The FAQ is maintained by Urban_Fredriksson@icl.se
The HTML version of the FAQ is maintained by Tony Lupton (t.lupton@citr.uq.oz.au)
The HTML version of the FAQ is hosted by Rich Weyand (weyand@rcnchicago.com)
This digest contains the following parts:
Cork roadbed is typically provided in a split section, thin enough to follow normal curves in a given radius. One netter suggests soaking the strips in hot water first. This makes them flexible enough to do about 8" radius curves before breaking.
Use a pencil on the end of a string and tack the free end of the string to the track base at the center of the curve (i.e. center of the circle formed by the curve). Then keep the string taught and draw the centerline of the curve on the track base with the pencil. Similar methods use a solid beam instead of string.
One simple way to reduce kinking is to stagger the joint (tends to happen naturally in curves anyway) so that the actual break in one rail is an inch or two (or more) away from the break in the other rail. Sliding the rails so that the break occurs over the ties of only one of the sections will also help.
joint
================== ============================= <- rails
} } } } } } } } { { { { { { { { <- ties
============================== =================
joint
} = tie from left section
{ = tie from right section
Concerning soldering rail, still use a metal rail joiner, but then flow solder into the outside edge of the joiner/rail area. Don't solder the inside edge, or it will create problems with wheel flanges. The rail joiner helps hold the rails in alignment while soldering, and will keep them together should the solder joint fail (due to thermal expansion or contraction).
A second note about soldering on flex... You'll want to be careful not to melt the plastic "spikes" (I've melted entire ties). Melting them will naturally exacerbate kinking/gauge problems. How do you melt solder (374 deg F) without melting plastic?? Good question! If you are an expert with a soldering gun, no problem. I've found that using a 100 watt gun helps because it heats the rail fast, so you can get in and out quickly. Plasitc meltage seems directly proportional to time, rather than temperature.
Handling flex: I try to keep the sections straight until I really need them, and then I only bend the section for fitting purposes in the one place where it's going to go. This way, no pre-kinking gets into the rail and the rail will on its own seek a smooth curve between the endpoints. This also helps in making straight mainlines. Of course for old, somewhat overused yards or spurs, you might deliberately kink up the section first, and then try to lay it as straight as possible... this produces a good effect when sighted along at track level.
What do I need to know about homasote?
[The following description of Homasote was written by Gregg Fuhriman]
I cut it into many 8' strips, using a rotary saw set at 45 degree angle to get the "ballast slope". The ascii drawing below shows an edge-on view of how I cut the Homasote sheets:
| |<---- wide enough for track ___________________________________________________________ |\ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \| ----------------------------------------------------------- <---------- 4' ---------->These strips were then used as-is for straight roadbed. To make curves, I cut dozens of kerfs crossways about 3/4 of the way through the strip and about 1/2" apart. The strip could then be "bent" into the desired curvature by compressing the kerfs on the inside of the curve. The purpose of this exercise was to reduce wasted Homasote; it is not a cheap material.
The homasote strips were then glued to plywood sub-roadbed using carpenter's glue and clamps. I also drove small nails through the Homasote into the plywood to help hold things in the right position while the glue dried. Special shapes, like around switch stands, were shaped by hand using a utility knife to carve the homasote.
Cutting this material with a power saw generated piles of fluffy, gray dust that went everywhere and proved to be a pain to clean up. I reccommend wearing a dust filter to avoid breathing in the dust and fluff. Cutting with a utility knife is neater, but more difficult and tedious as the homosote tends to "grab" the blade (just as it "grabs" spikes and nails).
Forming curves with the kerf-and-bend method was not 100% successful. At least half the time the strip would break in two. Also, the resulting curve is not super smooth ... they are actually several short straight sections. Heavy sanding can smooth out some of this (but with more dust).
Other netters have suggested painting the Homasote with a latex paint to help seal it against moisture (introduced mostly during ballasting, but also to guard against ambient humidity). Its dimensional stability with respect to temperature and humidity has been panned, though I have not noticed problems with my layout so far.
I'm starting a first layout in my dorm room (4X6) and I'd like to hear some of the pros and cons of plywood and homasote for the base of the layout.
