Laying your own track is relatively easy. A search of this forum and past issues of MR ought to provide you with a lot of basic informantion. Defintely give it a whirl. If you run into to problems come on back here and someone can help. You'll need rail, ties, spikes, at least two three point spike gauges, and an NMRA gauge. You also need a good pair of needle nose pliers.
Building switches is a little harder. You've got three choices: buy switch kits (either completely assembled switches for handlaying, or kits like Central valley's), use the Fast Tracks jigs and fixtures, or assemble in place. Option one and two are the easiest. You'll have to invest a bit in the Fast Track tools, but they make it possible to assemble nearly flawless trackwork very quickly and easily. Perhaps the best option is to buy a few preassembled switches (there are several makers of these) till you get the hang of handlaying and decide that you want to invest in the Fast Track tooling.
Alternatively search this board for tips on building in place turnouts. It's not that hard, but try laying some plain track first so you can see what's invovled adnd perfect your spiking technique
IMHO handlaying is the way to go. It looks great and produces track that runs with almost no derailments. The major mechanical advantage of other track systems is that you can widely stagger joints, avoiding kinks, while holding to much better gauge standards than commercial manufacturers can afford to do.
hope this helps
JBB
Before designing my future layout, I got a hold of a three foot piece of homasote. On that, I built a section of standard track (no turnouts), then built another section with a standard turnout in it. My guide was the article on handlaying by Tony Koester that was in MR some years ago. While the track didn't come out perfect, it gave me a good feel for what is required. I gain enough confidence that I could go ahead and design the layout with handlaid turnouts, freeing me from the restricted geometry of commercial ones.
So I would recommend to anyone to do a trial before making a commitment.
BLe wrote:Where can I get the supplies needed to make them, like ties and rail and whatever else is needed? Also what gauges and or tools are needed? I can't afford a fancy jig, I'd rather make mine to my own angles to custom fit the layout. Also where can I find a free article about how to build one? thanks
Ties, rail, and spikes are available in the better hobby shops, from Walters, or from http://www.proto87.com/model-railroad-catalog.html. Andy's Proto87 store sells all the supplies you need, most of them more detailed or closer to scale than the equivalent item in the Walters catalog.
The Fast Tracks web site (http://www.handlaidtrack.com/index.php has a complete line of supplies in addition to their well-known and highly regarded turnout jigs. Under the documents section of the site are many articles and some videos on making your own turnouts. Although Fast Tracks tools and jigs are featured, much of the information is the same, regardless of whether you use their jigs.
Another web article on hand laid track is here: http://www.railwayeng.com/handlay6/hndly-h3.htm. Wander around Mr. Hatch's web site - there are hints on track scattered throughout. Steve Hatch of Railway Engineering makes some of the finest custom turnouts available, but has been kind enough to share his techniques with the rest of us. This is probably the closest to how I lay my turnouts.
I originally used Jack Work's article in the April 1963 Model Railroader as my guide when building my first handlaid track in the '70s. I've refined my techniques since then, based mainly on tips I gleaned from the web sites I cited. Don't be alarmed. There are as many permutations on hand laying turnouts as there are model railroaders hand laying. After you have done a few, you will find what works best for you. Just don't be afraid to experiment.
The other requirement for handlaid track is patience to stick with it until your track is spot on. The first time, I had to replace a few ties because there wasn't any room for new spike holes. But I replaced the ties, got the gauge and rail alignment right, and had a big old grin on my face when my trains ran flawlessly along my handlaid track and turnouts.
because track is a model, too
Fred W
I agree with fred w especially his last paragraph
be prepared to have a few attempts before you are really happy with your results
however when you run a train over your work without even the faintest click it gives you a wonderful feeling of achievement
go for it
trevor
"Where can I get the supplies needed to make them, like ties and rail and whatever else is needed? Also what gauges and or tools are needed? I can't afford a fancy jig, I'd rather make mine to my own angles to custom fit the layout. Also where can I find a free article about how to build one? thanks"
Your local hobby shop (LHS) should have most supplies you need - rail, ties and spikes. I bought a few pieces of MicroEngineering flex track for my trial section. Stripped off the ties and just used the rail. I would stay away from Atlas track - it has a springiness which makes it difficult to use for handlaying. I also bought a bag of ME turnout ties and cut them in half. Not really the right length for regular track (8'-0" vs 8'-6"), but it didn't require as much money up front. For the real track, I'll get standard ties.
I also didn't use any jigs. I figured if I could build a decent turnout without any special tools, then I could decide whether to build/buy some later.
I apologize in advance but I have to say this...
Making your own turnouts is definitely a good thing - you can save money and the finished product looks really good.
