My main line oval is bachmann ez track. It will have connected to it the turnout as the entrance to my yard. The turnout and the yard will be comprised of Atlas snap track attached to/sitting on cork rail bed. I understand i will need to shim where the Atlas turnout connects to the bachmann track. When you have had to use a shim to raise track to match the same height what has worked the best?
For me, it depends on the application. I have used plastic, actual tapered wood carpenter shims, cardstock, thinned/shaped roadbed, 3/16" wood stock, etc. I’m not certain because I don’t know which is thicker–Bachmann roadbed or cork roadbed–I think they’re very close. Assuming the cork is thinner, I would shape the cork to match the Bachmann roadbed and then use thin woodstock under the cork, if not cardstock/plastic.
Richard
Rail yards are actually laid right on the ground, so you wouldn’t really need to put the Atlas track on cork. (At least they appear to be. In actuality, the mainline is raised up more than the yard.) By doing that, the yard will be more prototypical, and no loose cars will roll out on the mainline because there will be a slight grade up to the mainline from the yard. Make the transition a shallow as possible. Maybe 10 to 12 inches from the EZ track to the Atlas track on the plywood base, and it shouldn’t need to be supported unless there is a track joint in the middle of it. Just don,t nail or spike the track down in the transition area. The space under it can be filled with ballast later on, or you could sand down some cork sections and slip them under the track in that area.
One way I (sometimes) level track is to use caulk. I spread the caulk to the required thickness and put a thin sheet of styrene between the caulk and the track so it doesn’t ooz up between the ties. Using a small level I push the track (on the styrene) down in to the caulk very carefully. I can get a nice level track doing this. After the caulk sets just trim off any that oozed out the sides and ballast.
Brent[C):-)]
The fact is that doing this is limited only by one’s imagination, resolve, and available materials. I have heard people use layers of masking tape, with the shorter ends laid closer to the place where the two rails or roadbed have to meet dead-on. A ramp of tape. I have used plaster of Paris, drywall mud, cardstock, breakfast cereal box cardboard, wood shims, the clear plastic from items sold in packages (the hard flanged stuff you have to either rip apart or cut with scissors to get open) and even ballast materials. All of these can be made to work.
I have made the forms for a ramp using stripwood or anything else, and then poured in drywall mud or plaster of Paris. Once the ramp is shaped roughly, I let it dry, remove the forms, and then sand it to the correct grade. Over that, use caulk and apply the roadbed.
Crandell
I generally use styrene sheet material. It comes in various thicknesses…and can easily be stacked & cemented together with solvent…as well as to the plastic ties of the track
I have used this method for matching track with different code rail…I use a piece about 4" long as a base…glue half of it to the ties of the track with the higher rail head…then shim the otherside til the rail heads are smooth…finish gluing all the other parts
This is a good and rather versitile method of shimming, stripwood, cardstock and many other material will do the job pending the application. Many mention the wood shingle, white cedars are 16", red cedar 18". you must also remember that the track will need the vertical transitions (upeasing and overeasing) This will typically create an incline of 5/16 to 3/8" in approximatly 10-12 (not the full shingle length), as you need a few inches of transition at both ends… It could be too much of a “hump”. The entire transition need not be “solidly” supported, shimming under a few ties to support then when satisfied the section can be at least “base Ballasted” for solid track support. This can be done even w/ sand, you can final ballast later on for a more uniform look and profile.
If i set my yard up without a bed is it a good idea to have the elevation transition with bending the rail joiners down our should i use a smoother transition than that?
Not sure what the elevation change end up w/ the track/ roadbed you’re using. You could use sheet cork, or other sheet stock to minimize the drop. Too much drop 1/4" + will require a much longer “ramp down” to the yard. If you make it too abrupt, you stand the chance of creating issues entering/ leaving the yard. You should never have to “bend” a rail joiner, this means that your transition is creating an angle at the joint rather than a nice sweeping ramp down or up.
You don’t want to eat up too much real estate in that decending yard lead, just to set the yard lowered as the prototype does. If you have the space and the lead can be that long, fine go for it.