Homasote is something you laminate on top of plywood. Don't use it "free hanging" from the benchwork. If you're using something like L girder benchwork with cookie-cutter trackbeds, one sheet of plywood goes quite a way (because you can splice together the cut-outs to make more track bed.
1/2" or even 3/4" plywood with an overlay of 1/2" Homasote is what I've seen used on industrial strength layouts. I'm using 1/2" Homasote on top of 3/8" plywood on my layout -- the downside of this is that it takes more supporting risers to get a decently rigid roadbed with thinner plywood.
...
I'd recommend an open framework as being better for landscaping, but if you're sure you want one big flat area to build on, I'd recommend both: homasote over plywood over a 1x4 frame. Homasote is much easier to drive track nails into, not to mention removing them if you want to re-arrange your trackwork.
I have an HO layout power problem. At the furthest parts of the layout there is a noticable power drop. How can I fix this?
What you need is a power feed to this part of track that needs power. If you use blocks, each block needs more than one feed from the block switch. Most people just put the power feed right in the middle of the block. Instead, the feed should be split in two (or more) and one be put towards one end of the block and the other towards the other end of the block. More feeds, less chance of having power drops.
At my club, each joint has a wire jumper, and the joint itself is not soldered. This controls the expansion/contraction of the rail in the heat/cold environment.
...
Run a second pair of wires off of your transformer and attach them at the farthest point of track, or at the point where the engine seems to be slowest. This should allow the bad connections, or resistance of the track to be eliminated.
...
Don't depend on track to carry your power to the ends of the world (layout). The conductivity of track isn't that good, and NS (Nickel- Silver) is even worse than brass. I've been told that code 100 NS track has the same conductivity as a #22 copper wire. NS is recommended over brass however for it's lack of corosion. What you should be using is feeder wires from the track down to a point below the layout, and a fairly heavy gauge wire to carry the power to the feeders. Our club has a policy where we drop a feeder wire at every point where two tracks join. This insures that every section of track has at least one feeder wire connected to it, and is some insurance against "dead" sections. I like to solder the feeder wire to the bottom of the track connector. That way the wire is not seen on top. We use #10 stranded wire to carry power to the feeders.
My track doesn't have holes in the ties for nails. How do I hold it in place?
A construction cement called "Liquid Nails" will hold the cork and track in place. Just a thin coating of this with the track pressed down onto it will set in about 30 secconds... even with the 8" radius curves which the flex track will not hold on its own.
An alternative is to use white glue spread with a finger over the surface of the cork. You will need temporary pins along the track to hold it in place while it dries.
"Design Your Own Train" and "Run Your Own Train" are a pair of programs that let you do what you say. RYOT gives you a "hogger's eye view" of the road; that is, the view is supposedly that which you would see from the cab.
"Design Your Own Railroad" allows you to create a layout complete with scenery, then run trains on the tracks. You only get a bird's eye view, though.
I personally have used DYORR, and recommend it. I have not used DYOT or RYOT, but have heard that they are less sophisticated products. Of course, if you are determined to have the flightsim-style view out the windshield, RYOT is your only choice.
All three products are published by Abracadata software, (800) 451-4871. It's cheaper to order the products from MicroWarehouse, however: (800) 367-7080.
[Editor's note: I've also seen advertisements for products which look more like CAD packages tailored to model railroading. A review would be most appreciated.]
REALROAD comes with enough information to simulate 150 locomotives. Freight and passenger-car information is also included. You can modify or add to the list of possible cars, as desired. Multiple locomotives can be combined on the same train with varying numbers of cars, proving *(?-providing?)* virtually endless train simulation possibilities. REALROAD's controller card installs in an empty PC/compatible slot, while power-supply and track connections are made via a terminal strip on the back of the card.
When handlaying track, how/when do you folks glue down the ballast?
Some people ballast their trackwork after they have layed the ties but have not yet layed the track and some lay the ties and ballast the track at the same time. Although I have never layed ties and ballast at the same time, I have ballasted before laying track. Basically what I do is the following:
When staining ties, I like to have three colors of stain to give some variety. I usually stain about 75% of the ties one color, 20% of the ties a lighter color and 5% of the ties a darker color. The lighter color represents older ties while the darker color represents newer ties. Because I model logging lines, my 75% is a silvery gray color (20 parts alcohol:1 part grimy black), the 20% is a lighter gray color (20 parts alcohol:1 part gray) and the 5% is a fresher wood color (20 parts alcohol:1 part dark tan).