But I think that the appearance of hand-laid track is significantly inferior to flex track. Seeing those large, oversize spikes every five ties or so looks like a real eye-sore to me. In the old days before good flex track was available, I think this made sense but not any more.
If you have special needs, it may still make sense. If you are modelling a really old prototype (say lightly laid lines of more than 100 years ago), you would benefit from hand laying since tie spacings have changed significantly.
The model railroad club in Union NJ (one of the largest layouts in the world), exclusively uses hand-laid track. Their reason is that commercial flex wears out too soon - but then again, they have a time horizon of 40 years!!. Apparently, the problem is that the plastic spikes in flex track get loose with time and the track gets out of gauge.
Slowly building a layout since 2007!
In this forum, search for the topic "Rail" which was active a couple days ago. It gives more ideas on where to get the stuff and suggestions.
I make all of my turnouts on the layout, and it is not all that hard once you've done one or two. Kalmbach books on track and ballast have pictures with step by step pictures on how to do it.
Have fun! Hal
Model Railroaders book "Trackwork and Lineside Detail" is one of the very good books on laying track and making turnouts.
Hal
Addressing the tool requirement only:
Note that I haven't included any power tools or anything exotic. Since I've been hand-laying specialwork for half a century, I got my start long before there were any special jigs - and I've never found a need for them.
Without going into specific construction methods (of which there are about as many as there are people who roll their own trackwork) I have found it helpful to consider these points:
Just my . Others may have other ideas.
Chuck (modeling Central Japan in September, 1964 - flex track with hand-laid specialwork)
A year ago when I started reading this forum and debating what to do on my first 'room size' layout I laughed at the thought of someone crazy enough to hand l
I've played around with some Code 80 flex from Atlas, and have recently aquried a few sticks of the Code 55 Peco. Then the December issue (believe that's the one, not at home to look visiting family out of town) had an article on hand laying the switches with out the jigs.
A very good read, if you look at the issue you can see how it is done. Personally I think I'm going to go with a jig instead of doing it by hand, but I do also use N Gauge and due to the size your margin of error goes up I think vs. using a larger scale.
Right now I'm debating hand laying the entire thing. The little jigs they have for the regular trackwork look wonderful and it would let me do code 55 fairly cost effectilvely. With the weakness of the dollar it seems that flex track is moving from the $3 per 3ft closer to $6 for 3ft while the rails aren't going up as much. Plus, I think it'll let me relax a bit more in the evenings to just do something a little 'mindless' such as spiking a rail.
Also it seems that glue is becoming more the thing to keep the rails on the ties vs. spiking being as critical, but either way it looks relaxing.
I do plan on buying some parts and trying it without the jig first, but for the size of the room I'm looking at I think I'll be doing enough points to justify a jig or two depending on my final design.
I purchased the FastTracks Code 83 fixture and the No. 8 Point sharpener. I am working my way up by fabricating all of the parts before I assemble my first turnout.
In my opinion, anyone wanting to hand lay their own turnouts would find the point sharpener to be a most valuable tool. It produces an accurate angle every time, and results in perfect frog points and closure rail points in a fraction of the time that it takes using any other method.
I will never need to purchase a ready made turnout again.
I feel that a solder "gun" is too large for soldering rail to pcb
an iron of about 40 watts with a finer tip is better IMO
TCH wrote:I feel that a solder "gun" is too large for soldering rail to pcban iron of about 40 watts with a finer tip is better IMO trevor
I agree with the 40 watt iron. One thing I found thats important. Use small .015 dia. solder. You wont be sorry. It melts faster, don't need much solder for PCB board to rails. Works good for soldering feeder wires too. I can solder next to ties without melting em because you can do it fast. The ties don't have time to melt, it only takes a little practice.
Jules
TCH wrote: I feel that a solder "gun" is too large for soldering rail to pcban iron of about 40 watts with a finer tip is better IMO trevor
Howdy, Trevor,
In soldering rail, the object is to get the rail hot where you want the solder to liquify as quickly as possible - before the heat migrates to unwanted places and does unwanted things (like melting plastic or scorching wood ties. Unless the tool has a big chunk of copper to transfer heat, it simply won't get the rail hot enough fast enough.
The Weller hand cannon I mentioned has a chisel tip about 1/4" square, and does the job for me. I'm not soldering rail to PCB. I'm soldering rail to rail on wood ties.
Chuck (modeling Central Japan in September, 1964)
Would this soldering iron work? http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?pg=1&parentPage=search&summary=summary&cp=&accessories=accessories&productId=2062738&kw=soldering+iron&techSpecs=techSpecs¤tTab=custRatings&custRatings=custRatings&searchSort=TRUE&features=features&sr=1&y=6&retainProdsInSession=1&origkw=soldering+iron&support=support&s=D-StorePrice-RSK&x=6&numProdsPerPage=100&tab=summary
Also what sizes of solder can I use? The smallest they have is .032.
