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Group 160 NTRAK club is a model railroad club based in Burbank, CA. Founded
in 1993 by George Johnsen and others interested in N scale (1 to 160;
3/4" = 10') model railroading, their idea was to bring together modelers
who enjoyed N scale model railroading but who had little or no room for
a home layout and those who had home layouts but wanted to run long trains
and help spread the word about the fun of model railroading. Flyers placed
in local hobby shops and word of mouth quickly attracted ten to fifteen
initial members from all walks of life. The club has continued to grow
and now numbers about thirty active members (substantially more when you
count spouses and children who are always welcome to work on the layout
and run trains). The membership is diverse, consisting of, among others,
entertainment industry craftsmen and professionals, computer professionals,
construction workers, an airplane mechanic, a railroad employee, entrepreneurs
and model railroad industry workers. The one thing that all of these people
have in common is a love of trains, large and small.
Group 160's layouts are modular in nature and adhere to the NTRAK 2000
standard. Standard NTRAK modules a either four, six or eight feet long
by two feet wide; the NTRAK 2000 standard uses modules of similar length
but with a 30" width, allowing a bit more room for scenery or industry.
Standard NTRAK modules have three, generally equally spaced tracks (the
Red line on the outside, the Yellow line in the middle, and the Blue line
on the inside) with industrial and other spurs branching off the blue
line. The NTRAK 2000 standard uses two outside main lines (the Red and
Yellow lines) and sets the Blue line back approximately one foot further
toward the rear of the module, to wander up and back as a branch line.
The club owns four corner modules, each of which is approximately 4' square.
It also has modules comprising an offset S curve as well as modules depicting
the lumber industry, a farm, and a refinery, among others, and a yard
(the Roger Slowi Memorial Yard named after one of the Club members who
died much too young) consisting of twelve eighteen foot tracks plus a
complex throat that marshals the assembled trains on to the main and branch
lines. In general, the Club modules embrace a Pacific Northwest theme,
but the members modules express a broad range of interests: orange groves
and fruit packing are well represented, as are small towns even one that
is devastated by a tornado every few minutes. Club members were initially
required to build a module before election to membership, but with the
acquisition and construction of so many club modules, that requirement
was dropped. Members may build their own modules, but are now encouraged
to adopt or at least help maintain the many Club modules. All Club members
are also members of NTRAK.
With so many Club and member modules, the Club can erect a goodly sized
layout. Nevertheless, the average setup is approximately twenty twenty-eight
feet, depending on the available space and the number of Club members
able to participate. Layouts as small as twelve feet by twenty are possible,
as are giant layouts, a strength of the modular concept, as when the Club
joins with others to build a layout over 100' feet length.
One requirement for club membership is a love of model railroading. Of
course, the quintessence of model railroading is having fun. As a club
we not only participate in Great American Train Shows (GATS), but set
up layouts at church events, retirement homes and other community venues.
Model railroading is a clean, wholesome, fun, and rewarding hobby, and
Club members enjoying sharing that with the public.
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