Last week I had mentioned in another thread that O-27 track is actually a gem to those interested in hand laying. It is cheap and plentiful and with a little patience can rival most other 3 rail track out there. It doesn’t have to be expensive but it does take time. Time that many may not want to spend. However for those with lots of track lying around who have really wanted to get into high rail modelling who were considering switching over to another brand, here is an alternative. It isn’t quick but it is rewarding. The first few pics are just going to show the evolution of how I arrived at this setup which I fondly refer to as “a poor man’s tubular track for the 21st century”. Just because you are into tubular track with 3 rails doesn’t mean that you can’t be a scale modeller!
This is a comparison photo of a standard O-27 straight vs the new handlaid one.
This is a photo of an Atlas 3 rail piece next to the hand laid piece. Notice that my tie spacing is identical to the Atlas piece. Also notice my blackened (not painted) center rail and individual spikes. This takes time but looks really nice.
This photo shows the evolution of my attempts to current. The top piece is obv
Fred - Love your results. Even though I use K-line O throughout my layout, I was thinking of using the lower profile O-27 for spurs and industrial areas. Gonna try your ideas.
Thanks for posting. (would look good in print --hint* hint*)
FRED: Wow! Looks great. Many thanks for sharing. To those guys on the Modeler’s Forum…“Eat your hearts out! There are modelers over here too.” Am looking forward to your follow-up posts. Thanks, again.
I thought some of you guys would like that. If any magazine wants a printed article, I’ll gladly write one. Of course I could just give you a tutorial here instead that they could then just use. I’ll actually do it in 3 sections. I’ll start from easiest to hardest which means straights, curves, and turnouts. Keep in mind that I don’t have any of this running on a layout anywhere but there’s not any question of it not working. Track is track and it tests fine on carpet. I am pursuing studrail for my own personal use so this is ultimately for my friend Chad to install on his upcoming attic layout. His layout will be an exercise in how to be a complete cheapskate while still wanting things to look pretty good. It sounds like a good challenge to me!
The straights are simple to do. Curves bring a couple of issues and an extra step but are still pretty easy to do. Switches however is where things get complicated and where the most time and effort are required. I have only built one to date and there are many things that I’d do differently next time but it worked. I have no desire to show it off though! It wasn’t pretty. After I show you how to do straights and curves, I’ll work more on the switches and try to find some better and easier ways to do things. It will involve some resin casting work and more manual labor but it is always the first one that is hardest.
Tonight I’ll try to start getting some good pics and a step by step on building the straights. Hopefully by the end of the week you’ll see the first one. Here is a material price list so you can get an idea of how much it all costs to do.
1: Tie jig from Fast Tracks: $14.99. You only buy this once and just use it over and over again.
2: 1000 Ties from Fast Tracks: $23.60. That works out to $0.023 per tie.
3: 5000 short O scale spikes from Old Pullman: $23.99. That equals $0.0048 per spike.
Hey this is great. The funny thing is that just last night I was trying figure out how to take apart a section of rail so that I can cut it and install insulators to make my own Auto Crossing Signal connection. I don’t like the looks of the lockon contactor. I figured it out but wasn’t so sure how I was going to glue the cut section back in. I was pondering the idea of inlaying into some clear epoxy resin, but if ties can be glued on then that will work too.
I am not a fan of relying only on glue to hold ties unless you are still using the standard metal ties. The glue may or may not hold and I’ve had a few break off just by handling them. Gluing and spiking them pretty much takes care of it. My first attempts used epoxy but I couldn’t get it to hold. Liquid nails wasn’t much better. You need a glue that remains a little bit flexible such as Pliobond or contact cement.
You have done a lot of work and I hope to use a lot of your information. Just getting started and from reading a lot on this forum know I need to know more before I nail down my track.
This is an awsome concept and a fantastic post! I REALLY look forward to the switches. I have consider handlaying track in the past but may do it now thanks to you! I think this would be a GREAT how-to series for the magazine!
For those wanting scale ties, a typical prototype tie is 9 inches wide (3/16 inch in 1/48 O scale), 7 inches deep (but who can tell, if it’s ballasted?), and 8 feet (2 inches), 8 1/2 feet (2 1/8 inches), or 9 feet (2 1/4 inches) long.
I just buy mine. You can get them from Fast Tracks or from Midwest Scale Lumber. MSL’s ties are a little bit more expensive but are Basswood which is a hardwood as opposed to Fast Track ties which are White Pine, a soft wood. What is the difference in real world modelling use? I have no idea. They both seem to work fine. They are a scale 7" x 9" x 9’ long.
Cheap is the name of the game! Use what you’ve got. I just so happened to have tie jigs and ties lying around.
I prefer “Dark Walnut” Minwax stain. Although I’ve applied it by wiping it on with a rag, and even with a stain pen, the way I’m currently doing it is by laying a bunch of ties out on a newspaper and then spraying them with stain from a spray can. Obviously I don’t do this in the house. I just let them sit for a day then flip them over and spray the other side. I typically stain ties in bulk so I have them.