I've used commercial turnouts (Peco code 83 #6) as well build my own. My latest work is with Central Valley turnouts. But I've a lot of scratchbuild soldered turnouts.
Wolfgang
Pueblo & Salt Lake RR
Come to us http://www.westportterminal.de my videos my blog
BigRusty wrote:I purchased the FastTracks Code 83 fixture and the No. 8 Point sharpener. I am working my way up by fabricating all of the parts before I assemble my first turnout.In my opinion, anyone wanting to hand lay their own turnouts would find the point sharpener to be a most valuable tool. It produces an accurate angle every time, and results in perfect frog points and closure rail points in a fraction of the time that it takes using any other method.I will never need to purchase a ready made turnout again.
Hey Big Rusty. I guess were in the same boat. I use FastTracks code 83 fixture myself. I ordered the # 5 Turnout Kit, and enough extra rail for about 15 turnouts. I don't have a lot of space and had to go with 24" radius curves using Atlas flex. #5 turnouts have a 26" radius. Have had no problems with SD40-2's. Finished the outer maine line, doing inner now, almost done. Next, yard and ind. using Tortoise with DS64 and some WabbitFB's.
These turouts look and act like the real Mc.Coy, smooth as silk. I ballasted a section, looks amazingly like the real thing. The guy's at Fastracks are great to do business with. They pack stuff right, no bent rail, i think they would use a 2x4 if required. If you order a kit or other stuff enter code 701 at the bottom of the order page. If you call use ext.708 and talk to Terry. You get 10% off. I have no bisiness interests with Fastracks. Just a lot of satisfaction!
Well Jules, I finally bit the bullet and fabricated all of the parts to make my first Fast Tracks turnout. I decided to do this while I was waiting for the two electric baseboard heaters to heat up the place a bit. It took a couple of hours, but now it is a toasty 72 degrees in there vs 57 before I plugged them in.
First I had to assemble the DELTA belt/disc sander that I finally found at Lowes. It is expensive, but I can make great use of it for many modeling projects.
SO... I decided to commence with soldering to the copper ties. I made the mistake of soldering the frog assembly in place after I soldered it together, so now I have to remove it. It has to go in last according to the Video. Haste makes waste. I also made the mistake of soldering one side of the throw bar to the stock rail, so all trains will have to go straight through. I am going to paint little arrows on the fixture to minimise having to keep referring to the manual.
I will remove it from the fixture and unsolder it and redo it, so all is not lost.
I can't find acid flux paste flux anywhere so I used resin paste flux. It worked fine, but I will probably have to wash it off with acetone of alcohol before painting.
I am going to make a fixture for the belt sander that will make grinding the clearance in the stock rails for the points a lot easier, and result in them all being identical.
With th quantities that I need, making them one at a time is very inefficient, so I will probably fabricate about 12 sets of parts, and then assemble 6 right hand and 6 left hand in one sitting.
quote user="B&Le"
You don't want to use acid flux, it will corrode the rail. Rosin should work fine.
My one point of MAJOR disagreement with FasTracks is the use of acid flux! It MAY work if you can dip the whole turnout in a neutralizing bath (baking soda) and then wash it - not very practical for turnouts laid in place on wood ties caulked to cardstock templates. OTOH, I have turnouts in service that were built in 1980, soldered with rosin flux, that have never given me the first hint of corrosion or joint failure problems.
I always add a bit of paste flux to the spot to be soldered. Cleanup can be done with a Q-tip and some isopropyl alcohol.
Chuck (modeling Central Japan in September, 1964 - on hand-laid specialwork)
selector wrote:You are advised in the instructions to wash the turnout carefully after you have done all the required soldering, and before you glue the wooden tie kit to the turnout.
Which is fine, IF you build turnouts in a jig on the workbench. I lay mine in place on the railroad - frequently by removing ties from already-anchored flex track and spreading the rails to form the turnout's stock rails. Thanks to the point design I use, notching stock rails is not necessary.
Chuck (modeling Central Japan in September, 1964 - with rosin flux)
Here is a very excellent video tutorial on hand-laying turnouts. This guy does it in N-scale - I think the principles will be the same, but the measurements will differ. He is up to part 41 now, I just keep checking back periodically for the next installment. But there is definitely enough here to get you started.
Here is part 1.
Here is his entire catalog. You will need to scroll through the pages to get to all the segments.
Even though the videos are in N-scale and not HO, I hope they might be helpful to you. (BTW, I do not know this guy, I get nothing for referring him.)
Happy New Year.
