I use these custom modules to complete my home layout. They allow me to turn my three NTRAK modules into a double-looping dogleg layout.
The left end module was the first module I ever built. It was built along with a companion right end module which had the same basic function as the one you see here but, since it lacked the helix and was built on only a 3' x 3' base, it had a horrific 6% grade from the second main up to the mountain line and the corners were very tight.
These were the two end modules used in the first MS-Rail layout.
The new right end module (built after the first MS-Rail layout) is larger and has a gradually sloping helix connecting the second main with the mountain line. This allows the grade to remain below 2%. The turning radius never falls below 12". This is a vast improvement and it allows me to run just about anything I want to with out difficulty.
The right hand module is named after the supply store served by the spur. The store is named after my two eldest sons: Kray and Jason.
The name for the left hand module comes from one of the Thomas the Tank Engine stories
where James the red engine gets pushed off the line and into a field of cows by some
naughty freight wagons. This has always been one of Kray and Jason's favorite stories
and since the area in the center of the loops is taken up by a pasture with a herd
of grazing cows, it was only natural that they would associate this module with that story.
(The fact that more than one of my engines has gone off the line here
helps too.)