Hand laid track?!!!!!????

I have to disagree a little with IronHorseman. I highly recommend the Micro Engineering weathered (Blackened) rail. The extra cost is well worth the elimination of having to paint the rail after the fact. Also, the blackening makes building a switch a lot easier. You get a lot better contrast between where you have filed and where you haven't.

The blackening is not conductive so you do need to remove it where you need to solder and from the top of the rail after it is installed. This is the only time I ever use a Bright Boy track cleaner. It takes the blackening right off.

I perfer the Micro Engineering full profile weathered ties. You need to be able to sand the ties level to eliminate any dips or bumps caused by the sub-roadbed. When you use profile ties there is nothing available to sand. So, you have to make sure the sub-road bed (homasote) is very smooth. I find it a lot easier to use the full profile ties.

Micro Engineering also has spikes. I use the small size for code 70 and larger. Anything smaller than code 70 I would recommend the micro size.

David

 

I'm going to look into this Bill! I want to build a Diorama an this land laid track for it will be a learning experience an all. To then, concider laying my own rail on my layout! I will say, anything thats "kit" or "scratch" built gets my attension! Its the challenge that gets me..... I'm up for any challenge so.. And this is sound like a blast! HA!

 

Bill, what is the correct term (I forgot it) for a "rail within rail" situation, like on a narrow bridge, not wide enough for two tracks, but a little wider than one, and the tracks are laid such that one rail of one pair is inside the two rails of the other pair.

 

Gary,
The goal really is to try "hand laying" an also to get used to the fact, plus doing this to a diorama, well is good experiences, for ups an downs, plus the whole diorama will be design an built by me.. NO commercial parts bought an added besides materials...

And with my hefty work train, I can make parts of the track movalble an such so show different parts of the train "in action" and still be able to put back in the ties of sort from a work scene, to a high balling EM-1, out on the mainline.

The reason is a display unit, an to be fully functional, for a bunch of different things an still serve as a basic display unit as well. Not to mention as real as very possible. A lot of work for a 2 foot by 3 foot display, but worth it for pictures online for ebay for sales, of the item displayed on that display. and for a scene otherwise to show something new I've done etc...

 

HMMMMMMMMMMM, I am liking the idea of using flex track and then handlaid turnouts, oh my bad, they dont make cd 40 flex in n scale, . I have everything I need to hand lay, the next rain day we get from work I am going to try my hand at it. adios from texas

 

This is just a test to see if I can attach a picture from my new RailImage account.



I haven’t seen the ME code 40 flex track, but I do know that I prefer the code 40 hand laid look over the code 55 Atlas flex track.

Also, it’s a lot cheaper to hand lay code 40 track (if money is an issue, which it is for most I guess). A 3-foot length of code hand laid runs in about $1.5, compared to $4.5 for ME code 40 flex track (Walters price). So at least for code 40 I believe the best way is to hand lay turnouts and track.

Jesper

 

Thanks Bill. The random look wasn’t really intentionally, but I think it just proves that hand laying is pretty forgiving and that a beginner like me can end up with a pretty satisfying result.

Jesper

 

NOW THAT GIVES ME A HUNGER! Man, that looks so realistic! You betcha I'm going to hand lay my own track on my diorama! Only, I'll be using code 80 or code 83 rail.. (I'm HO)

Jesper, NICE work! Keep up the great craftsmanship! Post more pictures!

 

Bill,
Yeah I kinda gave that thought too..... I just well. The code 100 in HO is really heavy for scale an all to the real thing. code 83 is closer to prototype an isn't much lighter rail then code 100 so.... BUT concidering the spikes themself an code 83 being low profile... I might just go with code 100 from the long flanged loco's catching the heads on the spikes for code 83 so.... But, this is just a stationary diorama so.... Nothing will actually "run" down the track so..... BUT the thing of making it realistic looking, an not hamper how a loco or car sets on the rail will be something to think about....

 

Thought I'd reply to some of the topics raised thus far. I use the full size ties rather than the profile ties because they match well to the flex track I butt up aginst my handlaid track. Profile ties do save you ballast. When I mentioned earlier that I use flex track rather than handlay for appearance sake, I neglected to mention that I am in HO, and was refering to code 70 and 83 flex track. I am not familiar with code 55 and 40 flex track, so can't say anything about their appearance. Bill mentioned tie spacing (or irregular laying of ties) and brought up staining wood versus painting plastic ties. I originally stained ties by placing a quantity in a container of stain, shaking then removing them and separating them on paper to dry. I hated doing that so I started glueing them down to the roadbed first and then stain them after sanding level, which made more sense. This works well but I went away from it because I use homasote for roadbed and the ties glue to it better if the homasote is not painted. So now I glue the ties down and paint the ties and homasote (I do this to seal the homasote to protect it during ballasting) using paint I had matched to a tie color I like. While painting I can dip the brush in white occasionally to vary the shade of the color. It is easy to do, really. And now that I use flex track in addition to my handlaid track, I can just as easily paint the plastic ties to match the wood ones. In regard to the tie spacing on flex track, I turn each length over and cut the plastic which connects the ties, then space them according to the type of track being laid, ie. mainline, siding, etc. Slicing a small bit off the ends randomly produces an imperfect look if that is appropriate. I would post a photo but I guess you can't do so direct from your c drive? I'm not very computer literate and have no web site.

Gary

 

This is not really related to the discussion of how to hand lay track and turnout, but I though that I would show you what I have decided to do. After I finished the small test layout, I decided to start replacing the track on my layout with hand laid code 40 tracks, so this is the fist section I will be replacing. Originally it was planned for a coal mine, but I never really liked the idea of using all that space just for a mine, so when I ripped up the old track, I decided to make a small town with 2 industries instead (still don’t know which industries). It has taken me about week (5-7hours) to get to where I am right now, and soon I will be ready to lay some tracks.
Here is a before and now picture

Jesper

Before

Now. I also replaced the roadbed with cork instead of WS foam.

 

I believe these guys talking about code 40 and lower are N scale, altho I may be wrong! I do know the code70 is HO and or can be N scale as well. Even tho its quite large for N scale...

BUT all this hand laying talk has me hyped. I can't wait to get my hands on some of this stuff!!!! To begin my diorama....

 

Jesper,

Is that a pre manufactured homasote road bed, or some brilliant concoction of your own?

I am thinking of scraping the " whole" room layout thingy, and going with a "L" or "U" shaped layout. I just can't seem to get any solid ideas, in my head yet. Adios from texas!,,,,,,,wyatt

 

Wyatt, it's just regular cork roadbed, sanded and painted

Jesper

 

Jesper,

Wow, I never knew the made a paint color called homasote!!!!!. LMAOOOO. Hey I thought it was funny. Thanx fer the info.

As I said before , the next rain day I get from work, I am going to try some!!! Wooooooo Hoooooo. Time to go make the doughnuts!!!!! Adios from texas. wyatt