Several Members of Trainboard set me on the right "track" to be able to make quick and easy rail guards. I always hated the way that roadbed of pre assembled bridges never looked quite right. I tried to make rail guards a few months ago, but trains got hung up when installed. I was told here on Trainboard to use a smaller code track for the rails and I will then have clearance. I think it worked. Here is a step by step with pictures. Please let me know your opinions. The materials needed are simple: 1. Lengths of smaller code rail for the rail guards. My existing layout has Atlas Code 80 rail. I ordered and received lengths of Code 55 and Code 40 for the rail guards. Either would have sufficed. 2. A ruler to mark off the bend points on both the jig posts and the rail to be bent. 3. A fine point marker to do the marking. 4. A pair of rail nippers to cut the rails exactly the same lengths. 5. Alcohol 6. Paint 7. Needle file 8. Old length of 5" track 9. Tacky Glue Mark off 1/4" on equal lengths of track. Mark your bend point on a jig to make sure the bend point is exactly the same on each end of each length of rail. Make the marks with a fine point marker since the more error, the worse it will look. The bend will have to be done in a few repeat stages since the goal is to have the lengths of rail sitting just inside the inside spike heads on the actual track. If you bend anything too much, just go back to the jig and bend a bit the other way until you are satisfied. (This is another Lesson Learned, by the way) Once you are satisfied with the bends after nestling same into an old piece of track, lay the rail guards down onto a flat surface as if they were actual rails. Flux the tips and solder them together. Make sure the bases of the rails are not sitting one on top of another before you solder, otherwise one side will be higher than the other (Second Lesson Learned) Make sure soldered guard rails still fit into your piece of test track. File down any rough spots at the soldered areas and you may also want to taper the ends a bit, at the points. Even though redundent, make sure it fits onto the track on the bridge. Run a few of you "low riders" over the placed track. If it moves, it is sitting too high and may need either filing or a careful examination of the track on the bridge. Even one little itty bitty piece of ballast sitting there will cause an entire side of the rail guard to be raised the exact height of that one piece of ballast. Now spray with alcohol and wipe before weathering the rail guards with paint or your medium of choice. This will eliminate ambient flux, finger oil and whatever else is on them to allow the rail guards to accept the medium. I used rust colored acrylic paint. It took a few coats to cover and get rid of the shine. Place the same at the actual site and take a long look and a few photographs under different lighting conditions to make sure you are happy with the weathering. The track on the right side shows the weathered rail installed with tacky glue still wet. The track on the left shows a wooden rail guard previously installed. I was not happy with the appearance. This led me to this project. Note- When taking close up photographs, imperfections in previous work loomed so large that I now have to do the following: 1. Use Squadron Green putty to fill in the crack now embarrassingly apparent between the two bridges. I will then sand down and refinish. 2. I will make a better fit on the "post" inserted at each end of the bridges since the bridges were not perfectly aligned when installed. The same will have also have to be weathered. 3. The ends of the wooden footwalks will have to be blended into the ground areas upon which they sit with more green putty and then refinished with ground material.
Mark: That's a very nice pictorial on how to make the rail guards. Have you run loco's through the rail guards? The reason I ask is: the solder joint connecting both rail guards would create a short circuit when the metal wheels of a loco pass through the guard. I always thought it was best to leave the rail guards unattached if they are made of metal. Those are great closeup photo's. Stay cool and run steam.....
That's a good idea with less code rail. I did it sometimes, too. When you check the rails with a NMRA gauge, you will have no problems. Even with rail and guard rails of the same size. Your guard rails should go over the bridge. Then they can prevend deraild trucks from leaving the bridge and do much damage. With ballasted deck you doesn't need guard rails therefore. Also, when you sand the end of the guardrails, they go lower to the track. ZOOM IN Pic shows the lowered guard rail ends. Still, there has to come some ballast like in the pic above. Look at the linked big pictures at my trestle site. Wolfgang [ January 08, 2006, 12:19 PM: Message edited by: Wolfgang Dudler ]
I've just made another picture to show the end of the guard rails: ZOOM IN You see, how the guard rails come together and go into ballast. But they don't touch another. This would be a short circuit. ZOOM IN This picture shows a railroad crossing. Clearance is again checked with NMRA gauge. Wolfgang
A lot of times, guard rails were made using worn out, older/smaller sized rails. And there were many instances where only one guard rail was installed. Boxcab E50
Mark: In one of the recent issues of Model Railroader, guardrails over bridges were discussed used rail from track. In the discussion it was noted that the two gaurdrails shouldn't touch as that would cause a short circuit. I really think you should unsolder the connection between the two guard rails. I'm surprised that no short circuits have occurred. My only thought on this is the the guard rails are so positioned that the wheels of the loco's never touch the guardrails on either side. Stay cool and run steam.....
The don't touch the running rails. No shorts, as yet. If so, it will certainly be another lesson learned. Which issue was it? I must have missed the article.
I'll have to check the issue. It's within the last 6-8 months. From your photo's the gaurdrails are positioned so the wheels of the loco's won't touch them. Stay cool and run steam....
The only time you won't have clearance is when you have a derailed set of wheels. The guards will probably work as the prototype, but if a metal wheel is involved there will almost certainly be a short. I'd leave a small gap, which I think is prototypical - at least in places , but otherwise you could fill the gap with epoxy or a small piece of plastic glued in place. As it will be painted it can be filed smooth and shouldn't show.
Heres a photo I found today on Ne-Rail of a single gaurd rail Jon http://photos.nerail.org/showpic/?photo=2006010823265421091.jpg&bydate%3A7
Your welcome Bob, if your not familiar with the ne-rail photo site heres the link to the main page, over 50,000 photos there, enjoy. John http://photos.nerail.org/
Mark, With the guardrails soldered together, you will eventually short something out. I did exactly the same thing with c40 guardrails on c55 track, across a 43-inch long truss bridge. It's no fun cutting gaps with bridge portals in the way! Anyone have a good way to stick long guardrails to the ties? I tried Goo, properly applied, but it dried out in less than two years. I tried Goo, with a later application of superglue. It too dried out, and popped loose (and bent) when I snagged an end with a cleaning cloth. I'm thinking the 43-inch lengths just expand and contract too much to stay put for long. Of course, installing shorter lengths through an intricate trusss structure will mean my next free airline ticket will be to the funny farm.
Well, it looks like Mr. Dremel and Mr. Plastruct will be making an appearance over the weekend. One to cut and one to fill the cut gap.
The prototype is always a good source for solutions to problems. Spiking the guard rails down instead of gluing should work. But then the intricate truss presents a problem for the non-prototype 'hand of god'
