Members
Our members are of course our greatest asset. Most any question or problem that can be found in model railroading has probably already been solved by someone else in the club. Our members maintain contact with n-scalers all over the country and often participate in national shows and conventions. Members range in age from pre-teens to septuagenarians. We are woefully short on women in our club but the ones we have are active and have produced some of the most crowd pleasing modules in the club.
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Ntrak Modules
AustNtrak is basically a modular railroading club. Most, though not all, of our members own modules built to the Ntrak standard. Altogether, club members own about 36 modules amounting to about 146 ft. The club itself owns four Ntrak Standard corners. Two of these corners have matching adapters that turn them into tee modules for connecting two layouts together. In addition, the club owns two balloon modules that can be used in "loop-to-loop" setups and four standard straight modules.
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Electronics
For many years, AustNtrak operated with regular DC throttles as did most all Ntrak clubs. Occasionally we experimented with command control systems owned by various members. With the advent of the NMRA standard Digital Command Control (DCC) these experiments became more frequent. Finally, the club purchased an EasyDCC system and began operating one or more lines with DCC at each setup. We still can and do operate with DC when and where needed by those members who have not committed to DCC. We own three Aristocraft radio throttles to make DC operation as easy as possible.
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Transportation
Several years ago, AustNtrak purchased a five by eight foot trailer. The inside has been custom fitted to carry the modules and equipment owned by the club. Several members share the duty of pulling the trailer to shows and other setups. The longest trip it has made was to Denver in 2006 but we took it to Oklahoma City in 2003 and 2004 and trips to Round Rock, New Braunfels, Temple, San Antonio, Dallas and Houston as well.
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Internet
AustNtrak has had it's own web site for several years. Until 2004, it was hosted at no cost on the Metropolitan Austin Internet Network (www.main.org) and we wish to thank them for their contribution. In 2004, AustNtrak obtained it's own domain name and began hosting its web site at DynaSyn Hosting. The club also operates a Yahoo mail list exclusively for the use of its members. The list facilitates communication and planning for most all AustNtrak activities as well as providing a place to share news and humor.
