Yard (2021)
Basic Information
Name: Yard
Built by: George Barrier in October 2021
Size: Three 4ft x 24″ plus two 3ft outside corners
Introduction
“Yard” is very ambitious five NTrak module set George built. The design of the yard fully embraces the NTrak concept by allowing them to be connected in any combination. The only restrictions are that there be at least one end included. The electronics support electrical isolation to occur between any two modules, allowing the yard to be placed near the club’s lift bridge. The inclusion of a corner allows placement anywhere in the layout, even wrapping around a corner..
Construction
The Roadbed
The first two tables are built and roadbed is glued on. The roadbed is painted in roughly the ballast color that will be added later. It is obvious from this progress that the yard set will require a lot of materials!
The Full Set
The tables for all five pieces are built. Only one corner is missing roadbed. Track is laid on one of the corners. Some loose pieces of track are set out to show the track complexity to come.
The Ballast Begins
Once the first turnout is glued down, track ballast is added to give a glimpse of the final result. Each railroad tie is painted a slightly different color in a variety of patterns. This gives the illusion that some ties are more worn than the others, but this detail requires a massive amount of effort.
The West End Track Plan
About half of the turnouts are installed into this end of the yard. The tracks are numbered 1 through 8 starting at the outside (front) track. Track 1 is where the red main line passes through the yard. Tracks 2 and 3 will be dressed as passenger terminal sidings. The transportation terminal will be located on the center module. Track 4 is where the yellow main line passes through the yard. The crossover from yellow to red enables track 3 to be assigned to yellow instead of red. There is another crossover from yellow to blue for a similar purpose. These crossovers are located toward the center between the red and blue yard ladders. This location enables tracks 1 to 8 to be designated RRRYBBBB, RRYYBBBB, RRRYYBBB, or RRYYYBBB.
