Show Report: The National T-TRAK Layout — 2026 NMRA National Convention, Chattanooga, TN

by Mike Maloney

August 1–2, 2026

The Scenic City Express rolled into Chattanooga this year as the NMRA's 2026 National Convention and National Train Show, and it brought with it the single largest T-TRAK layout ever assembled — a new world record for the modular N-scale standard that started as a handful of tables at a train show more than twenty years ago. Members of Northern NJ N-TRAK brought modules, cabling, support, and most importantly, many trains to run!

The National T-TRAK Layout committee had been building toward this for years. The previous record, set at the 2018 National Train Show in Kansas City, stood at 340 modules (732 Single Equivalent Units) with an uninterrupted 28.4 scale-mile mainline run. Chattanooga didn't just beat that number — it more than doubled it.

## By the Numbers

- **Layout footprint:** Over 10,000 square feet

- **Modules:** 715 individual modules of all sizes — 1,511 Single Equivalent Units

- **Mainline run:** 93.47 scale miles — roughly a 2-hour circuit for a single train to complete one full loop

- **Participants:** Nearly 200 modelers, representing 48 states, the District of Columbia, and overseas contributors from Australia and Denmark

That's a jump of more than 3x in scale mileage and roughly double the module count over the old record — a genuine step-change for the hobby, not just an incremental win.

## Setup

Convention activities ran July 27–31, with the National Train Show open to the public August 1–2. Module check-in and layout assembly took place over several days leading into the weekend, with coordinators staging modules by route and corner type across the exhibit hall floor. With 715 modules arriving from every corner of the country (and a couple from overseas), the logistics alone — matching heights, aligning track, testing continuity across nearly 100 scale miles of Kato Unitrack — were a show in themselves. Volunteers used 3D-printed alignment tools (the official Chattanooga 2026 Record Breaker module-alignment gauge) to keep spacing and overhang consistent across contributions from dozens of different builders.

Digitrax DCC with Wi-Fi throttle support powered the mainline, letting operators run trains from smartphones and tablets alongside traditional cabs — a necessity on a layout where a single lap could take the better part of two hours.

## The Show

Doors opened to the public August 1st, and the National T-TRAK Layout was the undisputed centerpiece of the exhibit hall. Alongside the record-setting mainline, the National Train Show floor featured several hundred vendor booths, manufacturer demonstrations, and other operating layouts — but the sheer scale of the T-TRAK loop, winding across more than 10,000 square feet, drew crowds all weekend.

A running contest gave the first 50 participant-operators to complete the entire Scenic City Route — the full 93.47-mile circuit — a special-edition commemorative rail car, courtesy of sponsor Scale Trains. Given the length of a single lap, that was no small feat of patience and attentive train-watching.

On Sunday morning, Scale Trains sponsored an Awards Breakfast Banquet for registered T-TRAK participants, their families, and visiting NMRA conventioneers, along with raffles and a Best in Show module contest recognizing standout individual builds among the 715 on the floor.

## Teardown

As with every T-TRAK show, the layout that took days to build came down in a fraction of the time once the show closed Sunday afternoon — modules boxed up and dispersed back to all 48 states (and back overseas) as quickly as they'd arrived.

## The Record

Organizers and the NMRA confirmed what everyone on the floor already suspected: Chattanooga's National T-TRAK Layout is now the new record holder for the largest T-TRAK layout ever assembled, surpassing the 2018 Kansas City layout on every measure — module count, equivalent units, and scale mileage. It's a record that took a full year of coordinated planning across dozens of clubs and independent modelers to pull off, and one that's likely to stand for a while given how decisively it cleared the old mark.

Thanks to everyone who hauled a module to Chattanooga, wired a section of mainline, or just ran a train around the loop — this one's going in the record books.

*Compiled from official National T-TRAK Layout / NMRA 2026 pre-event figures and on-site coverage of the August 1–2 National Train Show. 

A full club-authored recap with photos and an as-built plan may follow on nnjn-trak.org once posted.*

Show Report: Wayne PAL - March 22, 2026

by Mike Maloney


Once again, we set up a T-TRAK layout at the Wayne PAL on Sunday, March 22, 2026. Our location was in the main room with an allocation of 8 tables. John O and Dirk N were the first arrivals and had the tables and tablecloths ready to go upon the other members arrivals. The layout went together reasonably quickly and was running shortly before 9 AM. John also provided the power and both tracks ran DCC.

Modules provided by John O, Phil, Dirk, Anthony and Tony, Mike M, Steve W and Tom from TF Train & Hobby. Members present and running trains were Dirk, Phil, Anthony (with friends), Tony, Mike M, Keith, Rob Z, Steve W, John P, and Will. (let me know if I missed anyone!)

The layout ran well all day with some derailments from longer / more finicky equipment and there was a nice mix of trains from modern to steam.

We also had some minor finger-poking and manual derailments by a special-needs group that came through. One of the chaperones interviewed Anthony and hopes to have that posted on her friend's model railroad blog.

