Hello! I thought I'd share a fun project I've been working on. I recently got into modelling international H0, starting with Japanese and British H0 scale trains. Naturally this meant buying some ma̋rklín products, for example the two TRIX locomotives on the left here.



It also meant I needed a layout, and I wanted something modular and compact but highly flexible in terms of track layout. As a result, I've ended up working on my own version of the "Hex-Trak" system substituting Kato Unitrack (but put a pin in that) for C-Track on a 505.2mm (another note, that might get trimmed a couple mm for the sake of tolerances) tall regular hexagon - centred around Radius 2 curves, but with the option to use Radius 1 and 3 as well for triple-track lines; partly because that's how some of the stations were designed where I used to live - two platform tracks either side of a mainline.

I've been trying to come up with every possible permutation using C-Track - some of these are only possible in ma̋rklín 3-rail because of the missing TRIX Wye point.



My only problem so far is that to do the points between tracks, requires a non-existent 80.8mm piece I've had to 3D print for testing.

This is all virtual so far; due to a lack of free time in a busy work period for hardware thing but hoping to start working on a couple test modules in a couple weeks when I've fine tuned some heights (I've been writing a specs document as I think through everything) and raided one of the local hackerspaces. Obviously I'm aiming to be able to connect these to C-Trak modules, so that there's no real fragmentation - though my system is aimed to be multilayer, like Hex-Trak.

Was just curious what the C-Track experts thought of the idea?

P.S. I mentioned above that this swaps Unitrack for C-Track. That's not entirely accurate. So far I've worked out the math for Unitrack on these tiles as well (as an "extension" to the basic standards doc), with the idea that it can be used to render Decauville-ish narrow gauge on these tiles. I'm also working on making an extension for the Faller road system (analogue at least, and hopefully it will also support OpenCar-System and Viessmann CarMotion if I've understood correctly how those work! Given my interest in Japanese railways I also tried to fit Tillig B-Track H0m onto this but unfortunately their track lengths don't really work out. Which doesn't preclude it entirely, as potentially one could just do "use real B-Track for edge pieces and flexitrack between them", but that's kind of my last resort.

The starting point for this project was to be able to model anything I wanted to, modularly, with full interchange. So being able to have half a dozen Faller car system tiles with one going over a level crossing over a C-Track tile that's part of a railway, and another running alongside some Kato Unitram. Hopefully it can be a universal 3.5mm modular modelling system - and yes, I fully realise I'll probably be the only person ever to use it. That's fine too!