Pictures wanted, model or prototype! How do you build your bumpers or others? How do you scenic the end of the line??? Wolfgang
Wolfgang, here's a proto for your first pic: Nice pictures! I've used piles of dirt in N-scale, but I have to look for the pictures.
This is the closest shot I found to the end of track. I did a gradual increase in vegetation. I hope this helps.
Great Topic, Wolfgang End of track devices are an art form, to me. I try to use different ones all the time, but I need to be more creative to have a larger variation. This is a commercial bumper on the left. I didn't like it. The remains of an identical bumper on the right were buried where they failed at the end of the track. Makes good debris. The right replacement bumper is two small pieces of rail soldered to the rail tops. Be careful to solder one short piece to each rail top and don't let them touch each other or the other rail. If they do, you will have an electrical short. Steel I-Beam bumper. Notice they touch each other and both tracks. That's okay here because this is styrene. These are located in a steel scrap yard. Old ties randomly placed across the tracks. This is one of my inventions. It is small brass right triangle soldered to the top of each rail. They are very sturdy and will slice your fingers badly when you are cleaning track. I know this for sure. Two more.
Just some railroad tie bumpers and dirt piled against them. But, the two tracks at the top have only the "grass" at the end. The grass is held in place with white glue. I was surprised that it stopped cars so well. These tracks are the end of a grain mill. This is a little unusual. It's a mirror. I am very interested to see more ideas. I have a lot of sidings still to be finished with these devices.
You've certainly elevated yours to the level of art form!! Beautiful work. :thumbs_up: I've used RR ties and assorted debris, gradually increasing vegetation--sometimes even trees, and bumping into a mirror deep between 2 buildings; but tufts of grass white glued at the end of the track is a new one that I'll have to try out soon. Thanks.
Wonderful. More prototype plictures, please. I can only show European bumpers. Like this one in Naumburg: I have to scan the prototype pic when I will find it. :angel: Wolfgang
Personally, i use whatever i have, ballast, Atlas bumpers, whatever. i'm going to pile some old sleepers in some of my yard tracks
Flash: A friend of mine used styrene cut in a nearly identical shape to the brass finger slicers you posted above, except he super-glued his on the rails with the curved part going the other way so that the wheels would sort of fit into the curve of the bumper (arrester? end of track device?), and he painted his yellow-orange with some rust. His plastic alternative may have been a little less dangerous to fingertips. On my own layout, I've used square pushpins painted gray to simulate large concrete blocks resting between the end of the rails to prevent cars from rolling off the end of the track. (FWIW--On my previous layout with DC instead of DCC, I used these square push pins painted silver to simulate relay boxes along the ROW, but their real purpose was to mark the end of electrical blocks.)
Here's one made from old wheels, welded to the track. While that particular picture was taken at a museum, I have seen very similar stops in the old narrow gauge yard at Cuautla, which dates back a number of years. So this style of stop was used to some extent down here in Mexico. Regards Ed
The switch leads to nothing anymore. There used to be a branchline, but the New Haven closed it and removed the track.
A few pictures from the basement. First picture shows the end of the engine track at Third Street Distirct. The bumper protects the yardmaster home. Second picture shows end of track at McMurphy. Much asphalt. The other track at McMurphy ends at the bumper, just in front of the fence. This pictures shows two end of tracks. The famous wheel stop at the freight house track and a loading ramp for the team track. Wolfgang
Nothing's stranger than the prototype... A bridge makes the end of track! Golden, CO, in the Coors brewery complex:
On the old sidings (former Ottawa & Prescott Rwy) near my previous house, the end of track was marked by a pile of dirt about 12 feet high that covered both tracks (former main and siding). It had overgrown with 5 foot+ high weeds, making the whole thing come out something near 20 feet tall - at least as high as many of the cars spotted in the sidings...! Andrew
