What Is the best track to lay

[Anonymous]

Hello Everyone.  I have just start to build a garden railroad and was wondering what kind of track to use? I am going to use G gauge.  Also I live in northern Arkansas, where we have a wide range of weather.

thanks to everyone

[cabbage]

Well I am going to use a very traditional English method and nail my track to treated planks covered with roofing felt. The planks will sit on short posts set into slight trench in the ground and the distance between plank and earth filled with pea shale. This give a 1920's style system which I used to good effect with my last layout and I see no reason to change this for my next one.

regards

ralph

PS I have the 1924 edition of "Railways in your Garden" by Henry Greenley -fascinating "period" reading!!!

[Anonymous]

Hello Everyone.  I have just start to build a garden railroad and was wondering what kind of track to use? I am going to use G gauge.  Also I live in northern Arkansas, where we have a wide range of weather.

thanks to everyone

Hi Chad, SRS here.  I too am very new to this hobby and have begun a small layout in my back yard.  I asked the same question you did and got lots of good advice.  Throught it all Aristo-Craft Brass track rose to the top.  It is easy to find on the web and they offer more choices for curves than all the others.  A good place to shop and compare is St. Aubin for Trains. 

www.lgbpola.com

If you get a chance look at my post in this forum "The SRS Road."  Good luck in you plans.

SRS 

 

[Anonymous]

Affixing yopur track to anything is not recommended by those who know. I understand it is much better for your track to be floating to an extent, this is why you have it set in ballast, just like in real life.

In earlier days i inadvertantly concreted some of my rail in place and the incidence of derailments was terrific. To have it firmily held in place and allowed to move around (just like you and me) is the way to go; do not fix your sleepers (ties) to anything.

Rgds Ian

[cabbage]

"To have it firmily held in place and allowed to move around (just like you and me) is the way to go"

errrrmmm... Sorry but that just doesn't make sense. EITHER it is firmly fixed OR it is free to move around (?) The plank on post system that I did use and still intend to use is very common here in the UK. There are several reasons for this: A it rains, B it allows small children and animals to move underneath it, C most of the Peak District has slopes in the range of 1:7 and 1:3...

regards

ralph

[Great Western]

Greetings ChadL,  

  I chose Aristo-craft code 332 brass rail.  It seemed to me to be the best value and should certainly see me out.  I looked at the  smaller UK scale  of SM32 and its lower code rail and narrow gauge stock and it did not appeal.  The heavier gauge track I feel is more durable with small children and animals.  I also loose laid my track on gravel ballast beneath which is either thick timber or building blocks.  The blocks were ideal for the curves.  The only areas the track is restrained is where it passes over bridges or a grade crossing - this is only a lateral restraint using thin timber dowel.  

I luckily have a fairly level garden although there is an embankment, with bridge to avoid a dam effect, and a couple of small grades which seem to have little effect on the locos.  So basically everything is at ground level and complements, rather than standing out, the rest of the garden.  I don't care for tracks on stilts.  If you have to have a high raised area then trestle or other American style bridges would be ideal.  It all seems to be standing up well with the "monsoon" which we are plagued with here in the UK at present. 

[kstrong]

Affixing your track to anything is not recommended by those who know. I understand it is much better for your track to be floating to an extent, this is why you have it set in ballast, just like in real life.

Ian, can you clarify? It sounds as if you're suggesting that any kind of subroadbed structure is doomed to failure, and that is simply not the case. I'll agree--a 100% rigid connection between track and roadbed--such as cementing the ties in place--could lead to difficulties as weather causes the rails to expand and contract. But, a looser connection--such as that attained by attaching the track to a structured subroadbed every few feet--is a proven construction method, with railroads built in such a manner operating without difficulties for 25 years or more.

As for which track to use, much depends on what you wish to accomplish in the garden. Certainly Aristo's track and switches are up to the task; being both robust and inexpensive. However, if you're looking for a more narrow gauge look, or want a more scale appearance, then you may want to look to AMS, Llagas Creek, or Sunset Valley for their track and switches.

Can you give us a little more insight as to what you'd like to accomplish in the garden? That may help us steer you in the right direction.

Later,

K

[Anonymous]

To clear things up, i do not suggest that to attach your rail to anything will lead to disaster, more it will lead to more derailments than you would normally expect. I understand in real life, rails sit on sleepers (ties) and they sit on ballast and are surrounded by ballast, this keeps the rail in place but allows them to move around slightly to allow for weather varialtion and also for forces applied to them when they are supporting a train and this will vary dramatically to do with wheel loading, and sideways moments also the amount of curve in the track involved.

I am satisfied that the track i put in place and accidentalyy concreted (cemented) in solid, was a mistake; as i did have more derailments in that small area than in all the other parts of my layout all together. So I dug the whole thing up, ballasted it properly with quarry fines and it has been working very well now for some years.

I cannot recall the name of the text book on the subject but it is my bible and it is Kalmbach publication and they advise you strongly not to secure your sleepers to anything, with the liikes off screws , nails etc and in my opinion theyare quite right.