After a light afternoon crowd, the show closed at 2pm. We were all packed up and ready to go by 2:45. Thanks to everyone for pitching in!

Photos courtesy of Mike Maloney, Track plan by Dave Ferrari and is very close to the as-built plan.

Show Report: Altoona N-Scale Weekend 2025

Altoona N-Scale Weekend 2025 Combined T-TRAK Layout Report

By Dave Ferrari

Mike Phillips Pennsylvania N-Scale Weekend 2025 was run by The Altoona Association of Model Railroaders (AAMRR) again at the Blair County Convention Center. Setup was Friday, September 19,2025 with the show running on Saturday, September 20 and Sunday the 21st. 

There were other T-TRAK layouts, several N-Trak layouts and a FreeMo-N layout. In total there were 14 layouts at the event. Northern New Jersey N-trak, my club, provided the table covers, wire covers and all electronics with a few connectors and pigtails provided by Jim Nolan. The Combined T-TRAK Layout had an area of 40’ by 27’ this year. The layout was again in a large “E” shape with 3 peninsulas. This year the two outer peninsulas ended in a pair of wide corners while the center peninsula had two Standard Corners with a Single between them. The center peninsula formed off the backbone of the layout with a pair of Branch Line Junctions from Jim Nolan. These somewhat unique modules had the Red and Yellow Lines run straight through with the option of turning into the peninsula from Red Line. You would then run around the end of the peninsula and return to the rest of the Red Main Line. The Yellow Line on this peninsula was a completely independent loop with a loop at the top that wasn’t connected to the rest of the layout. This inner loop was accessed via crossovers. The right-hand peninsula had a pair of Jackson Junctions, provided by none other than Steve Jackson, that formed an inner Analog/DC loop on the Yellow Line.

There were 102 separate modules. They amounted to 184 Single Equivalent Units (SEU) plus 12 Corner Equivalent Units. There were 10 actual corners, and I consider a Branch Line Junction as both a straight and a corner, hence Corner Equivalents. There were 198 feet of double-track mainline, that’s 6 scale miles! 

I've listed a full breakdown of module types at the end of this report and included the "As Built" plan. Modules were provided by twenty-seven individuals representing nine different clubs, plus 3 independent modelers, all from eleven different states. There were other attendees running trains and helping with setup and breakdown.

Setup started before 12 Noon on Friday with table arrangement then adding table covers. Steve Jackson’s setup team shimmed some of the tables since they were slightly different heights. We had all the modules placed, connected and wired before we had to leave the convention center at 6 PM Friday. 

Most of the layout was Digitrax DCC with Wi-Fi as well. There was a big outer Red Line loop and two smaller Yellow Line loops, plus previously mentioned Analog/DC loop.

The layout ran well both days with only a few minor track alignment and rail height problems which were quickly fixed. Teardown started at 3:00 PM Sunday and everything was packed up and out the door by 4:30.

Module Count:

Singles: 22
Doubles: 45
Triples: 17
Jackson Junctions: 2
Triple Junctions: 2
Quads: 3
Standard Corners: 1
Wide Corners: 8
Inside Corners: 3
Combo Corners (Single+Corner): 1
Short Spacers: 1

Thanks again to everyone who participated!

The as-built plan:

Show Report: Wayne PAL - March 23, 2025

 By Pat O'Connor

We set up a T-TRAK layout at the Wayne PAL on Sunday, March 23, 2025. We had 8 tables in 2 rows in the main vendor room, so it was nice and quiet. We were up and running shortly before 9 AM. Show attendance was okay and some of us enjoyed the obligatory Wayne PAL Pork Roll Egg and Cheese breakfast sandwich.

Modules were brought by Pat, Phil, Dirk, Anthony and Tony. Members were in and out throughout the day and included Pat, Dirk, Phil, Anthony, Tony, Mike W, Mike M, Keith, Rob Z, Will,  Patrick and his friend Mark.  An as-built plan is attached as are a couple photos. 

The layout ran well all day and had a nice mix of trains running from American steam to the Japanese Bullet Train. 

We were all packed up and ready to go at 2:40. Thanks to everyone for pitching in!

Photos courtesy of Mike Wong, Track plan by Dave Ferrari

Show Report: Wayne PAL - December 15, 2024

Show Report - Wayne PAL - December 15, 2024

We set up a T-TRAK layout at the Wayne PAL show on Sunday 12/15. Setup was led by Dirk and Phil with a big assist by John Olejnik from JCN/Union who brought the table covers from Toms River and used his power box. They all brought modules and so did Tony & Anthony and Keith. Mike W was there to help, especially with the electronics. Also attending to run trains was Patrick Calvano, with a friend, Frank and Will Lawrence, who just rejoined the club. Mike Maloney stopped in near the end of the show.

The layout was up and running by 8:45. Things ran okay with just a couple of derailments. John had a long Christmas train with lights and digital effects. There were other Christmas trains as well. The show was pretty well attended.

As-built plan