A Free-Mo Experience
Wednesday, December 16th, 2009
On November 6th, I journeyed to Syracuse, NY, to participate in a Free-Mo meet at the Great New York State Model Train Fair. About twenty participating model railroaders came from central New York and from as far away as Boston, MA, and Akron, OH. Most of the participants brought one or more Free-Mo modules to assemble into a linear model railroad. Click here for a PDF of the overall plan.
Modular display layouts have become common fixtures at large train shows. Many of these layouts are composed of modules that are built to published standards to ease assembly into the large display. The N-Trak standards were one of the earliest accepted design standards I can recall. The National Model Railroad Association (NMRA) modified these for use in other scales and variations of these standards continue to be followed. A typical presentation features a multi-track mainline running through individual scenes in a large circle. The Free-Mo standards enable a single track railroad display using Digital Command Control (DCC) to move trains along the route. At this time, I feel the Free-Mo standards set a level for a display layout that enables use of the most current model train control ideas and technology.