...
Ballast is added in the same fashion for both handlaid and prefabricated track. The roadbed is prepared and the track laid in position using your favorite method before any ballast is added. The method described below also works just as well for grass, dirt, etc. in the rest of the layout.
There are several methods, but the basic idea is to spread the ballast in place (I use a cheap 1" paintbrush to shape it), soak it with some sort of wetting agent, and then flow a fixative into it. Variants abound - this is a FAQ in the model railroading magazines as well, so look there for alternatives.
The most common wetting agent is tap water with a drop or two of standard dishwashing liquid added to cut the surface tension (the water will just bead up otherwise and won't soak the ballast). This can be sprayed on with a *fine* mister or carefully dripped on with an eye dropper. The most common fixative is a 50-50 mixture of white glue and water, again with a drop of detergent. This is dripped onto the ballast and allowed to dry. All of the water will evaporate, so the ballast should be as wet as possible without floating it away; otherwise you may just glue down a top crust which will chip away later.
...
Who makes good ballast material, and do you mix/combine several coarsenesses or make it uniform?
Woodland Scenics is probably the most popular brand, but at least one poster described it as looking like kitty litter; a bit harsh but not far from the mark in my opinion. Their finest grade should be used by N and HO scales, and it's really too coarse for N.
The other major source is actual rock. You can just walk outside if you live in the area you model, you can try the local quarry or gravel operation to see if you can get a small sample, or you can order it from several operations which advertise in the model railroading magazines. If you use real rock you must crush it, sift it to size, and then remove any ferrous particles with a magnet.
Note that most real railroads use ballast that is available locally, so the color of your ballast will differ based on the area modelled. Most of it is a standard gray, but iron ore roads have a distinct reddish hue, and RMC just finished a series about a marble quarrying railroad which used marble chips!
I have a question about track laying and rail curvature. I am under the understanding that rail curves on prototypes are designated by degrees of curvature. Does this mean that a curve in the track points the train in a new direction X degrees from the way it was going? If so doesn't this have to occur in a specific distance to indicate the sharpness of the curve?
Yes indeed. The measure is in "degrees per chain", where a chain is an engineers chain (a unit of distance equal to 100 feet and traditionally measured with a chain).
Just to keep things confused, land surveyors also measure distance in chains (and rods!), but a surveyors chain is not the same as an engineer's chain!
Think of trying to survey a railroad line. You can't just stick a compass point in the ground at the center of the desired curve and scribe the centerline of the track, the sizes are just too large, and in addition, your surveyors frequently can't leave the right-of-way for fear of death because the adjoining landowners are furious about the condemnation proceedings by which the right-of-way was just obtained.
Instead, what you do is work your way down the right-of-way pounding stakes into the ground every chain (100 feet!) to indicate where the centerline of the track belongs. The grading crew follows you and tries to make a level grade along the line you've surveyed (with the help of a leveling crew that uses different surveying instruments, specifically, levels), and then another survey crew follows, re-marking the centerline on the top of the grade for the tracklayers.
To do curves, you set your transit over one stake and sight back at the previous stake (let's assume it was on the tangent, for simplicity). Then you invert the transit to make it point along the same line, but in the forward direction, and rotate it by the number of degrees in the specified curve. Your partner is standing at the other end of a chain anchored to your stake, and you signal him with your hands to shift left or right until he is on the mark, whereupon he drives a stake. You then pick up your transit and your end of the chain, walk to the new stake, and repeat the process.
Of course, it gets more complicated on rough terrain.
The angle between the two stakes (spaced 100ft apart) with the center of curvature as the vertex is equal to the "degree" of the curve. The angle of the right triangle (stake,center,P) is one half of the "degree" of the curve. Thus with "d" = the "degree" of the curve, "r" = the radius in feet, and sin and arcsin calculated in degrees we have:
d = 2 arcsin(50ft/r)or solving for r
50ft/sin(d/2) = r
stake |\ ^ / | | | / | \ | / 50ft| |track | / |P | | center ----------------| 100ft \ | | | \ 50ft| | | \ | / | \ | | | |/ v stake |<----- r ----->|Note: The 100ft is measured along the cord of the curve, .i.e. a straight line, not along the curve, making "180 degrees" (r=50ft) the sharpest curve that can be expressed in "degrees".