People may be using this method for years but it doesn't necessarily mean it is the best way.

Rgds Ian 

[Anonymous]

The book i was referring too is a Klmbach publication, i think dated 2002. It is called "Garden Railroading, Getting Started in the Hobby".

Ever since i got into garden railways this book has been my bible and i would particularly refer you to the articles by Jack Verducci starting on page 65.

You will also note some intersting stuff by Kevin from page 6.

Rgds ian

[ttrigg]

Hello Everyone.  I have just start to build a garden railroad and was wondering what kind of track to use? I am going to use G gauge.  Also I live in northern Arkansas, where we have a wide range of weather.   thanks to everyone

Chad;  
You have asked a question that normally causes this forum to explode, sometime rather violently.  Some of the more common types are Brass, Stainless Steel, Aluminum, Nickel Silver, you can get it in various lengths and a few established curve sizes.  "Flex" track is available, and over the long run in most cases it will work out to be cheaper.  Flex will also allow you to design your own curvatures which will allow you to maximize the curvature/available ground ratios.  Also comes in handy when trying to dodge a tree or prized rose.

Not all metals are equals.  If you take several hours and read the many previous posts here about track, you will see that Ian and I are "hard core" brass fans.  You will also note that there are different brass compositions.  The exact type of brass that I love and am devoutly attached to, because of it's aging (weathering) is exactly the reason Ian prefers a different composition, and hates (maybe the word hate is too strong) the rail I like.

what kind of track to use?

I would rather play Russian Roulette with six bullets in the chamber than try to answer that one.

All I will say is get some and get outside and play in the dirt.

 

One after thought, what ever brand or type of track you decide to use, I hioghly reccomend using LGB switches, they have been describbed many times here as being "elephant proof", very reliable. 

[kstrong]

To clear things up, i do not suggest that to attach your rail to anything will lead to disaster, more it will lead to more derailments than you would normally expect. ... and (the Kalmbach book) advise(s) you strongly not to secure your sleepers to anything, with the liikes off screws , nails etc and in my opinion they are quite right.

People may be using this method for years but it doesn't necessarily mean it is the best way.

It doesn't matter what the subroadbed is, so long as it gives solid support to the track. On page 6 of the aforementioned book, there's a photo of a somewhat younger version of me floating my track on my old railroad in upstate NY. Ian's correct--floating the track allows it to move freely with freeze-thaw cycles, and with heat expansion and contraction--just like the real thing. It's a very simple and effective way to lay track. I never had any operational problems with that railroad--and upstate NY is a very harsh environment in which to have a railroad. Most railroads up there were built with floating track due mostly to the heavy frost heave we encountered.

Fast forward 10 years. (Cripes, has it been that long???) My current railroad is anchored to a PVC pipe subroadbed. Why? Because while simply floating the track in the ballast allows the track to move with the elements, it also allows it to move with dog paws, human feet, garden hoses, electric cords, and any number of other things that will catch on the rails. I don't enjoy relaying the track after every misstep, nor dealing with the horrifically twisted rails that can result from such missteps. With a 1-year old daughter and a 60# dog who often forgets he's not allowed in the garden, I'm glad the track is held in place. I've tripped on the rails of my current railroad with no ill effects. That would not have been the case on the previous line.

In most cases, track that is anchored to a structured subroadbed is held down to it only every so often, not completely rigidly. This allows the track some degree of flexibility to flow with the elements. There has to be some flexibility engineered into it, or--as Ian's experience demonstrates--bad things happen. I've seen track set in concrete where the expansion of the rails popped them out of the ties because the ties were so inflexibly anchored to the base.

Bottom line, there is no "best way" to build a garden railroad, just as there is no "best track" to build it with. Your choice of construction and track will be completely dictated by your personal environment and tastes. Also, there's no rule that says you have to stick with what you started with. There's always a market for used track, so get something just to get going, then refine your choice if you feel the need. So long as you stay away from either Lionel's or Bachmann's track, any other manufacturers' track will serve you very well.

Later,

K

[Anonymous]

Kevin and Tom; what else can i say but quite right gentlemen.

Rgds Ian

[Anonymous]

Tom;

I don't hate or even dislike high copper content brass rails,the problem is they don't like my situation; as they oxidise too fast in this area. I have trouble with salt spray from the ocean, a lake and my pool. As well i have a couple of unique situation with exudation from a large number of ferns and palms, as well as my ant problem.

I would rather have high copper content, because of its conductivity but i don't care much about weathering and to each his own.

Rgds mate Ian

[ttrigg]

Ian;
That is one of the most fascinating parts of this hobby. We can each have what we need to satisfy our own particular set of requirements. Plus it gives an old putz like me a chance to argue with someone.
Make sure you tell Doreen I told you to go OUTSIDE!

[Anonymous]

Tom mate;

We got out of it easy i rang her and told her while she was at work; she is really pleased with getting a bit of part time work as an accountant.

Rgds Ian