In all my reading I keep comming accross the fact that rail is refered to in pounds and codes. What do the pounds and codes relate to? Also what would be the appropriate lb/code rail to use for a railroad set in the 1930’s that emulates the Virginia and Truckee? Thanks for the help guys.
Dave
Prototype railroads refer to lbs when rating the rail. Such as: 60, 80, 110 lbs ETC…The higher the poundage, the more robust the rail. This allows heavier equipment to traverse it without weight fatique or damage to the rail.
Code is the measurement of the rail in scale terms. Example code 70 rail in HO-scale would be .070 inches in height. Code 100 would be .100 inches.
I am sure a quick search on the internet will reveal the type of rail/rating that was used for that specific era you are asking about.
Bob…
Bob, thank you for clearing that mystery up for me, I appreciate your help.
Dave
If I’m not mistaken, the prototype rail designation denotes the weight in pounds per foot of rail.
REAL US Rail is classified by WEIGHT.(lbs. per yard?) How much it can carry, for how long…
MODEL RR Rail is classified by HEIGHT. (.100, .070, etc.). I don’t think we can actually wear it out.
Bob hit the high points. Prototype rail is measured in lbs/yard. On our models, the ‘code’ is just a measurement of rail height. In 1930, typical mainline rail would be in the 100 lb area. Branchline or shortline rail could vary from 60 lb on up to about 85 lb rail. Current mainline rail is in the 132 lb to 144 lb area, and the PRR once used 152 lb rail.
In HO scale, code 100 rail is about equal to that 152 lb rail that the PRR used on their heavy traffic mainlines. Code 83 is equal to 125 lb to 132 lb rail. Code 70 rail is equal to 90 lb to 100 lb rail. Code 55 is about 65 lb rail, and code 40 is equal to 40 lb rail. These comparisons are based on the actual hight of prototype rail, and that can vary greatly. I am not sure what the V&T used, but I would suspect something under 100 lb rail for sure. As far as the model stuff, your selection of flex track and turnouts is greater in the larger sizes, and the price is lower for the larger sizes! Most model railroads use code 100 or code 83 trackage…
Jim
If I were modeling the Virginia and Truckee in HO, I’d probably use code 70 for the main tracks and code 55 everywhere else.
The prototype Virginia and Truckee steamed into the mid-20th century on rails (and with rolling stock) that went into service before the Comstock Lode played out in the 1880’s. By the 1930’s the entire railroad was fifty years out of date.
Chuck
I concur with the discussion on weight [it is pounds per yard] and the likelihood that the appropriate size for your V&T is probably code 55 (a bit more likely to be accurate) or code 70 (much easier to find prefab track including turnouts). Even though code 70 is probably a trifle oversize, the wheels and flanges most of us use are also a trifle oversize so using code 70 probably “fits” well, in addition to being easier to find commercial track for code 70.
Insofar as rail wear is concerned, it IS possible to have rail wear on an HO layout – I’ve actually seen it. A club in California replaced some code 100 rail during a line relocation project and we found that the head of the rail had worn away in a couple of areas. One of them was likely due to heavy use of abrasive track cleaners [Bright Boy and similar] while another was more likely due to lots of wheel spin [it was in a tough-to-reach location at the bottom of a grade we normally went uphill on and wheels often spun there – we ruled out the Bright Boys and sandpaper track cleaners as culprits since nobody could reach in there to clean the track!]. If you use lighter rail than code 100, rail wear from abrasive track cleaners is likely to occur even faster so use of solvents is probably better for the rail IF you use them in moderation so you don’t attract even more dirt and dust.
The only place PRR used 152 lb rail was on Horseshoe Curve itself. Even there, it prooved to be uneconomical; even with the normal tricks of reversing rail (end-to-end to even the wear), swapping north and south rails (again to even the wear), and re-using worn rail in yards or other secondary tracks.
There was no doubt of its weight when you say this stuff though. It looked even more out of place on a prototype roadbed than it does in model.
Chuck
In addition to codes 55, 70, and 83, HO modelers also can get 60 and 75, which are used in some European HO (Peco) and N applications. Code 83 approximates the 131-lb rail used on e.g. the main line of the U.P. Code 70 is about 105 lbs; code 75 about 112 lbs. For V&T, you might try to get the 60. To lay this rail – it would have to be handlaid – you may have to eschew spikes and go to soldering on PC stock.
i remeber how i got the first mag of model rairoader a few years back. all i remeber is scratchbuilding corn stalks and turning a '50’s gas station into a dealership or something about sratch building a gas stationof the '50’s. what issue could i find this in?
Just a minor point. Prototype rail is specified as how much it WEIGHS in pounds per yard, not how much weight it can carry.
-Ed
This talk about rail reminded me that when I was in Montana a couple years ago I was looking at rail dated 1890 on a GN siding . It was lighter rail and the siding served a couple grain elevators. Of course I got to looking around in other places and saw a lot of very old rail. If only it could talk.
Code 55 rail can be spiked with near-scale and scale spikes from Proto87 Stores. RP25 wheels or finer will run over the code 55 track with these spikes without any problems. The code 55 rail can also be glued with Pliobond or Barge’s cement, or soldered using PC board ties.
If you don’t want to handlay track, Micro Engineering makes HO, HOn3, and N gauge flex track with code 55 rail - which represents approximately 75 lb prototype rail in HO scale. This was about the largest size rail used with stub turnouts, which the V&T used in some locations until its demise.
Fred W