Model Railroader Beer Line Adaptation

By Daniel Rydell

When I first encountered T-TRAK I didn't think it was very interesting,
mainly because I'd only seen small oval layouts with possibly a
crossover but no other switches or spurs. Being interested in
operations, I thought they were nice dioramas but not much more. Then while
thinking about what portable or sectional layouts I could place upon a
standard folding table I stumbled upon a couple of interesting pages,
among others this Wiki, The Unofficial T-TRAK Handbook and a couple of
plans by Byron Henderson. There I quickly learned that T-TRAK doesn't
have to be limited to small single modules, and that operation was very
much a possibility.

My main interest is yard work and switching industrial areas, and I've
always been fascinated by Model Railroaders (MR) Beer Line sectional layout.
Would it be possible to build this layout with T-TRAK modules? In short,
the answer is yes, with some adaptations and limitations. My plan uses
four doubles and two endcaps with standard size (282/315). If you have
room, using two or four triples instead of doubles or wider endcaps
would much improve the layout. However, it wouldn't fit on my folding
table so I've not made any plans for that possibility. Of course, it
would also be possible to use quads instead of a pair of doubles and
probably simplify things but that would cause storage problems for me.

Due to space constraints, some roadbed have to be cut since the 60 mm
long L/R pieces designed to be used with the #4 turnouts can't be fitted
everywhere.

ttrakBeerLine.jpg

My plan uses a mix of standard double track and T-1-TRAK on the module
ends. Model Railroaders original layout could be configured into three
different shapes, the standard oval and the J and F configurations, so
named because of the look of the assembled modules when seen from above.
Some configurations needs an additional module to switch industries or
make a runaround. MR used small temporarily attachable "tail tracks". Of
course, with T-TRAK you could just keep adding one or more modules.

Beer_Line_J_F_Combined.jpg

If you haven't encountered MR's Beer Line before, I definitely recommend
you look into it if you're interested in a small, sectional operations
oriented layout. For more information about construction, operating
schemes and more expansion possibilities there are several publications
and videos from Model Railroader Magazine and Model Railroader Video Plus.

This layout won't be built, at least not by me. Since making my adaption
of the original plan I've got the possibility to build an "around the
walls" layout in a small spare room. Very possibly this layout will be
built with modules, and I'll think about several of the Beer Line's
features but I'll design something more suitable for my new space. If
you can find some use for my design, please use the attached AnyRail track
plan to adjust it to your preference. (A word of warning, due to some
copy and pasting, the 60 mm L/R pieces designed to be used with the #4
turnouts may have switched places, so the track part count will most
certainly be inaccurate. Please check this carefully if you're using the
Anyrail file.)

AnyRail File: http://ttrak.wikidot.com/local--files/model-railroader-beer-line-adaptation/ttrakBeerLine.any

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