OK - deadline time. The West Springfield show is January 24 and 25. I signed up with NE Free-mo to have a single 4' module ready for the show. Time to actually build it.
I have most of the wood pre-cut. I have all of the necessary track components, roadbed, electronic parts, wiring and hardware. I've constructed a barebones NMRA module in the span of a week. Can I build a compliant Free-mo module during our two-week holiday break that starts this coming Saturday (December 20, 2014)? I think I can, I think I can, I think I can...
I'm sure I can get the benchwork/legs done in a couple of days. Roadbed and trackwork; another day. I'm only planning on a single-tracked module with one or two sidings. Wiring including DCC; another day. I have some concerns about soldering the Free-mo endplates, but I'm going to try to be very patient with that process. Scenery? I have a bunch of buildings ready. It's just going to be a matter of putting a surface down on the bare wood that will be realistic and allow for appropriate placement of structures. It may take several days to get paint on the visible parts of the frame and some realistic scenery on the top.
So - my plan is to start with the module construction this weekend. First, I have to clean the layout room so that I have room to work. There won't be a lot of sawing, but there will be a lot of drilling and gluing to get started. My plans for an actual layout are on hold until the module is built. If all goes well, I'll have the room ready for construction by Monday.
I plan on taking/posting photos. If you don't see anything soon, it's because life sidetracked me.
