Hey all, im hoping to find some help with proper track laying tactics. This may sound silly, as my setup will be very very basic, about a 4x8 oval with 3-4 turnouts. But as basic as that sounds right now i have tons of derailments on a similar setup i have now.
Are there any tips, or good threads about the do’s and don’ts for laying good trackwork? What do you guys do to make your trains run perfect? Do you have to file raily and fill in cracks with soder or something??? Im really clueless! lso do you guys file the points on a turnout to make them sharper? Is this something i should consider?
Also, are some track brands better than others? Realism is nice, but most important to me is a type or track that will run as smoothly as possible. I plan to do my own ballasting, so the stuff made an d set in plastic already is not for me.
So, can you guys offer me any tips, or at least point me in the direction of some good information??
First, know what you are doing, and why. Not the same as being able to do it, but know why you are doing what you are doing the way you are doing it. For example, hoping against ignorance that your BLI Mountain will go around tight 18 radius curves at a crawl, let alone at track speed, is about as far toward derailment-free running as you will get…hope.
Are your rolling items well suited to the track configuration you have in mind? Worse, even though your engine’s manufacturer claims that it is good on 18" radius curves, is your particular sample going to work on them? Quality control being what it is, you can expect a dismaying variance from item to item. Therefore, it really pays to lay out a track plan temporarily, but accurately, and see how it all works…towing, shoving, forwards and backwards, through all turnouts, along all tangents and curves.
One thing that is often overlooked is how planar, or close to it, the roadbed surface is. If it is wobbly or bumpy, your rails will twist and have your rolling items bobbing and rolling as well. Once you have your roadbed sanded smooth in long strokes so that it is also near planar in any one 8" section measured, you should enjoy derailment-free running.
I always give credit to tomikawaTT for this important finishing touch…except it is done before you link up sections of rail. You take a metal file and very slightly bevel the top and inside surfaces of the rail head at their cut ends. Every one, including on your nice expensive commercial turnouts. The reason is that as you lay curves, and tighten them, gaps can present a problem. The tighter the radius, the greater the force on the outside wheels to run their flanges against the inside of the rail head. At gaps along a curve, your flanges will want to hunt into those gaps, or stop short at them if they are not beveled but
I am in the middle of laying track for the first time in many years. I have learned almost everthing I know off this forum. I am having better success than I thought I would have, and am really pleased and satisfied with the results. The two most important tools I use are my eyes and a file. After laying a section of track get down to track level and look along it to make sure it is dead straight with no kinks. The rails should appear to be one continuous rail even through the turnouts. Get down to track level and move your eyes through the turns as if your head is the locomotive. It should be a smooth looking run right around the curve. Next run your fingers along the rails before and after installation. Your fingers can feel things your eyes cannot see. Carefully file any bures or irregularities off with a small file. As far as gaps in the track go. If I get any I go back and do it again. Practise makes perfect. I have a friend that uses glue gun glue to fill gaps with great success. He then carves it to the shape of the track. Be patient and have fun.[:)]
Well here goes of what I did. I had some old track from as long ago as 50 years when I returned to the hobby. So I had a mix of brass, nickle silver and steel. The snap switch’s and turnouts were also that old. Stored for about 35 years.
I went ahead and built my layout, had problems with derailments but had enough sense still to properly lay track. This is the one area you really have to take your time and do it right, trust me you only want to do this once, LOL not like I did. You’re gonna get all kinds of ideas and experience from others. I used homasote for my track bed glued to plywood. I cut it myself from 4X8 sheets, I had to paint all areas of the homasote as it tends to collect moisture. Homasote isn’t even, when it comes to thickness, but I shimmed the track here and there with card stock to eliminate dips and dives, I used my eye to look at the rail as I laid it. I used track nails to secure the track to the bed. I made sure the track was level using a small appliance level, what I mean by level is from the right rail to the left rail, I do have grades of course but still maintained level across the tracks especially important on curves on grades.
After running the trains for the first year I started tearing out the brass tack and replacing it with NS. Also I used mostly code 100 in hidden mountain areas and used code 83 in the switching areas. I bout new Atlas and Peco turnouts, I have 48 switch’s on my layout. I only have a few brass snap switch’s left, most of the brass has been replaced. Some of the points needed to be filed carefully to lay against the stock rails, but it’s no big deal, I used and old ignition file to do this. I also replaced most of the switch motor’s with tortoise.
If I were building a new layout today I would use code 83 throughout, secured with cheap caulking compound and store bought cork roadbed. I chose homasote because of the quiet, there is practically no noise, an
One more important thing, derailments are compounded and sometimes are not the fault of merely track work. Buy yourself a track/wheel gauge, one investment most MRR’s find necessary, me too! Even wheel’s on new cars and loco’s have been found to be out of gauge, but that along with couplers are another topic.
Beside the obvious of laying good track and having as broad a radius as is feasible for your space and design, one thing often overlooked is using metal wheelsets. I foud that these made a big improvement for me.
Im forced to use 18" radius because this is simply for a Holiday layout with a tree in the center. But it’s about fun for the kids, and trains falling all over the place is deffinatly not fun for kids. SO allthough i think i’ll only have about 3 turnouts off the mainline, I want to make sure they are running super smooth so the kinds can run derailment free.
I dont plan on running huge consists. I doubt I will use anything longer than about 4-5 40’ cars and a caboose. Id love to be able to get a larger locomotive like a PRR K-4 to fun on the 18" but i think this may be pushing it. Most likely going to pick up an 0-6-0 and a diesel and try to play it safe.
The number in the track code is merely the height of the rail in thousandths of an inch. The codes 83 and 70 are the most prototypically scaled for heavier mainline track most places, while the smaller codes would be for spurs, industrial tracks, transit rails running down streets, and so on.