I have two bridges that I would like to hand lay track on:
Walthers Single-Track Truss Bridge (Thats all ready assembled)
How should I go about hand laying the track for the Truss Bridge, since need to asemble before putting in the bridge? Havn’t had any luck spiking into the bridge ties. Do i need to predrill spike holes (What size)?
Curved trustle (26" radius, about 3 feet long) that i’m planning to construct.
Any sugestion on how I should proceed on this?
Bridge hasn’t been started yet.
I assume the truss bridge has plastic ties. If so, I would use the techniques Central Valley recommends for their tie strips - Pilobond or Barge’s Cement, activated with MEK.
For the trestle (which I assume will have wood ties) you will want very small spikes so that they don’t go through the ties. Use Micro Engineering’s smallest spikes, or Proto87 sells scale and near-scale size spikes in various lengths that will work. If you don’t want to spike, the glue technique will work with wood ties as well.
Check out the handlaid track group archives in the Yahoo Groups for more advice.
If this is the Warren truss that I’m thinking of , how do you plan on spiking and gaging the rails even after you find a method of gluing the wood bridge ties down securely? Hand laying on a plastic bridge seems rather a difficult project. Why wouldn’t you just use MicroEngineering bridge flex or Central Valley bridge ties Pliobonded to the plastic girders. If you are handlaying the surrounding trackwork, using the ME bridge flex works quite well. Remove the ties beyond the abutment and carry the rails out onto your wood ties and spike. This will anchor the bridge solidly in place. The same is true for the code 70 guard rails.
I beleive this would work out much easier and not have to worry about the trackwork in such a critical spot as on the bridge.
The curved trestle shouldn’t be a problem. Just make a template of the track radius to use for laying out the timbers and locating the position of the bents You can actually build the timber section of the trestle on the template (fastened to a sturdy piece of ply or pine. Build upsidedown on the template until it can be flipped to add the bridge ties. The board/ template works great for storing in between working sessions or even transporting if nec.
Bob K.
I use scale balsa wood,…first i lay two good sized beams that will line up directly under the rails, then I glue in strips of scale balsa wood ties, enough to span the bridge, i then lay the rails and spike them every 5th tie, (besure you have a couple of track gauges to keep the gauge correct) that’s what the beams under the rails are for…they take longer spikes that go into the beams instead of sticking thru the ties from the bottom, once that is done it’s a good idea to add a drop of CA glue to each spike so that they don’t work themselves loose over time,…i then take two more rails and bend the ends inward but not so far that they can touch and then spike them in on the inside of the rails for rerailer rails, also, add CA glue to the spikes…I then paint it and weather the rails and glue it into the bridge supports,…chuck
I’m with Chuck Clark. Build the timber parts of your bridge floor and lay the rails on your workbench, then install it as a unit - a piece of special snap-track, if you will.
A couple of other thoughts:
Pre-stain the ties and timberwork before installing rails.
Bridge guard rails are usually (but not always) smaller than the running rails. If your running rails are code 83, code 70 makes good guard rails.
Many prototype bridges with open floors have a heavy timber, 6" x 6" or so, on the tops of the ties at the extreme outer tie ends. I presume that it’s there for the same reason as the guard rails - to keep derailed wheels on top of the bridge ties. A truly prototype-looking installation would use nut-bolt-washer castings at every tie.
Tracklaying can be fun - or a PITA. It all depends on attitude.