Park
Basic Information
Name: Park
Built by: Wally Suggs in 1980s
Size: 3ft outside corner
Introduction
Don Hampton rebuilt the module in 2000 adding the buildings that are currently on the module today. He also replaced the hand-painted roads with manufactured road strips. When Don left the club in 2006, this module was given to Everett Owensby who eventually donated it to the club in 2016. George Barrier refurbished the module in 2018, replacing the damaged mainline tracks. He also made a few modifications such as adding an NTrak standard “orange” line for the train station, replacing the scenery in front of the main lines, and adding working lights to the sign and all the buildings.
Original Condition
Track alignment
When this module was built, the track spacing was not quite right. The NTrak standard requires the tracks to be spaced 1.5in center-to-center. The red-to-yellow spacing is 1/16in too large and the yellow-to-blue spacing is 1/8in too small. These errors mean the joiner tracks zig-zag a little when connecting the modules together, The cork roadbed must be removed and replaced before new track can be laid.
Demolition complete
The “gravel” scenery to the outside of the tracks was really kitty litter. It had to be removed as well. The rest of the town on the inside of the tracks looks pretty good.
Module Upgrades (2018)
New tracks installed
New cork roadbed and track is installed with the proper positions of the center lines. A fourth “orange line” is added for the passenger station. The station was originally adjacent to the curved “red” line. Passenger stations are not usually placed on curved track sections because the building is straight. The new design frees the main line for continuous traffic while the passengers load and unload from the siding.
New foliage
Instead of kitty litter brown, the scenery on the outside of the tracks more closely matches the scenery on the inside. The tracks now pass through a city park scene instead of dividing the park from featureless brown gravel.
Natural habitat
A good city park includes a groomed area for recreation (inside the tracks) and also a natural area (outside the tracks) where citizens may explore the natural wonders of their area. It was super easy to add some rocks, grass, bushes, and trees for people to enjoy!
The train station
The train station gets a small parking area complete with handi-accessible spaces. The platform is extended to make full use of the “orange” siding. An “old-timey” passenger train is getting ready for a recreational excursion run.
Lights!
Lighting is added to the buildings to simulate bustling city activity. Some windows are blacked out to simulate some rooms being unoccupied. Even the billboard on the road into town has a light!
A late night
The passenger station is closed for the day, but the work crew is still there getting ready for the next day’s business.
It works!
Work is not truly complete until the module is tested. A small layout is erected and trains are running. There are no derailments, so this module is ready for the next show!