Need advice on what to do..

[Anonymous]

Ok, I have a half-built model railway in my room, which has great potential, but unfortunately has been left to deteriorate for at least a year now.

The baseboard is fully assembled... the track layout is juat about fine.... the basic wiring is done but none of the switches or point switches have been completed yet.... most of the track is fixed, apart from the branchline track which has all but been pulled apart... I actually even started ballasting aswell.. parts of the track are ballasted, none of the points though.

The problem I'm getting now, is that I'm unhappy with what I've got.... it's a great layout.. but there are parts where the ballast has seeped under the sleepers, raising the track, something I'm really uncormfortable with.

The ballast I used was of poor quality... it greened with the adhesive used to stick it down. And I really felt I should've done ALL of the wiring and track fixing before I started ANY ballasting at all.

The only options I believe I really have are to keep at it, even with all the things that are bugging me, or I could remove the ballast.. a slow process, but it'd enable me to move some stuff around to make me more satisfied with the layout, and join up the sections of track properly (There are many locations in the track where the 2 rails don't meet up fully... not enough to stop trains going over the top.. but enough to visually bug me).

Advice would be really appreciated, thanks.

[Anonymous]

Easy for me to say, I know; but bad trackwork will bring you years of frustration. Misaligned track tends to move more out of alignment as you scenic the area, and temperature and humidity changes take their toll. You're obviously not pleased with the look of the ballasted areas, and the ballast under the ties should raise an eyebrow, particularly if it's around points. It's a tough choice, but when I had a yard that wasn't right, I ripped it out and started over. I think you'll find that less trouble in the long run, than trying to salvage a problem. In the for what it's worth dept.: i used 3/4" BC plywood for subroadbed, and Homabed, which I painted with latex paint on all sides befreo installing. I've had no problems with temperature or humidity now in nearly 12 years on my current layout.

[Anonymous]

I suppose I should sort all the little problems that keep bugging me before I attempt anything more...

Still abit unsure though.

[rrinker]

Bottom line, if it is bugging you, then the only real choice is to pull it up and redo the parts that aren't right. If you just 'make do' it will continue to bug you and you will be unhappy with your layout.
Chalk it up to a learning process - now you knwo something you didn't know before, and next time you will do a far superior job. In the end, the satisfaction from a job well done will overcome this momentary disappointment at having to redo a bunch of hard work.

--Randy

[Anonymous]

I spent many a night with constant de-railment's and finally quit working on it for 2 years out of frustration. I have started again, and ripped up thje out incorrect track. It's alot of work, but so is chasing de-railed equipment.

[IRONROOSTER]

You are not happy with it, so redo it. Otherwise you'll quit out of frustration. Once you rework to your satisfaction you'll be glad you did. One lesson to learn here is to do it in small chunks and evaluate it before going on to the next chunk. I once laid and soldered a curve three times before I was happy with it. But because I hadn't kept going it never seemed overwhelming to redo it.
Enjoy
Paul

[Anonymous]

If you re-do it, you will only join a long line of tradition of those who have started over or totally re-done something on the layout. First, I spent thousands on my HO roster only to switch to N scale. Then I bought wood for the bench work, only to switch styles and use a completely different type of bench work and type of wood - I still have all the wood from my first bench work design that never was built (and I'm glad I never built it).

And I won't talk about the yard area I built, changed, changed back, then changed again, then changed again, and still hadn't run any trains on it.

It's all part of the learning curve and makes you that much wiser in this great hobby of ours.

[mgruber]

I'm on my 7th layout. It only improves with experience. Good luck.

[Anonymous]

Bite the bullet and tear it out. If you are unhappy with it now, it will only get worse with time.

