laying level track - methods???

[Allegheny2-6-6-6]

Ok not to be a wise guy but why are you so concerned about making sure it's perfectly level and free of dips etc.  I just read Howard Zane's book and in one chapeter he tells of how he and his crew were laying track for at the time his newest section of the layout. He uses open grid bench work and spline sub roadbed and homosote for his actual roadbed then flex track. So his friends were complaining that the homosote was warping. He ran a test train over it andsure enough it was wobbling side to side and dipping up and down. Absolutley realistic. Tell me you've stood beside any "real" train track and have seen the train run smooth as glass. Up until I read his book and actually watched the trains on my pike did I understand what he ment by how much more realsitic it looks.

 If your track work is good and the train runs well on it other then the little dips and whoops I wouldn't be too concerened with it.

[Seamonster]

I picked this hint up on the Forum, so the credit goes to the original poster, whoever he is.  If you've got one or can borrow one, try a laser level.  I find it's great for getting lengths of flextrack perfectly straight.  If positioned just right, it can show up dips or humps in the track too as the beam skips over the low spots or just hits only the high spots.

 

[jawnt]

To elaborate a bit on what Ken (Concretelacky) had to say about checking a level at the store (or anywhere for that matter) --- also after doing what Ken said, rotate the level end for end and check again. You will be supprised at how many levels will read differently when they are rotated 180 degrees. If you have such a level, it WILL cause dips in your track work unless you force yourself to always orient the level in the same direction.

John T in the cow pasture (where the cows a tired of grazing on inclines)

[selector]

I have used cardstock, tape, bamboo skewer bits, discarded plastic tie bits, cedar door jamb shimstock, and even caulk under my ties to get the rails to behave.  At least, I did all that on my old layout.  This time, with MDF spline roadbed, I still had to use a surform file to even it up from spline to spline along any point (they don't always dry perfectly flush against each other, but will slip a bit up and down so that one or more becomes a bit of a ridge...or a depression).   Also, the glue beads up all over the place and will of course dry that way...hard little grit that won't help you to lay good tracks.  So, they have to be scraped off at the same time.

[jeffrey-wimberly]

I put a masonry level (3 feet or longer) on the track. Any dips instantly become obvious. I use anything from folded paper to craft sticks (popsicle sticks) to level the track. After the scenery and ballast are in who will ever know that it wasn't laid perfectly in the first place.

[concretelackey]

Suggestion on the torpedo level. Since almost all levels are located in the same aisle in the hardware store pick a good quality 4' level, place it on the shelf and shim with anything so that it reads level. Now take the smaller torpedo and place that on top of the 4' level to check it. You may be surprised how many 8" to 12" torpedo level are NOT accurate.

Also, I prefer levels with the colored liquid more than the clear. It is much easier to see the bubble.

[ChrisNH]

Sanding the roadbed with sandpaper in a fairly large block has seemed to keep my cork roadbed, and hence the track, relatively level.

To make sure my plywood subroadbed was level, I used a long level between the risers to make sure they are level from one to the other, then I use a carpenters square on the riser to make sure it makes ninety degrees with the joist which should be level if my L-girders are level. A lot of assumptions along the way but so far my little 3x5 seems to have little tilt in the cars as they rattle along. Of course, it is only 3x5..

I think an improvement on the method I used would be to use a level on the joist rather then a carpenters square to account for some tilt in the joist which maybe doesnt join quite square with the L-girder.

Chris

[tomikawaTT]

You make be sanding enough away that you are making it worse with the orbital sander.

Dave H. 

That's true, but I don't work the wood hard. I use the smooth side of plywood and I don't hold the sander at an angle either , I keep it flat and move it quickly back and forth  so as not  to dig in at any one spot. I have had pretty good luck this way.

I also make sure that my track joints aren't anywheres near my wood joints.

Craig 

I rather prefer building up to sanding down.  My material of choice is cardboard, supplemented by drywall mud, placed between the plywood subgrade and the foam plastic roadbed (with the roadbed secured with latex caulk.)  If the subgrade is level (or properly superelevated, but that's a different kettle of fish) the roadbed will be level.  If the roadbed is level, the rails will be level when you lay flex on a thin coat of grey latex caulk.

The torpedo level (positioned at 90 degrees to the rails) is your friend!  Use it at every stage of subgrade and roadbed preparation, and correct out-of-level conditions immediately, before proceeding to the next step.  The result will be smooth, consistent trackwork that will be a pleasure to operate over.

Just my .  Other modelers have other ways to achieve the same result.

Chuck (modeling Central Japan in September, 1964)

[CraigN]

You make be sanding enough away that you are making it worse with the orbital sander.

Dave H. 

That's true, but I don't work the wood hard. I use the smooth side of plywood and I don't hold the sander at an angle either , I keep it flat and move it quickly back and forth  so as not  to dig in at any one spot. I have had pretty good luck this way.

I also make sure that my track joints aren't anywheres near my wood joints.

 

Craig 

 

[larak]

for making sure the track is level (side-to-side) ... 

Thanks in advance.

Gary

 

Use that three foot aluminum rule. Place it flat alongside one rail. Slide the track so that it touches the rule for its full lenght, then pin it with T pins and wait for the caulk to dry. You be amazed how far out of straight track laid by eye can be.

Karl 

[dehusman]

How do you make sure its flat and level?

Buy an aluminum 3 or 4 foot rule.  Set it on the roadbed, see if its really flat.

Buy a torpedo level, put it on the plywood to make sure its level, use the level to check out the roadbed after its applied.

Basically starting with the benchwork, check the level at each step and correct anything out of plumb at that step.

You make be sanding enough away that you are making it worse with the orbital sander.

Dave H. 

[CraigN]

I lay track on cork roadbed.

1st, I sand the plywood at any rough spots using my orbital sander.

Next, I sand the cork after gluing down to make to make it smooth and flat.

 

Craig

 

[dehusman]

Only 2 methods, make sure the subroadbed is flat and level and lay the track smoothly on it or lay the track on the subroadbed and then shim it to level.

I recommend getting a flat, smooth and level subroadbed.  If the foundation is correct it helps make sure whats on top of it is correct.  If the foundation is crooked, there is no telling what's going to happen to whats on top of it.

I would ask what surface are you laying the track on and do you know why its getting out of level?

Dave H.

[Anonymous]

If there's a slight dip in the track, I used the most economical, cheapest way to get it level: folded duct tape. I ripped off individual pieces and folded them according to how low the dip in the track was. I slipped it under my cork roadbed and if ballassted correctly, can be completely disguised.

[binder001]

OK, I'm good at building models and detailing locos but can't seem to lay level reliable track.  I am interested in hearing other peoples' procedures for making sure the track is level (side-to-side) and for reducing 'dips". 

Thanks in advance.

Gary