You can simulate the look of real ties very well by taking a rasp ( a very rough file) and running it down the ties. The deeper you go, the older and more rotten the tie looks. Of course the rougher it gets, the lighter the stain should be as these old ties are probably pretty well dried out. For those I use “Early American”. The rougher ties take the stain much better and get darker in color anyways so it’s good to lighten them up. For the tubular track, I’m not going to these lengths. I’m just taking the ties as they come and am staining them with Dark Walnut. If they aren’t dark enough, I’ll go back and hit them again.
I drew up an O-54 switch in AutoCAD today at work. Next step is to get the tie pattern in the drawing with it and then work on getting the jig set up. As I said, that will be the last installment after the curve tracks. I’ll try to take some pics of the straight assembly process tonight if I can. It may have to wait a couple of days though.
OK here is as far as I got on the first installment. It isn’t complete yet as it is midnight right now and I’m out of spikes. Rats! Oh well. This will give you a great idea of how it’s done.
Stain your ties. I prefer to use a spray stain before I lay the track but it can be done afterwards by hand too. This is the quickest method I have found. Do it your own way. There are pros and cons to every method. As you can see I have before and after shots of the ties.
These are the jigs I am using for these pieces. They are from Fast Tracks and are available in 3 different tie spacings. They are called mainline, branchline, and siding. Mainline has the closest spacing and siding the farthest. Since branchline appears to be the same spacing as Atlas 3 rail track, that’s what I chose to use. Of course you can always mix and match depending on your line. Perhaps your mainline is taller O track and your sidings are O-27 profile. Change the tie spacing too. It’s prototypical aside from the whole tubular rail a scale foot tall thing. The point is that there is no right or wrong way to do it so play around with this. Of course if you want more than one spacing, you need to buy more than one jig.
Here’s a quick picture of a completed section sitting on a jig to show the spacing.
I built two O-31 manual switches using tubular track back in 1965. I still have them. When I get time, I will post pictures. I also built a O-27 Y switch and a O-27 crossing using curved track. I did all this back then with a hacksaw and hand tools. Today, with a Dremel tool, it would be easier. The switches worked well. I don’t use them anymore because I have 58 022 switches, and that is plenty.
Using O-27 curved track, you can make your own wide radius curved track. I have made some pieces in the past. Carefully open up the tie at the opposite end from the pins and open up the tie in the center. Do this for only the outer rail and center rail. Use a flat screw driver and bend the ties only as much as you absolutely need to free the rail. You cannot bend the ties very many times before they will break.
Using your hands, gently bend each of the rails to a larger radius. I made some that were 12 pieces to a circle and some that were 16. 12 pieces is going to be about O-41, and 16 pieces is going to be O-54. When you have the track bent properly, put the rails back in the ties, and re-crimp the ties. To re-crimp the ties, cut a block of wood to fit inside the tie, and mount it in a vise. Use a flat screwdriver and hammer to re-crimp the ties.
Next, cut off the ends of the outer and center rail so they match the length of the inner rail.
I would do some of this myself except I am hooked on O-31 track and 022 switches.
Holy cow, that to much like work. I lucked out one day and found 3 big bags of wooden tie in one of the junk boxes they had at the hobbie shop. They are not to scale but they make the O tube track look a little better. I still wish Lionel would come back out with Super-O track.
Servoguy: Please do post pics of those old switches. I’d like to see if you have a better way of doing things than I do. Cheap and easy is the name of the game with this.
I have actually never seen Super O track in person. I seem to own a piece of just about every other kind but that and old T rail have eluded me. In truth I’ve never pursued them. My favorite tubular track was old K-Line Super K which was O-27 profile with brown plastic ties. My 2nd hand laying attempt had ties spaced much like it. I used to play with it on the floor as a kid and still have an O-42 loop of it. My favorite O track was also from K-Line and was their Super Snap/Shadow Rail which was the tall rail with plastic ties and a black center rail. I still have an O-31 loop of it that I am looking to get rid of. I’d like to see Super O in person sometime to see why so many people wish it were still around. The tie profile seems a bit strange in pictures but pictures don’t always tell everything. I’d like to see how a few things were done on it.
I think with a few wood patterns, the switches could be reproduced rather easily. A Dremel tool would help a lot for cutting the tubular track. It doesn’t cut to well with a hacksaw even with a 32 teeth to the inch blade.
I had a thought about bending the O-27 to a new radius. You could build a roller using 3 small ball bearings arranged in a triangle. With the proper spacing of the bearings, you could push a rail through the roller and have it right every time. You would need a separate roller for each of the rails as they are different radius.
Fred, I think you could build almost any kind of switch you wanted to, even a double slip switch. It would take some time and ingenuity, but it is possible. I know the HO guys do it.
BTW, I am playing with toy trains, not making a model rail road. I have a carpet RR, and I just enjoy watching the train go around a very complex layout. I’ll post pictures of what I have. I have track in 2 bedrooms of my townhouse, and I have 37 switches, 34 of which are on the main line. The train runs all over the layout, operating the switches without any help from me. I just get to watch.
The point is that there is no right or wrong way to do it so play around with this. Of course if you want more than one spacing, you need to buy more than one jig.