[Anonymous]

I am currently working on the Paris Junction (#3). I have the ideal room, large roster and buildings etc; but I to didn't like the way things were progressing. My wife actually commented (about this third attempt) and had the nerve to ask if this demoition and rebuild was a yearly thing. I have slowed the pace down - do things in the order we are taught (by each other in books and forums such as these) like we're supposed to do - test and retest. All this with a trackplan and idea in my head. Patience

[Modeloldtimer]

If you don't like your track work. Be Happy and do it over till you get it right.
Start with a good track plan. Then the laying of track correctlly will mean smother, trouble free running of trains. Having a good track track plan should be your first goal. Then good bench work. The L girder system of bench construction makes for the easiest way to add different heights and valleys for scenery anywhere you want in the track surport system. When laing track make sure all switches are correctlly alinged, then comes the wiring. Try to aviod one large flat board if possible as roads need to cross over tracks and sometimes the rails will need to cross, roads, rivers, bridges, and trestles etc. When you need to raise something just raise a girder it's that easy.
Hope this helps someone. Remember the L Girder system of construction. [^]

[mcouvillion]

If you are not happy now, you never will be. Make a list of the sections that you DO like and try to salvage them, but rip out the rest. Be careful , 'cause once you get past rippin' out the first few sections of rail, it becomes too easy to rip it all out! Taking your time on re-laying the track to a good track plan, using good-quality materials, will always prove rewarding. If you use good stuff, it only hurts ($$$) once. Good Luck!

Mark C.

[Anonymous]

I have to agree with the aforesaid...Tear it out or your frustration will follow you. Youll be glad you did and experience is always your beast teacher.

[Anonymous]

Wow, lots of replies but one I did notice I would agree with wholeheartedly is about sealing the roadbed or what ou're laying the track on with a latex paint. That seals the surface so moisture (from you laying the ballast) won't cause any blistering of the surface or swelling. This sounds like what happened to you. As for the coloring, I don't know, could be the material you used reacted with something you sprayed on to set the ballast in place. Hope this helps.

[jfugate]

Just talk to guys like me who've spent nearly 40 years in the hobby now. I've lost count of the times I've had to redo something. Dale can attest to that, he's got parts of my layout number 4 that he's using. I'm on layout #6 now.

One thing I have learned is to give up sooner when something isn't working out right. If it's messed up, chances are trying to fix it will give you more grief than just cutting your losses and chalking it up to experience. Better that than trying to live with bad track that leads you to eventually get so fed up you want to forget the whole thing.

Redoing will go quicker and you will be far happier with the result.

[Dayliner]

I think we've all been there. The hardest part is working up the nerve to tear out the track you worked so hard on. Once you do that, re-doing it goes more easily than you would think, and it is very definitely work the effort. Running trains becomes fun again, and you will wonder why you waited so long.

Good luck!

[camarokid]

I am now on my 6th layout and it's a monster. It's a good thing I haven't ballasted yet because I always seem to relay track. One place was hidden track with 3 1/2" clearance on a curve, dbl track and the problem was the outer track. 2 months of derailments and that was it. It took me a week but I relaid it and have had no problems since. It won't get done just by looking at it. If you don't do it no one else will. My wife always tells me "You seem to build them just to tear them up again." Ain't it great! Take it nice and slow. Do one correction at a time and before long you'll be a happy engineer again.

[sailor38]

Remember, this is a HOBBY! It's about having FUN! Life is full enough of frustrations.
I know how eager we all are to get up and running, but we sometimes forget that one of the many facets of this hobby is the tracklaying. Think of it as part of the fun, not something to be rushed past. I join the chorus - - - RIP IT OUT AND START OVER!
You'll never regret it, but you will regret trying to make do with less than your best!
Good luck and happy railroading!!!

[Anonymous]

As each of us entered into this hobby, I venture to guess that all of us were in a hurry to "get the trains running." The years have taught me I can go as fast as I want on scenery, buildings, constructing kits and the like. I have also learned that track cannot be hurried. This is one area where a modeller needs to go slow and check and recheck everything all the time. If the track is not right, nothing else matters. If it is not right now, it never will be. Take out the problem areas and redo them using extreme patience. Good luck with your railroad, and have fun.

Tom