I’ve got the pictures and will post instructions in a little while.
Pls check back in an hour or so.
Thanks Chief!!!
I’ll begin posting instructions for each picture shortly.
Photo #1
Masonite base.
Outline track w/pencil or pen
Cut lauan ties on table saw
stain ties w/diluted latex or black coffee
place and glue w/wood glue
spread ballast w/brush (I use scale gravel from gravel spills)
spray wood glue/water/ w/bit of soap and/or alcohol to affix gravel ballast
(btw, I built the patio as well)
Thanks Dave,
It looks great.
[tup][8D]
Photo 2
Pry 027 rails out of metal ties with chisel
Paint sides of rails rust color
Lay stock (outside rails) to ties
Use bench grinder, dremel or file to sharpen points of frog
Spike rails to ties (every 4th tie) with needle-nose pliers and linemen’s pliers.
I prefer lineman’s as lauan is harder to punch thru than balsa or basswood but is cheaper & has a nice wood cross grain to it.
For spikes, I use HO spike or make my own w/ordinary small nails
I used a homemade wood gauge for rail spacing but BB the beagle ate the gauge so I simply run a truck along the track
If my gauge is out of whack, I simply pull spikes & reposition
3-rail trains are forgiving
use eye protection
Photo 3
Add closure rails. SImply bend rails by hand
You can see some of the tools I previously mentioned
I didn’t photograph filling in the frog but you would fill in the frog one of 3 ways:
a. Use JB Weld
b. Use car body filler
c. Use solder on copper base
I used the first 2 methods and found JB Weld superior, if not more expensive.
You should stick some tape around the frog as the weld will oooooze out
Let dry about 4 hours
Photo 4
Grind a flangeway thru the frog w/dremel or hacksaw blade
Pull a train thru to see if it is smooth
There’s more an art than a science to doing this
If you mess up, simply refill the flange; no problemo
Photo 5
Running a test train. I custom-painted the entire train and scratchbuilt the flat car
Re-spike or refill frog and repeat steps if train running not smooth
Photo 6
Grind down your point rails and solder to a switch rod made from 12 gauge copper wire; 10 ga will do fine too.
For the pivot of the points, I simply put a couple of spikes at the points end facing the frog.
Run trains thru. You may need to respike the outside rails if the point rails make the track gauge too narrow. Again, easy to pull and respike. Don’t sweat it.
Photo 7
Finally, time to add 3rd rail.
I didn’t do it yet for the crossover because I got fixated on a screenplay I’m writing so I’m substituting a previously done turnout to illustrate.
For every 3rd or 4th tie, insert a copper roofing nail with lineman’s pliers. The nails were too long so I cut them w/lineman’s pliers, making a diagonal cut
Next, lay 14 gauge copper wire on the nail heads and solder. You may need to file if you are a messy solderer. I got my copper wire out of Romex which is dirt cheap at Home depot. You can use the other wires inside the plastic for layout wiring. I use a razor to cut away the Romex lining to expose the wires.
That’s it. Pretty easy and fun.
That’s how you make a hi-rail layout using toy train rails.
If you enjoy being the engineer on your railway, you might find you enjoy gandydancing as well.
Dave Vergun
Pretty cool Dave, how long did that take to do? It’s nice to see you’re working on the railroad again. I take it you have a place for that to go on your layout.
Took a couple of evenings. Maybe 8 hours. Goes faster w/practice.
Putting on shelf layout. Workers on strike, however. May need arbitration or judges order to get workers back on track.
That’s not that long to do all that. At least there’s hope for your workers. It sounds like the NHL season is going to be over before it starts. That will give me a lot more time to work on the layout, because I have season tickets to the Wild.