C-Trak
C-Trak , original spelling C-TRAK, is a standard for the construction of modular model railway systems in the nominal size H0 for the H0 gauge . The standard was originally developed in the Netherlands for the promotion of young people in model railway associations and for the employment of children in a children's hospital. The standard is based on the C-track rail system with its integrated track slope from the model railway manufacturer Märklin . The standard section module has a length of 532 mm and a depth of 532 mm and is therefore square .
The modules are intended to be placed on tables . The module box has a standard height of 100 mm. The standard height of the upper edge of the rail is due to the construction height of the C-track from Märklin with the integrated track slope approx. 10 mm above the upper edge of the module. From the lower edge of the module or the table edge, the standard height of the upper edge of the rail is approx. 110 mm.
As standard, two parallel tracks made of C-track rail elements are routed as main lines over the module, which are directly attached to one another and run at a distance of 77.5 mm from track center to track center, corresponding to the standard spacing of radii 1, 2 and 3 for the C- Track track system.
In addition to straight line modules, the standard also includes other modules, including a corner module that is also 532 × 532 mm in size for a 90-degree arc with two parallel tracks as the main line with a radius of 360 and 437.5 mm, corresponding to radii 1 and 2.
As standard, the modules are only connected to each other by the rail connectors of the C-track rails. Power is therefore supplied between the modules via these rail connectors.
The module system is designed for all three similar C-track types from Märklin. The my world plastic track from Märklin intended for the operation of battery-powered trains , the Start-up C track from Märklin intended for the two-rail central conductor system, and the C-track intended for the two-rail two-rail system, the Märklin under the Trix sells brand names.
Module systems built on the basis of the Märklin C track system are not new in and of themselves, but the Dutch only managed to successfully launch this system around 2017.
Dimensional sketches of standard modules
Straight, single track, square of 532 mm
Straight, double-track, square of 532 mm
Straight, double-track, length of 720 mm, width of 532 mm
90 ° arc, single track, 532 mm square
90 ° arc, double-track, 532 mm square
Hints
The start-up C track from Märklin intended for the two-rail central ladder system has a 2.3 mm or 0.090 inch high rail profile, corresponding to Code 90 . It is based on the Märklin works standards for the two-rail central conductor system. The associated NEM standard 340 wheelset and track for special systems, track guidance dimensions (documentation) is derived from these Märklin works standards.
The C-track intended for the two-rail two-rail system , which Märklin sells under the brand name Trix, has a 2.1 mm or 0.083 inch high rail profile, corresponding to Code 83 , and is also suitable for RP 25 wheelsets. It is based on the NEM standard 110 tracks and points, track guidance mass (mandatory standard) and the NEM standard 310 wheelsets, track guidance dimensions (mandatory standard) and the NMRA standards S 3.2 Scale Track, Standard Scale , S- 4.2 Standards Wheels with Deep Flangs and NMRA standard RP 25 Wheel Contour RP-25 .
The NEM standards issued by the Association of Model Railroaders and Railway Friends of Europe (MOROP), the standards of European model railways , which represent these as binding standards, are not binding on model railway manufacturers, contrary to the wording. However, they usually, but not always, adhere to these guidelines. The same applies mutatis mutandis to the standards of the National Model Railroad Association , the NMRA standards.
