I’m getting nearer and nearer to laying roadbed on my layout but had a question about transitioning. The picture below is a diagram of my trackwork:
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I plan on having the mainline (teal) and branchline (blue) at the same height, with the service tracks (green) and yard (black) area at ground level.
My question is: What is the minimum length of (HO) track needed to make the transition between roadbed level and ground level?
My concern is with possible derailments on the turnouts going from the branchline into the Service tracks. Also, does anyone have any nifty tricks for creating that transition with the roadbed? I’ll be using cork.
I deleted the picture in the quote above to conserve space. A one foot transition is about a 2% grade; I would use (and did on my layout) at least that much - more if possible.
I cut a long wedge (table saw) and stuck it under the track. You can just use shims every few inches to make regular track fit the transition (ballast will cover everything up and add support between the shims). You could sand the roadbed with course sandpaper on a wood block (really not a lot of work for this short piece).
I’m not sure about the length you’ll need, but I do it in about 9" and it works OK for me. I use a Stanley Surform Shaver and finish it up with sandpaper. Works rather well. Hope that helps. PS, before you lay down all the track, run a few cars over your transition to be sure they don’t uncouple. If they do, you’ll have to lenghten the grade.
Thanks, fellas. The first turnout of the service track is my biggest concern - i.e. primarily the first track coming off that turnout that leads to the middle track. [Added: Speeds will be very low.]
Would you think it wiser to have the transition start after the first turnout? That would give me a least 9" after the straight portion of the turnout and plenty of straight track after the curved portion of the turnout. Does that make sense?
Here is a picture (sorry, but it is the only one of this area) of what I did; sounds similar to what you are doing. The circled area is a transition from deck to cork roadbed connecting my station yard to a continuous run loop (mainline). It has worked fine for months now; it is a low speed transition though.
Tom…Next time your at the lumber yard wonder around and find some loose wood shingles, approx 15 in long and check out the ones with fine pointed tapers (Ends). The cut easy with a hobby knife and you can carve it out for a compleat turnout if you wish. I use them for all transitions, main, yard and spirss, I only nail the middle and let the upper and lower float.
I use a16 inch transition length, and build the transition using layers of 1/4" wide masking tape. Here’s how one looks on my layout (I haven’t started scenery yet):
Starting to build the transition (the transition will flow right through a turnout) -
Transition ready for track -
The track laid (transition is through the turnout just above and to the right of the small tool shed near the bottom center of the photo) -
This has worked flawlessly for a couple of years now.
A number of things strike me. First you do not have much space for a gentle incline. This forces the incline dangerously close to the turnout – it can be done but you may have to shim and tinker and still might have problems depending on equipment and other variables. You may even find yourself installing more guard rails or an Atlas re-railer here and there to make it work.
Second, another issue is you may find yourself wanting to “park” cars on your inclined track. Back in the late 1950s this was no problem because our cars did not roll well but with the advent of Lindberg and Central Valley and the first delrin Athearn trucks, suddenly cars were rolling where in the past they would stay put. I can see that happening here especially with your servicing tracks. Test this before comitting to any solution.
Third, you might want to explore Woodland Scenics 1/2 inch white foam curvable inclines or risers or whatever they call them, which have a fairly gentle taper and of course you do not have to use the entire length but only what is needed to match your height(s). That is what I am using for the transitions on my layout because my subroadbed matches it closely.
Fourth, while the precut wedge shims at the hardware store are short (and thus as pointed out elsewhere in this string the angle is too abrupt) consider solving that problem by – shortening them even more! Get them down to say 2 or 3 inches long and put them under your roadbed and subroadbed and you probably have perhaps 1/8 to 3/16 of an inch of height difference and that might be just enough to give you the impression you are after. An HO scale foot of difference between main line and siding is enough to convey your idea. Again you may want to test this before doing anything permanent.
Fifth, consider also just changing what roadbed you use between the two, from 1/4 cork down to the thinner 1/8" foam roadbed that Woodland Scenics mar
Since I had a yard, I used some cheap corkbed from Walmart. (It’s in the office section, all rolled up) It’s about the thickness of n-scale bed.
I unrolled the cork and placed it bend side down and laid books on it to flatten it out. I then used a THIN layer wood glue to paste it to the foamboard.
Like you, my yard work is very close to the main. The difference between the HO and “N” corkboard was minimal. I cut out another thin strip of the “N” corkboard only about 6" long and laid it between the main turnout and the yard turnout. I then glued and block sanded it down.
I found a sudden transition on such a short section really didn’t matter, as I never stopped over it with a loose car or longbase locomotive (2-10-2). I’m using Baldwin VO-1000’s. You just need to massage the track and turnouts before you tack them down!
As I went along I systematically carved out small sections between yark track with a flat chissel blade.
I like Dknelson’s sixth option, changing the surround ground heigth, not track level.
Reason being, you aren’t looking at a single transition here. You are planning an elevation change, PLUS TWO transitions from inclined to flat, one on each end.
You might get away with it on the black track, you have a little bit of room to work with, but your green track is going to introduce headaches in more than one area. Not onl;y do you really want your turnouts to be flat, you also have to make sure your turnouts are not torqued as they will be in a transition. Bending the turnout maskes them stop working reliably.
If this were my layout, I’d lay ALL the track at the same level, then use plywood or plaster to raise the area surrounding the yard. Quick, simple, easy to maintain track, no fiddling, no hassle, on to the next issue. Otherwise you could be in for endless frustration and tweaking, LOTS of re-railing, only to finally tear it all out and do it over on the flat. I’m not saying it can’t be done, just that you’ll probably be happier if you don’t.
Another good source of transition subroadbed is your local hardware store that sells door shim. It’s used to adjust door jambs. If the ‘ramp’ is too steep, a pass or two with a belt sander should suffice.
I was reading this thread and was wondering Why would you want to go from road bed to ground level? I’m not quite clear on why you want to do this. Some explanation would be welcomed.
Tom nice web site I get a bunch of time I’m going to wonder around in there.
Yep. I use “Proselect Shims” from The Ridge Company, Eugene Oregon. Home Depot sells them. They are 15.5" long and about 5/16 thick tapering to a nearly perfect point. That’s about a 2% grade. Just cut off the thick end where it matches the height of your roadbed. You can cut slots an inch apart on one side to place them on a curve. Don’t use wood glue to mount them because the water in the glue makes them curl. My layout is N-scale, so I have to bevel the edges with a chisel or planer. In HO, they will fit right under the track.
The “lower” sections of track are/will be a yard/coaling facility/etc, so I guess Tom is going to make it lower to represent less heavily travelled rail…
On the prototype, sidings, spurs, and yards are typically lower than the main line. The usual reason given for this is to prevent a loose car from rolling onto or fouling the main line. This is not really a concern on most model railroads but replicating it can be visually effective on a model railroad.
I have a flex track main line on cork roadbed that branches off into a sawmill complex that has track on ground level. I used a single piece of 18-degree radius curved sectional track to transition to the ground level just after a no. 6 turnout and just ahead of a no.4 turnout. I glued (not nailed) a piece of cork roadbed into place where this transition track was installed and then simply used a Dewalt 1/4-sheet pad sander to gradually taper it along its entire length down to ground level. I’ve had absolutely zero alignment problems or derailments.
Another reason the prototypes have sidings at lower levels is cost. There is no need for spending the money on the ballast and the cost of maintaining it for a siding that won’t be used at significant speeds. Randy
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