Dropped down sections

[P&G Northern - Calgary]

On the current layout I have a hinged down section so I can access the center area of my layout. A couple of problems have cropped up.

1. At the hinged area where the trackwork meets there have been derailments. Should the tracks be cut square where they meet or should they be cut on an angle - /  where they meet?

2. On the corner curve that meets at the drop down section - more derailments or the engine & cars want to part company.

Does anyone have any ideas on how to correct these problems?

Thank you in advance

Greg Clarke

[Phoebe Vet]

My recommendations:

1   Make sure there is no slop in the hinges.  If the hinge moves, the track will move.

2   Make sure the joint is on a straight section of track so there will be no side forces.

3   Lay the track securely across the joint and then cut it in place.  A slight diagonal cut in the rail in the direction of travel will help.

[IRONROOSTER]

 Rerailers on both sides of the joint.

Make sure that your tracks are lining up both vertically and horizontally and in the correct gauge.

Good luck

Paul

[tgindy]

The articles I have seen usually show a straight piece of track with the rail-break cut at an angle in the middle of that straight track

[gondola1988]

Easy fix,  just go to cloverhouse.com and order the pc switch ties and solder them on the ends of your drop down and ajoining rails at the very edges where you cut the track to keep it in gauge ,use a track gauge to do it and it should fix the derailments,  dont forget to cut the copper in the middle of the switch ties with a moto tool or saw so it dosen't short the rails

[tomikawaTT]

If your tracks are not perfectly square to the joint line, you can mount guardrails opposite the joint gaps to help keep the flanges on the insides of the railheads.  Another variant is to have a short length (3 or 4 inches) of removable track with sliding rail joiners across the fault line.  It comes out when the fold-down is to be moved.

Contrary to some opinions expressed here, it is possible to cross the joint on a curve.  If your trackwork is impeccable, you may not even need the suggested guardrails.  I have two staging yard throats on removable (for maintenance) domino frames, both of which connect to the body tracks on curves.  They have been working satisfactorily without guardrails, but I recently added them - cheap insurance for joints which will soon be hidden behind the fascia, and under two higher levels of trackwork.

Chuck (Modeling Central Japan in September, 1964)

[WSOR 3801]

 Here is how I have been doing the module joints on our new layout.

1.  Put in a bunch of track nails.

2.  Run a bead of super glue along both rails, to affix the rails to the ties.  I have some Barge cement for backup if needed.

3.  Cut the gap with a razor saw.  A Dremel takes out a lot more material.  

Some of the other guys used a Dremel, and the gaps are bigger.

 4.  If needed, file the edges just a little bit.  Just want to knock the sharp point off the rail.  About 4-5 swipes with a file should do it. 

5.  Check things out with a gauge.  I like to use a Kadee coupler gauge, it has a 3-point track gauge built into the bottom.  On curves, the side with 2 points goes on the outside rail, the single point on the inside rail.  This helps to widen the gauge ever so slightly on the turn, with is needed with our tight turns.  Also check the cross-level in the turns.  If the outside rail is lower than the inside, things will derail.  

We used to use 3" pieces of Snap-Track over the gaps, but we got sick up and fed of installing 120 or so of these twice a year.  

[Phoebe Vet]

tomikawaTT

Contrary to some opinions expressed here, it is possible to cross the joint on a curve. .

Chuck (Modeling Central Japan in September, 1964)

I didn't say it was impossible, I just suggested that you not do it in order to minimize the risk.

[Allegheny2-6-6-6]

I would suggest getting rid of the hinge section and make it a lift out piece. with a hinge section you need to leave more of a gap for the hinge swing. I have seen more guys make them swing upward then downward because of the gap needed. On my lift out section I use a 36" 1x4 supported by a piece of angle aluminum on either side to prevent warping or sagging over time, two 3/8" wooden dowels for locating pins and on the end of each section of rail I have soldered PC ties same as used in hand laying turnouts. This keeps the rails in gauge. I also beveled the ends of the rails slightly same as you do when installing tracks for a turntable. For the electrical hook up I use a make and female phono jack I had laying around. The whole project cost me nothing to make all stuff I have been using on the layout, track roadbed etc. and it works flawlessly. I got the idea from some guy Everett on Youtubecom. do a search for him or lift out bridge.His vidoeography well lets just say needs a little work but he's real good at what he does and has a lot of great ideas.

 

 

 

These were taken before the PC ties were soldered in place and the section was ballasted. The gap didn't pose a problem at all but I tightened it up just a bit.

[wm3798]

Here's my drop leaf.  I used a simple cabinet hinge secured to the frame with 2" screws to prevent any shifting or pulling of the screws.

The other end gets secured with a single barrel bolt.  This has proven to be a little more wiggly than I'd like, so I'm going to upgrade it by placing two barrel bolts, one on each side of the bridge.  I like the idea of adding re-railers near the joints, too.

Mine has the added challenge of a fairly steep grade.

It rises about 1/2" from right to left.  To keep the trains from derailing at the transition, I carefully filed an arc into the rail heads on the bridge, which are Atlas c80, so there's a gentler transition to the c55 on the shelf part.  I won't say it's 100% reliable, but it's not bad.  The electrical connections are made with a standard phone jack to carry power for the track plus an accessory line, and the cat 5 cable is the control bus for the DCC.

Lee