--- In [email protected], "Chris Abbott" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > <SNIP> > > So, no one has really taken the S-MOD design premise to > its extremes, then? Can anyone point me to any pictures > taken at S shows where they've seen really great examples > of what S-MOD can do? >
Depends what "extremes" means. So far I've seen nothing in all these postings that either could or hasn't already been done using S-Mod. BTW, I do like the idea of working at a higher track level, 48 - 50" sounds great to me. Otherwise it all strikes me as: "What's old is new again". The S-Mod system had large (huge?) set ups that included ovals and as many as three single and double track tails in 1986 at Novi, 1988 at New Brunswick, 1990 at Pittsburgh and 1993 at Valley Forge. There have been countless others, some annual events, ovals, ovals with tails, point to point switching or lazy branch lines that snaked around. One notable lazy 'S' point to point branch line was erected in the former CNJ Jersey City Terminal. The 1990 Pittsburgh event covered well over 10,000 sq. ft. of NMRA convention center floor space and involved modules from a dozen or so states, Missouri to Maine. I remember making up trains, sending them out and never seeing that train in the same form again, somewhat like the prototye. DCC (and analog command control): been there, done that on both point to point and ovals, mainly with the Michigan club, an early S-Mod adopter. Many of these involved modules built in widely separated states that only first came together at the particular event. The track plans were too numerous to name, single and double track code 100 diamonds that precluded anything but scale flange operation, gauntlet rails through tunnels on double track mains, a rotary coal dump, code 70 and 83 industrial trackage, an operating hump yard, a car float and a stand alone 16' switching module still (?) in use today. Many could and were operated from either side, having no specific front or back. I think the S modular movement lost some steam in the late 90's for a bunch of reasons: Greenberg-type shows pushed local clubs to more sectional "display" layouts, increased interest in products rather than operation, modular event organizers got burned out, and many of us took what we learned and built our own or more focused club layouts. The fact that S-Mod may not have been carried to its full potential (extremes?) is debatable and definitely more related to those facts than any fundamental flaw in the systems basic versatility, freedom or adaptability. If a future generation rekindles interest in modules, that's great for S! But it looks more to me like a case of "re- discovery", rather than any sort of fundamental "ah-ha" moment. You can obtain past issues of the NASG "Dispatch" that cover some of these specific events if you want to see photos or better explanations of the module systems. Jim Kindraka River Raisin Models http://riverraisinmodels.com Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/S-Scale/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