One benefit of surveying curves this way is that, if the track needs to make a total curve of, say, 10 degrees, as measured between the tangents at each approach to the curve, all you do to determine the number of surveying stations between the start of the curve and the end of the curve is divide the total curve by the number of degrees allowed as the maximum curvature. Thus, for the example 10 degree curve, if the maximum allowed curve is a 2 degree curve, then there will be 5 survey stations that must be offset by 2 degrees each to make the total curvature.
Approach spirals into tight curves can be worked out similarly. To start a 9 degree curve (that's pretty sharp), you might require one survey station at 3 degrees, one at 6 degrees, and then 9 degrees per station from there on into your spiral, and then work your way back to a tangent with a 6 degree step and a 3 degree step.
...
Just to confuse matters a bit, Track and Turnout Engineering by G.M. Kurtz mentions that in mountainous terrain the Southern Pacific used a 50 foot chain for curves and in flatter terrain used the usual 100 foot chain.
How do you bend cork roadbed?
I have found it useful to soak the cork in hot water first, and then bend it while wet. (As per Life Like's instructions on their package). I was fortunate that the glue I was using (Liquid Nails) was able to bond securely even to the wet cork. I was using N scale roadbed and was able to do about 8" radius curves without breaking the cork.
I've heard that you have to be careful laying curves so that you end up with a smooth curve instead of a series of chords going from one tie to the next. So how do people bend smooth curves? I know that there are expensive rail bending machines available (sounds pretty specialized, and definately beyond my means).
A rail bending machine is easy to build. As long as you're laying wide radius curves, you won't need one. Balance a meter or so of rail on your finger and let it droop under the influence of gravity, whatever scale you're in, even up to prototype sized rail, you'll get it drooping to a wide radius curve! Actually, your finger won't comfortably hold a meter of prototype rail, and you can safely spike rail in curves significantly tighter than the arc to which it sags, but let's get on with it!
Suppose you're building a curve that does need pre-bent rail. Most LGB stock curved track is in this class, most HO stock track isn't, but if you're building scale models of streetcar track or turntables, you'll need a rail bender in almost any scale you work in.
Here's how to build one:
Take three pieces of square wood stock (2 cm or 3/4 inch thick for HO, 4 cm or 1.5 inch thick for O, 6 cm or 2.5 inch thick for G), make the pieces 5 or more times longer than they are thick, and glue and nail them to a solid base like so:
_____ _____ _____ | || || | The middle piece should be free to slide | || || | but very snugly held between the outside | ||_____|| | pieces. The two outside pieces should __|/////|_______|/////|__ be solidly glued and nailed to the base. | | | | |_________________________|Next, build three "pullies" out of stacks of washers rotating on wood screws. Each pully should look like this:
_ __ | | _ / |__| |_| |__________ ( | | | | \ __ This screw should not quite come through ( __| |_| |__________/ your wood square stock when screwed in. \__| | | |_| |_| \ This washer (or stack of washers) should be a tiny bit \ thicker than the foot of the rail \ This washer (or stack of washers) should be a bit thinner than the gap between rail head and rail foot, so it rides against the side of the web of the rail. This washer should stick out above the smaller washer enough to keep the foot of the rail from running into the smaller washers as this washer rolls (or slides) along the web of the rail.Now, screw one screw (with its stack of washers) into each piece of square stock, about 1/3 of the way in from one end; don't overtighten them, since you want to leave the washers able to roll along the edge of the rail.
From above, it should look like this when done:
___________________________ | | | (O) | |___________________________|_ | | | | | (O) | < the sliding member can be slid |_|___________________________| in and out with a bit of effort | | | (O) | |___________________________|Now you can start bending rail. Clamp the bender in a vise with the slider offset about like is shown and try to force a length of rail so it goes under one guide washer, over the middle one, and under the final one, with the foot of the rail against the boards and the rail head away from the boards. Adjust the offset of the slider until you can just manage to shove rail through, and the three guide washers will put a uniform bend on the rail.
