Running Track

Our running track provides two O Gauge, one EM Gauge, two OO/HO Gauge and one N Gauge track. Provision has been made for a seventh track to be added at a later date.

It uses 12 boards of the club standard 4′ x 2’“ size and allows all tracks to be used simultaneously. All tracks are easily accessible from the OUTSIDE of the running track, minimising any need to crawl underneath.

This drawing shows the new running track located in the clubroom. The red tracks are O, blue EM, green OO/HO and magenta N Gauge:

To maximise the track radii, the track sits on the left hand workbench, with trestles used for the other boards. The two boards on the left can be used on their own for testing/programming.

Whilst the primary use will be in the clubroom, boards can be used in the hall, and if necessary, additional straight sections could be made and added if a longer track is required.

The track uses machine cut plywood sections for accuracy, filled with Insulation Board for rigidity. The boards have small side walls to minimise track damage in storage – these also allow the boards to be stacked.

15 pin D-Type connectors provide the electrical connection between each board, with a single lead provided to a “break-out” box for connection to controllers. This lead can be connected at any board join.

The “break-out” box has connections for DC and DCC (MERG) controllers. Each track has a switch to select DC or DCC, and a bicolour LED to indicate track power. This indicates red or green for DC operation, and orange for DCC.

Future Expansion (1)

With 2 more “straight” boards, the track can be extended for a circuit length from 13-16m suitable for use in both the layout room and hall.

Future Expansion (2)

With 4 more “straight” boards, the track can be extended for a circuit length from 16-18m suitable for use in the hall.

It could also be erected in the layout room, though this can’t be officially recommended as it blocks the fire exit:

Detailed Track Layout

This picture shows the location of each track together with a representative train size:

Depending on the gauge of the seventh track, it may or may not be possible to run trains on this track together with trains on the N or inner OO/HO track.