North Raleigh Model Railroad Club

Module Certification & Grading

It is an objective of the North Raleigh Model Railroad Club to encourage the construction of modules which are technically compliant with both the NTRAK Standards and the Club's Standards & Recommended Practices so as to be completely interchangeable with other NTRAK modules at Train Shows. As well, the Club encourages the scenic completion of modules to a high degree of realism and professionalism so they will stand out and hold their own when compared with other highly-regarded modules from other individuals and Clubs. To this end, the Club carries out Certification and Grading of member- and club-owned modules. The end result is the assignment of a Class level to each module. See the section on Module Classes, below.

The North Raleigh Model Railroad Club began the certification of modules in 1992. It is intended that all modules (new, repaired or renovated), whether member-, club- or visitor-owned, undergo certification before being included in a Club Show or Operating Session. In addition, all modules must be re-certified every five years. Certification is based on requirements set out in the NTRAK Manual plus NRMRC Club Standards and Recommended Practices. The Club Secretary maintains a list of certified modules. Please refer to the publication Module Certification Requirements for the certification requirements, instructions and forms.

In addition to the technical requirements of Certification, modules are graded to reflect their degree of scenic completeness and realism, and their ability to hold their own among world-class and/or award-winning modules in national and regional train shows. This grading is to encourage members to build, re-build, improve and complete high-quality modules that will be desired modules in shows. Please refer to the publication Module Grading Requirements for the grading requirements, instructions and forms. The Club Secretary maintains a list of module grades.

The certification testing and grading of modules is the responsibility of the Standards Committee. For certification testing the Committee may test as a body or may designate at least two (2) Members to perform the tests. Module Grading will, as far as possible, be performed by "outside" judges, who may be members from other model railroad clubs (any scale). A member of the NRMRC Standards Committee will accompany judges while they are judging NRMRC club and/or member modules. The intent in doing grading in this manner is to remove any bias toward specific modules and/or members.

The criteria for grading modules has been developed from an article written by Don Gatland of Long Island NTRAK in November 1993.

Any corrections or suggestions for changes or improvements to this publication should be directed to the Chairman, Standards Committee, North Raleigh Model Railroad Club.

Module Class is based on a combination of the results of Module Certification testing and Module Grading, carried out as defined in the publications Module Certification Requirements and Module Grading Requirements.

Following Certification testing a module will be awarded one of three classifications:

Following Grading a module will be awarded one of two grades:

The results of Certification Testing and Module Grading will be combined to determine the Module Class, according to the following table:

The results of Certification and Grading will be recorded on the Module Certification and Module Grading checklists. The results will be combined on the Module Classification Sheet which will be the vehicle to determine the module's Class.

A complete and printable Module Classification Sheet is available. The form is a Microsoft Word file and can be opened and printed from the web, or downloaded to your computer. The file is formatted to print on a Hewlett-Packard LaserJet printer at 600x600 dpi resolution. If you are using a different printer, download the file, then open in Preview mode and adjust the margins as necessary. The Module Classification Sheet should print on one page. To open the file from the web, left-click on the link below. To save the file to your computer, right-click on the link below, then click "Save As" in the dialog box that appears, select the location to store the file and then click OK.