You'll find that you can only bend the rail a bit on each pass through the bending fixture, and the limit on how much you can bend it is determined by how hard you can shove the rail in. Don't pull the rail, you'll lose control of the radius that way. Shove it through, and after each pass, slide the slider a bit farther to tighten the radius on the next pass.
I used this approach to bend perfect circles of rail for a turntable ring rail, and I figure it's good for many more applications.
Note that the washers should be nice and round, with no flats or rough spots. If they have flats or rough spots, they're likely to slide over the web of the rail instead of rolling, and that'll make it much harder to push the rail through. For larger sizes of rail, you might want to grease the washers.
What does the "code" associated with track mean?
This is the height of the rail, expressed in thousandths of an inch. Code 100 rail (common in HO) is 0.100 inches high. This is equivalent to prototype rail weighing 152 pounds per yard, which is larger than almost all rail used by real railroads in the United States. Advanced modelers typically use rail sizes closer to that used on the prototype, as shown below:
---------------------------------------------------- Nominal | Mass | Scale | Scale | Scale | Scale | Market | Mainline | Branch | Mining | ---------------------------------------------------- G, #1 | .330 | .250 | .175 | .125 | ---------------------------------------------------- O | .175 | .148 | .100 | .070-083 | ---------------------------------------------------- S | .148 | .125 | .083 | .055-070 | ---------------------------------------------------- HO/OO | .100 | .070-083 |.055-070 | .040 | ---------------------------------------------------- N | .080 | .055 | .040 | n/a | --------------------------------------------------- Z | .062 | n/a | n/a | n/a | ----------------------------------------------------
What advice can you give me on making custom turnouts?
I've made a number of turnouts including a double crossover that leads into a double-slip switch for a yard throat. (I did not make the double slip, just the crossover, but it was still an alignment challenge.) Iv'e used several methods and find the best one involves soldering the rail to PC board ties. This is the only way I have found to get the rail in correct alignment and keep it there. I've tried just spiking the rail to various materials as well as various contact cements. The latter are applied to the rail, allowed to dry, and then heated with a soldering iron to soften the glue as the rail is pressed into place. This last method works for running rail in code 55 and 40, and you can put down quite a bit of rail in a hurry. But I find it is too much trouble to get and keep alignment in turnouts.
The best article I have seen on turnout building is by Ed Stimpson Jr. in the May 1978 Model Railroader, titled: Maintenance-free turnouts, beginning on p. 62. You should be able to get this from any decent-sized library. If not, ask for the interlibrary loan librarian. I have tried these techniques and they work. To summarize the article, you begin with a paper pattern. Glue PC ties at strategic points along the length of the turnout. Obviously, important spots are at the frog. Many turnout problems are in the area of the frog and guard rails. The most important tool is a NMRA gauge. Be sure the various gauges are correct. If you are not a perfectionist, don't bother to make your own turnouts. Quick-and-dirty or good-enough approaches eventually lead to trouble. Further, it is not a way to save money if your time is valuable. There might be some savings if you are making a hundred and can set up jigs and do mass production.
BTW, I do not like making turnouts in place on the benchwork as this is hard on my back, but many track layers prefer this method. This way, each turnout is custom-fitted to its location. The techniques in the article work for either method.
I deviate from the article when making the points themselves. I bend a piece of rail to the opposite or reverse of the angle needed (sorry I don't know the term... I flunked geometry). Then I file the bent part to a straight line until it is almost all the way through. Then I fold the rail backwards toward the filed-down part to form the point. Sorry it won't illustrate in ascii. Imagine bending your arm slightly, then filing your elbow down to almost nothing, then forcing your arm backwards so the outside of your forearm touches your triceps (ouch!).
The straight rail is laid first, then the points are soldered in place, followed by the closure rails and the outside curved rail. Guard rails are added last. Gauge on the guard rails is important as they keep the flange on the other wheel from hitting or picking the points. Finally, the copper on the PC ties is slit to prevent shorts across the rails. There is more to it than this, and I suggest you find a copy of the article. Making yor own is often the only way to solve a special problem, and it's not all that hard.
How should I go about setting up a track detection system?
Get a copy of Bruce Chubb's book "Building Your Own Universal Computer Interface" available from Tab or Walther's. This is a further development from his series several years ago in MR about the Model Railroad Computer Interface.
