I have built 4 of my module bases: The Peace River Bridge, what I call Peace River Industrial, the Peace River Depot (the corner module) and the Heart River Bridge modules.

I made my module bases out of steel stud and foam tops. Even at 30” by 90” the modules end up being extremely light weight and sturdy. I can lift a 30” by 90” module easily with one hand. By very scientific means (standing on the bathroom scale with and without the module) I weighed a standard 30x90 module, including the legs and cross-braces, and it came out to 20 pounds; 10 pounds for the module and 10 for the legs and braces. I estimate that the completed module will weigh about 5 to 10 pounds more once all the track, wiring, facia, backdrop and scenery items are in place. I find that 25 to 30 pounds per module is still a very manageable weight, especially given the size. This is even lighter than I had expected. I had originally planned to use 2x4 type steel stud (1 ½” x 3 ½”) instead of the 2x3 type (1 ½” x 2 ½”) I ended up building with. Aside from the weight advantage, frames made of this material are ideal for "mobile" layouts because they will not twist, shrink and swell over time like wood will when subject to different moisture levels.

Cutting is easy using tin snips         

The steel stud has proven to be more than sturdy enough to support the weight and be able to handle the stresses of being moved about. Once the 2” Styrofoam top is in place there is very little flexing in the module and with the legs attached there is none at all. This was of paramount importance because the future scenery would not withstand any twisting or bending. The 1/8^th inch Masonite I will be using for the facia and backdrop will add even more rigidity to the structure once it is attached. During planning I was afraid that the module centers and ends may droop but they proved to be extremely stiff along their lengths.

Bare Frame        

1x4’s attached to simple 2x2 legs with 1x2 cross-braces make a good stable platform for each module. Given the light weight of the modules I probably could get away with substituting the 1x4’s for 1x2’s but it’s always good to have a little too much than not enough. Each 2x2 leg has a 3/8” hole drilled into the center of the bottom to a depth of about 1 ½”. I hammer a 3/8” tee nut to this hole and use a 1” long 3/8” bolt to allow for fine tuning of the module height. On the head of the bolts I stick self-adhesive felt pads to protect the flooring material. I initially bought these pads at the hardware store but then found them much cheaper at the local “Dollarama”.

Frame on legs (later the cross braces were changed from 2x2 to 1x2)           

The whole assembly is bolted together with 5/16” bolts and wing nuts; 4 bolts attaching the legs to the module frame and 4 more attaching the cross braces to the legs. The cross braces serve two purposes; they stabilize the module against side to side sway and keeping the legs a uniform distance apart. There is some twisting possible in the studs that the legs are attached to and they are not perfectly square to the module in some cases so the cross braces are necessary to correct this.

Completed modules together (cross braces yet to be attached)          

viewed from the backdrop side of the heart river module         

The modules themselves are attached to each other with 2 more 5/16” bolts between the edges of each module to either side of the point where the rails will meet. The layout then becomes even more solid, betraying its flimsy look. I didn’t bother to make the spacing of the interfaces uniform as these modules will always be assembled in this order and configuration.

View from the backdrop side of the Peace River Depot module             

and behind me a very tolerant wife saying "can I have my house back now?"           

I will be building 2 more 30x90 modules shortly and I will document the construction of each in great detail on a future posting so… stay tuned.

Mike