Building a flexible module If you belong to a modular club, this flexible module can come in handy/Walt Muren


PHOTOS BY THE AUTHOR


Since it is designed to adjust to differences in length, height and track placement, this flex- ible module can come in handy at group shows where individual modules built by a variety of modelers are linked together. Easy to make adjustments to the flexible module (above, right and below) compensate for minor differences in size and track between modules.


I


nstead of the usual 48″ length for a rectangular module,


this flexible module expands to 54″, shrinks to


42″, shifts into a rhomboid (a parallelo- gram with no right angles) or a trape- zoid (one pair of parallel sides) and, yes, it will also make a 48″×24″ rectangle. I belong to the Four County Society of Model Engineers (FCSME.org), an HO


modular model railroad club. We have been displaying our modular layout at the Great Scale Model Train Show in Timonium, Maryland, and other loca- tions since 1995. We may set up as many as 50 modules at a time, so the layout can be quite large. The modules include straight modules four-, six- and eight-feet long, inside and outside 90°


corners, and angled modules. With all modules built to our detailed standards what could go wrong? Unfortunately, there are problems that can and do oc- cur. Despite our best efforts, human er- ror during construction can lead to modules that are not perfectly square or have a frame that is a little too long or short. Modules can be damaged during


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AUGUST 2013


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