He describes the system in there. If all you need is a track detector, this book also includes a description of his circuit that is compatable with command control systems.
What are the recommended methods of installing/cutting/maintaining electrical gaps?
Here on the NEB&W, we use handlaid trackage, but we still have a large number of gaps, especially since we use solid metal frogs. And what do we do about the gaps? The answer is...nothing. That's right, nothing. Our gaps are just that, gaps. In fact, a little over a week ago I cut a curved number 10 turnout into the mainline, and there is a 1/8" gap right off the frog on the mainline route. And it ran perfectly during all twelve hours of our weekly open houses. In fact, the only problem we had with it was due to the angle of the frog. Being such a shallow angle, I had to install the guide rails to keep the wheels from taking the wrong route in the frog. After I did that, there were no further problems. And, all of our curved mainline turnouts are superelevated, which makes it all the more difficult.
On a layout like ours, where we have no humidity control, the gaps should be left open to allow for the expansion of the rail and the benchwork. As long as the rail is spiked securely in place, open gaps will prove no problem.
It also means that areas like turnouts, crossings, etc. and other special trackwork won't be knocked out of gauge by expansion problems.
...
I have a small (3' X 4') N scale layout with mostly hand-laid track. Generally I cut gaps using a moto-tool cutoff wheel which makes nice straight, narrow gaps. I usually use a small shim of styrene that is epoxied in place to fill the gap. The styrene is easy to file down to the contour of the rail and can be painted to become invisible.
As the layout is small, gaps are only about 2-4 feet apart and the amount of expansion and/or contraction would be minimal. For longer sections, I would probably leave the gaps open as the plastic filler might not be flexible enough to take the compression and rails between the gaps would buckle slightly out of allignment.
...
Here's a technique that works for me:
If the gap is on a curve, (to be avoided if possible) I puddle some epoxy on around where the joint will be, let it cure.
I allow for expansion by allowing the "normal" rail joints on straight track to be a little loose and only solder joints on curves, to keep the rail ends in line. I then run a pair eighteen gauge wires under the track to serve as a bus and run feeders up from this to connect to EVERY piece of rail on the layout. Nickle-silver dosn't oxidize very quickly, but it is not a very good conductor.
...
I cut my gap, usually using a Dremel cutoff wheel. Then I take a flat or square, not round, toothpick and push it into the gap. I then "set it" with some white Elmer's or furniture glue. Next day, I trim up the toothpick to conform to the rail contour and have a permanent, fixed gap. Have some that are still good, and, for all purposes unseen, for over 20 years.
What should I know when laying flex track?
I used a construction cement "Liquid Nails" to hold my cork and track. Just a thin coating of this with the track pressed down onto it will set in about 30 secconds... even under said 8" radius curves (and my flex does not hold curves on its own).
And about Liquid Nails, the stuff skins over fairly quickly (couple of seconds) but will remain usable for a couple of minutes. Just make sure you press the track down into it firmly and you should have no problem.
...
To join track on a curve, solder it while straight, and then bend it. You're best off avoiding joints on curves as much as possible.
Nickel-silver vs. brass: what are the issues?
Nickel-silver is a copper-nickel alloy (mostly copper), considered to be metalurgically similar to brass but superior in corrosion resistance. Brass oxidizes rapidly to a non-conducting surface, which means that power will not reach the locomotives or cars, resulting in stalls. Both forms of track will accumulate other gunk on them, requiring some form of cleaning. In general, nickel silver is much better than brass, and is worth the small extra cost.
The more recently developed alloys used in high-quality G scale track are much less corrosion-prone. Brass is sometimes favored over nickel-silver for outdoor use, because it expands and contracts somewhat less with changes in temperature.
Anybody have any advice on soldering HO rail?
If you join the two piece of rail with metal rail joiners, then solder the join, the solder will flow much more smoothly. This assumes you're using nickel-silver or brass rail of course! Make sure that the soldering iron heats all three metal parts (ie. both rail ends and the rail joiner) to the same temp before applying the solder, and it should be drawn into the space inside the rail joiner without any trouble.
