HOn3 Module - Back Again

With the end of the year coming up, I wanted to get back to some of the projects I started over the year and start them up again.  One of the big ones was the HOn3 module I was building.  For a number of reasons this had stalled out.  Last week I begin cutting wood for the 2nd module piece.  As you might recall, I was planning a 2 module set, with module lengths around 40 inches long and 2 feet wide.

I built the 2nd module this morning, but I shortened the length down to 37.5" from 40".  The 40" module *barely* fit in the hatch of my car and I wanted something that was a bit easier to load and unload.  I'm debating if I should re-build the first module (40") to make it shorter as well.  Time will tell.

In any case, the 2nd module is the one with the turntable on it.

I cut a hole for the turntable in the 1" beadboard foam that is the top layer of the module.  I then used a combination of foamcore and matte board to build up layers under the turntable to bring it up to the correct height.

Here's the first layer of foam core drying under the weight of a paint can...

I then spent some time laying out the track similar to how my track plan was.

The above is how I had planned for the track to be on this module.  However, in the spirit of "due diligence" I wanted to see how everything would look all together before I committed to this layout.

Seeing everything together, I then spent the next 30 minutes fussing over track layout and came up with...

I'm not 100% yet on this layout.  It addresses some concerns I had but in the process introduces new ones.  I'll likely continue fussing with it until I get it to my liking.  In any case, you can begin to see the size and scope of these modules together.  It looks good!

Also visible in the above photo is I'm trying matte board as a stand-in for roadbed.  I have a bunch around and it's really cheap and narrow gauge lines didn't have a real elevated right of way anyways so hopefully it'll work out.  My only concern is that the edges will start to curl up.  I'm going to give it a week of drying to see what it does in this regard.

It's been years now since I've done any model railroad scenery work so even though I'm not really at that stage I got out a box of plaster cloth I had and did the small river section on the first module.

The other piece I took care of today is I wanted to give the BullFrog manual turnout control a test run.  I had actually been given an assembled unit by Mike Condor -- thanks! -- who I should also mention now has an article up on the HOn3 annual website about upgrading a plastic depot kit.

The BullFrog is made of laser-cut wood and glued together.  It screws in under the table and makes a wire snap left and right above the table.

Under the table:

Above the table:

Obviously, when it comes time for actual installation I'll clip the wire down to a more reasonable height.

My overall impression:  Pretty slick.  It seems to work just like advertised.  I haven't yet wired up the control rods to it, but since the module is shallow enough I was able to reach under the table and flip it back and forth easily to see how it operates.

I might actually stick with these for my module.  They seem simple, cheap, and to work.