One of the most aggravating aspects of
setting up a modular model railroad at train shows is the need to adjust the
module legs. This is necessary to ensure that the tops of the modules line up
and are reasonably level, compensating for any unevenness of the floor. I have
experienced this at venues with very smooth and level floors (such as a curling
rink) as well as at venues that have very uneven flooring.
This process usually entails a lot of
crawling around on the floor with a wrench or screwdriver or, if you are lucky,
bending over with a screwdriver if the leg adjustments can be accessed from
above. Needless to say, this is quite hard on the knees and back. The more
uneven is the floor, the harder it is on one's body and the longer it takes.
I have had the pleasure of participating
in a few events at which members of the Spokane, WA Free-mo group were present.
I noticed that they had devised a couple of different systems by which their
module legs could be adjusted from a standing position. Once of these systems
involved the use of nested PVC pipes which have an internal threading
mechanism. To adjust, one simply reaches just below the top of the module which
is at hip-height and turning the top portion of the PVC pipe to raise or lower
the leg. The other system consists of a threaded rod which has at its top end a
nut. Using a cordless drill equipped with a socket wrench one can raise or
lower the leg with ease.
As I see it, the advantages and
disadvantages of these systems are as follows:
Adjustable PVC Pipe Legs
Advantages
- Easy to adjust
- Easy to explain to others how to use
Disadvantages
- The legs are quite heavy
- The existing legs that our Free-mo group uses
would need to be scrapped
- The PVC pipes are fairly expensive
- One of the older gentlemen from Spokane pointed
out that his grip is not what it was when he was younger, making it
difficult for him to turn the PVC pipe
Threaded Rod System
Advantages
- Easy to adjust
- Easy to explain to others how to use
- Can easily be added to existing wooden legs
- Are reasonably cheap (about C$ 6.75 per leg)
- Easy to build
- Not difficult to adjust if one’s grip strength is
weak
Disadvantages
- None that I can think of
Having concluded that the threaded rod
system is the way to go, I retrofitted the legs on my Aspen Free-mo module with
the new system. At the next train show where our Free-mo group participated I
demonstrated the simplicity and benefits of my module legs. Everyone in our
group agreed that it would be a good idea to install these on all our modules.
I undertook to install them on everyone’s modules except for one where the
owner elected to install these himself. The reason I volunteered to do the work
was that it seemed to me that any benefits from the adjustable legs is not in
having them installed on only one or two modules but having them installed on
every module. Human nature being what it is, leaving this to each member to do
himself might have resulted in some procrastinating while others got on with getting
it done.
There is an idiom sometimes attributed to
Cervantes in The History of Don Quixote,
“The proof of the pudding is in the eating.” At the train show following the
installation of the adjustable legs on all modules our group estimated we saved
at least 45 minutes of setup time but, better yet, our knees and backs were
thanking us.
I greatly appreciate the creativity of
Alan Cunningham and Jerry Barsness of the Spokane, WA Free-mo group and for
taking the time to explain their great ideas.