Note that solder is not a very good gap filler, so if you've got gaps larger than about 0.5mm or so, you'll waste your time trying to fill them with solder without having a bulging great lump of solder in the way of the wheel flanges.
Also note that you should still have non-soldered gaps every metre of so to prevent the solder joins fracturing due to expansion and contraction. Ideally, straight track should have NO directly soldered rail joints, but you should use bridging wires to leave the rail ends free to move. Curved track will usually need to have soldered joins unless you're particularly skilled at spiking rail on curves.
...
I am one of the proponents that do not believe in soldered joiners. Joiners should be left free to move and expand as nature dictates.
Joiners are a mechanical way to join two pieces of rail, and should be just that. They should not be electric current carriers. No matter how good the contact is, it will eventually fail due to oxidation.I believe that the "bus" method (ie. a wire line that follows each section or block around the layout) is the only reliable method to power a layout, but that is my own opinion. There are a few different approaches to dispense power to all sections on a layout.
A lot of people will say that it is a waste of time to solder the wire under the layout to the track, but think of the fewer headaches you will have with electric problems.
I would like to give two examples:
Performance is very reliable, and that is what counts in the end.
What problems can I have with switches and how do I avoid them?
I have found problems with Atlas switches. The flangeways don't seem to be deep enough through the frog, and the large plastic frogs can cause engines to stall. Also, the switch machine housing sticks up too far, and can entangle steam locomotives with wide draft gear.
Use Peco or Shinohara turnouts for N scale; they run and look much better. Also, if you are nailing down the track, allow a little room under the nail head for the switch to "float"; putting the track nails all the way in can distort the rails.
...
My first fault was that I tacked down the turnout. If the turnout is allowed to "float" it will operate better.
Second, use a jewlers file, and file the points of the turnout, this was described in MR a few years ago.
The third thing I did was to get rid of the N scale electric switches. I was lucky that my local hobby shop took them back. I traded them in for the HO below ground throws, and some piano wire. I cliped the plastic pin off at the base but befort the cone on the HO machine. I then cut the piano wire about 2" long, then using an iron, heated the piano and forced it into the cone stub. I then installed the machine, with the piano wire fitting in to the turnouts throwbar (between the rails). Once the machine was secured to the underside of the layout, I then trimmed the piano wire (about .05) above the throwbar.
This made the turnouts not only work better but look better. For a finishing touch I cemented pieces of ties (left over from flex track) next to the turnout for switch stands.
What does the number associated with a turnout mean? What's the difference between, say, a #4 turnout and a #6 turnout?
The number is based on the angle between the straight and diverging tracks. Skipping the exact definition, a #4 turnout is generally the sharpest practical size and is equivalent to an 18" curve. #6s and #8s are more gradual and are typically used on larger layouts both because they look more realistic and because longer equipment will work better on them.
Traction models and models in the smallest scales (N and Z) can often get good results with much smaller turnout numbers, down to #2.5 in common usage.
Can anyone recommend a method of controlling dust on a layout?
Short of covering up the layout after each use, a better method is to have the layout set up so that it's viewed almost from eye level AND has a 'roof' over it about 0.5 to 1 metre (2 to 3 feet) completely covering the layout.
If you've ever seen articles on shelf-style layouts built at eye level, you'll notice that a lot have the scenery 'wrapping over' the top of the layout.
I've got no permanent layout, but the small yard I have built on the workbench in the garage has a wall-mounted cupboard over one end, and it's amazing how dust-free this area stays. The section that's not covered over by this cupboard collects a lot of dust, dead insects, etc.
...
A couple of years ago Jack Burgess wrote in RMC how he licked the dust problem on his layout (located in a CA garage.) As I recall, he did some weathersealing of the garage door (not 100%), carpeted the floor (concrete creates dust as it is walked upon), and lastly, he installed electrostatic air purifiers that run constantly.
This, and the two following sections on benchwork comes from Frank Kastenholz, who as an introduction writes this:
I'm going through the process of building a railroad right now. I thought that as I went throught the process I'd journal any hints and the like that I've discovered during construction.Anyway, here are some hints and tips that I've developed during design and construction:As of 17 April 1994 I've got a design complete, and I have the L-Girders, legs, major joists (i.e. enough to hold everything together under the 'stresses' of construction), and plywood 'surfacing' is in place. I've chosen to build using the 'cookie cutter' method on a plywood base. I'm using plywood because I couldn't find any Homasote. I'm doing cookie cutter for two reasons: 1) I do not have enough space to set up a second work-area to cut roadbed strips out of the plywood -- with cookie cutter I can put the plywood on top of the joists and cut it in situ and 2) I'm doing an urban setting so most everyplace will have horizontal surfaces anyway.
