I know I have it, but I can’t remember where T Koester discussed hand-laying.
I also know it is also discussed in Trackside Details. Paul M. wrote about it as well. Where else should I look?
You ought to go to the Trains.com site an use their magazine index to find the article.
Oh wait, you’re already there.
Dave H.
If I remember correctly he did one in the mid 1990s when the project layout was a coal mining extension for his (then) AM Railroad. Without the sarcasm in the other response, the index would be the place to nail it down.
I used both the search function and the index search. Maybe I dreamed it but I swear I read it withing the last 6 months or so.
Sarcasm or not, Dave is correct. Using the index of magazines would yield the answer to your question quicker without clogging up the forum with another thread that is truly not necessary. NO need to wait for a reply to your question.
Oh, and by the way, the link to the “Index of Magazines” is there right on the first page of Trains.com in the little box title “Trains.com Resources.” Ah, grasshopper Chip, look harder next time.
As a general comment, members need to make themselves more familiar with what is available online instead of simply going to the GD forum and posting a question whose answer is, as I like to called it, common knowledge. Spend some time browsing around trains.com, and other websites like nmra.org. Most of us are already spending enough timeon the internet already, make it a little more productive. Become familiar with what information is already out there. Doing so can avoid creating an impression that you’re a newbie or that you really don’t know as much as you seem to think you do.
Thanks JK,
I’m sure your heart is in the right place, but I did not find the reference in the index or the magazine’s search function. I did find the mid 90’s article and I did find the reference in Trackwork and Lineside Detail.
So maybe it wasn’t in MR or maybe I’m just crazy–or maybe you are better at the index than I am. I thought I had read something in the last 6 months.
I’m sorry I wasted your time.
Chip,
I believe the article you’re looking for is December, 1989, “Building a Turnout from Scratch”.
I have found the magazine search to be a bit quirky since you can only search titles, not content. Tremendously useful, but quirky.The Keyword search is a whole seperate search and equally as quirky. Then, as often as not, it turns out what I wanted was in a regular “department” and had no title at all.
Sometimes I find myself just paging through the table of contents of the magazines from the time I think the article occured. I remember having a heck of a time finding an article about doing brickwork that turned out to be a Lionel Strange “Working on the Railroad” piece.
I try not to be too quick to assume folks haven’t tried.
Chris
Chip
My favorite hand laying reference is Jack Work’s article on turnouts in the April 1963 Model Railroader. Although many would say that the article is the epitome of old-school handlaid track, I found it to be a great guide to getting started. And unlike today’s Model Railroader, the article was complete. The article contained how-to’s on laying out the track on the roadbed, staining and sanding ties, ballasting, wiring turnouts, filing points and frogs, and so on. While nearly everybody who hand lays eventually develops their own techniques and methods, I found the Work article to be a great starting point from which to develop my . Jack Work didn’t use any jigs or special tools or cast frogs or points, and so wasn’t dependent on any particular commercial product for his success. This makes his article much more adaptable to your particular choices.
My thoughts, your choices
Fred W
Chip,
You’re not crazy. “Handlaying turnouts without the hassle”, by Tom Piccirillo appeared in the December 2007 MR (‘the Rod Stewart’ edition). At least some of us here are still helpful.
Chris
Thanks Chris.
Going back and re-reading this thread I realize Chip, you never really stated what your question was or what specifically you were looking for. For starters that would have made it easier to provide a more specific answer.
The discussion about using or learning to use things such as the Index of Magazines on Trains.com or the wealth of information at nmra.org reminds me of what I call the Jesus principle - give a man a fish and you feed him for a day; teach a man to fish and he feeds himself for a lifetime. Applied to the model railroading forum - give a person the answer and they will come back and continue to ask questions; teach him where to find the answers on his own and he can answer his questions by himself. For many of the questions, the answers are already out there, the original poster is just unaware of where to find the answers or too lazy to look for it. Food for thought.