Racking my brain with this one. I’ve pulled up the cork subroadbed and used a metal meter stick and metal ruler butted up against the rails. Once there, I use track spikes to keep the track from moving . I also look down the track and after all this it still doesn’t appear arrow straight. Any other ideas?
That long metal straightedge (I have a four footer) and the Mark I eyeball is the best way in my opinion. I’m one of the oddballs that prefers the flexiness of Atlas flextrack over the stiffness of ME flextrack, because I’m not very good at fighting track alignment while keeping the ME ties from looking all hokey. So, despite my best attempts, I never came up with a better method than yours.
I don’t think you are an oddball at all. Most everyone I know personally, or who I have helped build a layout, prefers Atlas flex track. and a great many of them prefer Atlas turnouts had don’t have all these “problems” you hear some people complain about.
I use a four foot aluminium level on my straight-a-ways and they look like Sheldons when I am done, however, there are subtle changes and track wiggles as I call them at times and I put it down to expansion and contraction issues. It’s nothing that is going to make me pull it up and redo it, but it is noticeable.
Yes, perhaps I’ll flip the Atlas track (currently used for siding) for the ME track and put the latter in the siding. I’d argue the track wiggles (BATMAN’s great engineering term) are less worrisome in a less used industry siding.
The laser level doesn’t appear to work well (frm what someone wrote in the thread I linked).
I agree with comments here metal straight edge one about 20in & one about 36, I prefer nailing, glue only when nessary.with nails you can adjust expansion and contraction.ever stand on prototype rail even theirs has wobble and sometimes little dipping and rises
Don’t know if the ME flex track of today is the same as 2013, and the longest straight runs on my switching layout are only 10’, but I’ve found Ribbon Rail alignment gauges and metal straight edges very helpful in laying the track.
Regards, Peter
Ribbonrail gages or the equivalent are the only solution to flextrack that has any degree of stiffness.
All the ‘straightedge’ methods require that wobbles be pushed laterally out of the track without ‘anything to push against’. A surprising amount of force is needed to take small waves and buckles out of the lateral. The RibbonRail gage pushes against both gauge faces of the railheads. It might be possible to make ‘crab’ gages that act against the outer railheads, but there’s little point when an inside gage is so easy to make and finish.
I decided to put the ME track on the sidings and the Atlas on the mainline. Using a yardstick works and then nailing the track down. Of course looking at the track helps also. Thanks all!
Glad you figured something out. For my previous layout I decided to go with ME code 83 and I bought 400 pieces to get started. When I started experimenting with the ME track I found I couldn’t create flowing curves to save my life so I sold all that track to a model train club and went with Atlas flex track. Atlas is so much easier to create perfectly flowing curves and straights. The new layout will be all Atlas flex code 83 for visible track and code 100 for hidden track.