As of 17 May, the benchwork is pretty much done. I still have some trimming and minor adjusting to do, as well as adding any supports or joists that I find that I need.
As of 13 June, the main line (cork roadbed and track) is in place and I am starting to thoroughly test the track.
As of 6 July, I've thoroughly tested the mainline trackwork and have started working on the wiring.
I've designed my layout to fit into a space that is 6" (about 15cm) smaller in each dimension. I can always expand the layout to fit into the extra space.
I've also designed into the 'critical' track work places where some track can be removed, making things smaller, without adversely affecting my basic design rules.
With luck you will end up with more space than you planned for. I am sure that you will have no problem filling that space. If you are not lucky, then the plan that you have made should still fit.
Simply being able to reach some spot to put a car back on the rails is not sufficient. In fact, this is a relatively minor concern since the trackwork will (hopefully) be good enough so that there will be no derailed cars. Of more importance is to be able to reach spots to install and clean the track, work on the scenery and so on.
Another facet of this is to arrange the layout so that the taller elements are farther from the access spot than the lower elements. In one place on my layout I have some elevated track that is right next to the aisle, with 'ground level' track behind it. As soon as I put in a temporary structure to hold the elevated tracks, I could see that the arrangement was 'suboptimal' and I will probably rearrange it when I build the permanent structure.
Get several of these. 2 is probably an absolute minimum. 4 would probably be optimum. They should be big enough to clamp l-girders to legs, but not so big that they can not be opened and manipulated with one hand.
I never measured the girder height after I built the first section -- I'd just get the girders level and then connect them to wherever they met the legs.
My layout is roughtly 'C' shaped. The baseline section that I built was the 'middle' of the C -- then I built the arms out from that section. When I was done, I checked the level from the end of one arm to the end of the other arm and the two arms were within 1/4 inch (~6mm) of each other.
The second set are added after the roadbed is in. They deal with adding additional support where it might be needed, for example, if the roadbed sags someplace. They are easier to add since the roadbed can be used to set the height of the riser.
The other way to set riser-tops is to measure up from the top of the L-girders, but if the L-girders are not level, then you repeat the error.
You have to firmly hold the roadbed to the cleat while drilling the pilot holes and screwing them together since the drill bit, and then the screw, would tend to push the roadbed up, away, from the cleat. A clamp would work, but sometimes getting the clamp in the right spot is difficult, and anyway, it would probably be in the way.
If the track 'looks good' but suffers constant derailments then the layout will just sit and gather dust.
I'm not saying "don't use code 83." I am saying that when you select your track, remember that the real role of the track is to physically support the trains and to provide an electrical distribution medium and the track size you select should be one that you feel comfortable working with to provide this physical support and electrical distribution. Poor trackwork means poor operation which means an unhappy model railroader.
I could machine out a slot along the center of the gauge, but only thought of this remedy after I started writing these notes (and well after I'd finished with the track....)
I've found, however, that if you are careful in laying out the cork roadbed, the center seam of the cork is an excellent guide. I laid most of my track following the seam and afterwards, after checking with the curve gauges, found that things were 'just right'.
Before joining, I file the following spots of the rail:
Atlas flextrack has one rail that 'slides' along the tie strips, the other doesn't. Things seem to work better (laying out curves and the like) if you join the tracks so that the sliding rail of one piece is joined to the fixed rail of the other.
I have checked the entire track, not just the joints. One common problem that I've found is that if the nail in the track is too tight, it will create a bit of a depression in the cross-tie, which then tends to pull the rails together slightly. The rails are then out of gauge and derailments occur.
One particular test I am thinking about running is to take a car and make it 'top-heavy' so any excess swaying will topple the car over, or at least sway a lot. This should (in theory) allow me to find spots where there might be dips in one rail and other 'cross-railhead-level problems'.
The next edition will have the results of this test.