Finally I am starting a small railroad in the back yard. I plan to expand in the future but for now I,am planning a simple triangle layout in the corner of my yard with the corner of the triangle backed toward the house and fence. My question is, should I use rerailers in the layout, and if I do how far apart should they be? Also are the rerailers worth the effort or should I just forget placing them on the layout. I plan to use four turnouts in this triangle as I expand the size. The size of this first phase is 12ft X 20ft. I have not seen any comments about rerailers discussed in any of the various forums so far but after looking at a lot of railroads on various internet sites and in the pages of garden railroads mag. I can see a few of them installed, but only a few. Any help would be appreciated.
Hello,
I have never used a re-railer, and don’t intend to either.
The only place I think one would be useful is on a set up track if you have problems seeing the wheels to get them on the track.
When it comes to running the trains, if you lay the track correctly the trains will stay on. Garden trains are different to small indoor scales.
In the small scales like (N gauge) a wheel can jump off for no reason. It might then ride along the top of the ballast (which is like a concrete path because it’s all glued together) and come back on at a re-railer. It doesn’t work like that in G scale.
In G scale the wagons are heavier and don’t just jump off for ‘no’ reason. Also the ballast isn’t like a concrete path, so if the wheel goes off the sleepers into the soft ballast it will dig in and stop. The wheel flanges are also bigger and designed to cope with track that’s not perfectly flat.
So to sum that all up: In a layout your size, if you can put the trains on the track by yourself OK, I wouldn’t bother with any re-railers in the track.
I personally have never used rerailers in g gauge. I think mainly cause they are never in the right place when the cars derail. Some use them as grade crossings.
I had a problem with cars derailing at a certain spot. A friend suggested I put a rerailer to put them back on. I fixed the track problem instead[;)]
Thanks for the info.Looks like I got my answer,I,am going to take my time and put the track down right. I will probably have more questions as I build the right of way. Thanks.
Tom
Thats why they call it ,“the right of-way” , sorry, i just could pass that one up. You’ll learn so much once you start laying track and running trains. Just don’t let one problem stop you from going on in the hobby.
I would only use them as small grade level crossings.
I don’t use rerailers eather . However the best places to use them I would think would be at the entrances of tunnels . Like the others were saying , put the track down right and the cars will stay on the track .
Thanks for the info on the re-railers. I was also considering a few, but you guys talked me out of it. Just to the track right and I won’t have a problem.
Thank,
Mark
I din’t know their was such a thing, my eyesight isn’t as good as it could be; I thought you were talking about derailers. I love to deliberately derail my trains and throw a few fireworks amongst them wow what a buzz.
Rds ian
Just call him “Gomez.”