Module Monday: Ntrak Ore Dock Module

Ntrak Ore Dock Module.

Over the year's I've had a chance to photograph numerous modular layouts at the Railroad Hobby Show and interview the module builders.  Here is a look back at one of these module profiles which was compiled during the 2009 Railroad Hobby Show.

Module Spotlight Scale: N Size: 3'x12' Standards: Ntrak Years Constructed: 1999 Features: Ore Dock, Lighthouse Era: 1950s-1960s Club: Salt City Ntrak Owner: Harry Smith

Harry Smith's impressive Ntrak Ore Dock module set is 3'x12' made up of three sections each four feet in length.  The focal point of the module is the ore dock and ore ship at the center of the middle module.  The yard and dock are at the front of the module.  This means that the mainlines were swung towards the back of the module.

On the right module there is a small city and on the left module there is a bridge over a river.  The river appears to be heading off into the distance as Harry used mirrors to expand the scene.  He conducts clinics at various conventions on all the techniques he used to build these scenes from the water, to the rocks, and to the mirrors.  Also, this module features a lighthouse made using a plastic thread spool and probably one of smallest attention grabbing items on the module, flying birds!  Harry discovered a way to make birds from small pieces of styrene and suspend them in the air using filament wire. In the pictures to the right and on the bottom right show the birds in flight.

This module is also one of the most traveled modules.  Harry brings this module all over the country to participate in Ntrak meets.  Over the past summer, he was in Kentucky for the annual N Scale Collector's National Convention and set up his module with the gigantic Ntrak layout there.