FT
tomikawaTT wrote: selector wrote:You are advised in the instructions to wash the turnout carefully after you have done all the required soldering, and before you glue the wooden tie kit to the turnout.Which is fine, IF you build turnouts in a jig on the workbench. I lay mine in place on the railroad - frequently by removing ties from already-anchored flex track and spreading the rails to form the turnout's stock rails. Thanks to the point design I use, notching stock rails is not necessary.Chuck (modeling Central Japan in September, 1964 - with rosin flux)
Care to show or tell us how you form your points so that you don't have to notch the stock rails? I'm always curious to learn different ideas or techniques which may help me improve my ability to hand lay. If you have pictures and can give us a tutorial I'd honeslty love to see it.
I'm using the FastTracks fixtures. I have turnouts which I started building last year with an acid flux, which have been carefully neutralized and washed. No corosion on them. It's o.k. to be opposed to something, however I think for the purposes of building a turnout on the bench its perfectly acceptable use what-ever flux you choose. I would agree though, that for stuff you can't pick up and wash in the sink, you best to go with a Rosin based flux.
tetters wrote: tomikawaTT wrote: (Edited for brevity) Thanks to the point design I use, notching stock rails is not necessary.Chuck (modeling Central Japan in September, 1964 - with rosin flux)Care to show or tell us how you form your points so that you don't have to notch the stock rails? I'm always curious to learn different ideas or techniques which may help me improve my ability to hand lay. If you have pictures and can give us a tutorial I'd honeslty love to see it. I'm using the FastTracks fixtures. I have turnouts which I started building last year with an acid flux, which have been carefully neutralized and washed. No corosion on them. It's o.k. to be opposed to something, however I think for the purposes of building a turnout on the bench its perfectly acceptable use what-ever flux you choose. I would agree though, that for stuff you can't pick up and wash in the sink, you best to go with a Rosin based flux.
tomikawaTT wrote: (Edited for brevity) Thanks to the point design I use, notching stock rails is not necessary.Chuck (modeling Central Japan in September, 1964 - with rosin flux)
(Edited for brevity) Thanks to the point design I use, notching stock rails is not necessary.
My point design follows prototype practice. Instead of notching the stock rail I cut away the base of the point so it rides up on the stock rail base. In addition to eliminating the notch, that provides a sliding contact between stock rail and point - much better for reliable electrical contact between the two.To provide plenty of metal to work with, I taper the point on the wheel side, rather than the stock rail side. It is sometimes necessary to take a little off the top of the point as well, reducing code 83 to code 78 or so at the sharp end. I pivot the heel of the point by soldering it to a flathead wire nail that fits into a drilled hole - tie, roadbed and subgrade. The connection to the throwbar (made from PC experiment board, the kind that has a bunch of holes in it) is a bent piece of brass wire that is soldered into the angle between the rail web and base of the point, passes through the throwbar, then is bent to parallel the throwbar under the stock rail. I have to leave a few ties out until after I get the throwbar in and the hinge wires soldered.
There is no connection between the point and the closure rail - I power the (live) frogs through contacts on the switch machine. That way, the open point is electrically dead, so I can use prototypically close point spacing and not have any problems with shorts caused by contact with passing wheel flanges.
Hope this has been helpful.
Well, I did it. New Years day had a nada schedule of bowl games, so back to the toasty garage work bench to finish my first Fast Tracks #8 Code 83 turnout.
First, I had to unsolder the frog assembly from the ties while keeping it assembled and then throw bar mistake. I then observed that I had bent the wing rails at the worng place, so I made two more of them.
During my lunch break, I again viewed the great instructional Fast Tracks CD from start to finish. Wow, am I glad I did THAT!
After adding the frog and the guard rails, VOILLA!!! a smooth running turnout, just like in Tim's video. I could never have done this buiding from a template. I was so excited I just kept running the truck back and forth.
If I get the time today, I will solder the points to the throwbar, which I had also forgotten to insulate, and turn it over and solder the underside of the frog assembly and be done.
I will try scrubbing it under hot water and detergent to remove the resin flux, and maybe a final rinsing with 90% alcohol or Acetone.
For all of you naysayers carping aboput the use of Acid flux. If you haven't viewed the video, you are just plain misinformed as to its benefits. Of course you can't wash a turnout that you have handlaid on the layout in water, how inane is that? The Fast Tracks method is NOT about hand laying turnouts on the layout, with no two alike, and all the other porblems, including an aching back. I have been doing this for over 65 years, so I have hand laid a lot of O gauge and HO track, believe me.
Thie Fast Track method is about building perfect, replicable, smoothly performing, and beautiful turnouts every time. ON THE WORK BENCH!
Take it from me. This is the most advanced, and FOOLPROOF method of turnout building to come along since model railroading began. Now ANYONE can build a PERFECT TURNOUT every time.
And I thought the new Millenium started in the year 2000.