BATMAN Hey Wayne. How many times has the hand of God saved that Horse and Wagon at the last second when you've been running trains? Brent
Hey Wayne. How many times has the hand of God saved that Horse and Wagon at the last second when you've been running trains?
Brent
The vehicles get moved around regularly, and no horses have been injured yet. They're very calm when the trains pass, too :
This one's near the tracks, but no train in sight - I dunno why the nearest horse moved her head just as the picture was taken :
Cars do seem to show up quite often when there's switching going on, but management has yet to receive any letters complaining about traffic delays :
It's surprising that there have been no accidents at this busy crossing, as the wigwags are non-operating. Management is considering replacing them with manually-operated crossing gates, and have requested a watchman/operator be placed in the crossing tower: I have a feeling that the gates won't operate either :
There was an accident at this crossing, though, as drivers (not this one) often race trains approaching from the same direction as the one below - trains are heading uphill, and usually moving not too quickly:
Here's the aftermath of that incident:
Wayne
cowman Wood shingles make good inclines also. Sometimes you can get a small bundle sold as shims at your local hardware store or lumber yard. Just be sure they are full thickness on the thick end, most are. Good luck,
Wood shingles make good inclines also. Sometimes you can get a small bundle sold as shims at your local hardware store or lumber yard. Just be sure they are full thickness on the thick end, most are.
Good luck,
My problem with the door and window shims is that they are too short, making for a steep and abrupt grade. Wood shingles would be longer. I am fortunate to have a supply of Tru-Scale roadbed pieces with out the ties, and have used the sureform shave method on a couple of those.
Phil
Timber Head Eastern Railroad "THE Railroad Through the Sierras"
doctorwayne Wayne
"All of the world's problems are the result of the difference between how we think and how the world works."
While much of my mainline is on cork roadbed, a lot of it, plus all industrial spurs, is spiked directly to the 3/4" plywood subroadbed. As long as your benchwork is solid and the plywood well-supported and not too flimsy, noise won't be an issue.
All of the track here is directly on the plywood:
...as is all of the lower-level track here, on the right:
The mainline track here is on roadbed, but it was made from plywood panelling the same thickness as cork roadbed. The sidings, of course, are directly atop the 3/4" sub-roadbed:
You don't ever want to run track directly on plywood it will amplify the sound horrifically and your trains will sound like a bucket of bolts. Your yards should be on cork sheets if you choose to use cork. I use Homabed which comes in various thicknesses and also shim pieces are available as well. What you will need to do is get yourself a sureform tool and some sand paper and possibly a file. A sureform tool if your not aware is like a small wood rasp. You will need to take the height of the roadbed down to the height of the yard panel. I have found the surefrom tool works great for this and removes a lot of material . I then finish sand it with various grits of sand paper. All of your cork roadbed should be sanded any way so this step is really no big deal. On the one section that I salvaged from the old layout I have several structures where the train comes in off the branch line and onto a siding which is now lower and eventually into the structure it self. All the transitions were made by the method I described. It's really very easy to do.
I'm glad somebody asked this question because yesterday I was in this situation and was in the thought mode of how I was going to do this,except I'm using WS foam roadbed. I like the the card stock idea and I'm already cutting up my 12 pack beer box.
Here is an example of just using ballast
Happy Railroading
Bob
Don't Ever Give Up
I simply glue a suitable length of cork roadbed in place, long enough to make a gradual transition between full-height cork and no cork. Then, once the glue has dried, use #36 sandpaper wrapped around a block of wood to taper the cork down to nothing. In the photo below, the track leading of the main (light-coloured ballast) and heading away from the viewer towards the freight car is about 18" long. Within that length, the cork is tapered down from full height to none (the taper starts and ends between the two turnouts, with both turnouts sitting totally flat. Took only a couple of minutes to accomplish.
Wood wedges that can be purchased at a home improvement store or lumber yard are good for this.
I cut off the thicker end so the wedge is exactly the thickness of the cork.
The main problem with wooden wedges is that some of them are not cut crossways evenly, so I usually get only one or two good ones out of a package, but they are cheap.
I use N gauge cork roadbed under my logging track then shim it a bit where it connects to the mainline or sand down the terminal few inches of the HO cork. The N gauge bed is not split (it is cut but I don't seperate it) and is just wide enough to cover the ties. When ballast is filled in you don't even see the n gauge cork but you don't hear the rumble of the trains as you can when no cork is present.
Roy Onward into the fog http://s1014.photobucket.com/albums/af269/looseclu/
csxns, How do you to get the train to go from cork to the lower track.
And here's another method.
First lay the track and secure the end on the cork and the other on the plywood. Then use the next larger size ballast that was used on the main line to create a layer between the ties and pack it in from the sides under the track leaving space for a second layer. Then repeat the above filling in the gap with the main line ballast. Then glue in place. You may want to use a different color blend. When the track is on the plywood you may want to used fine ballast, dirt or whatever suits.
This is actually the way the prototypes would have done it.
I can't take credit for this idea as I read about it on the forum.
Yep! I use shingles too.
Elmer.
The above is my opinion, from an active and experienced Model Railroader in N scale and HO since 1961.
(Modeling Freelance, Eastern US, HO scale, in 1962, with NCE DCC for locomotive control and a stand alone LocoNet for block detection and signals.) http://waynes-trains.com/ at home, and N scale at the Club.
When going down from cork to foam I cut out the foam and lower the cork into it. Seeing as how you are on plywood, Jim's idea would be a good one. If you're handy with a mallet and chisel you could do it the way I've done, but into the plywood.
I use a 'Surform' tool to sand down the cork roadbed. I lay the cork roadbed out about 18" from the end of the switch(making sure it is glued down good). I them use my Stanley 'Surform' tool to sand down the cork to get an even grade(takes about 5-10 minutes). Do not try this with W/S foam roadbed. You will tear it up very fast with the surform tool. I use the 6" tool, but a friend uses the Surform Shaver tool with good results. I suspect there are OEM versions of the tool as well.
I have even used a B&D 'Mouse' detail sander with 80 grit paper to do some of the long ramps.
Jim
Modeling BNSF and Milwaukee Road in SW Wisconsin
Hi,
I'm dealing with this now, and have on previous layouts. Typically I would put a graduated layer of carstock under some thin cork to bring the track to the lower level. I usually used IBM CARDS (!!!), which I suspect some of you never heard of and most of you don't have or can't get.
This time I used some of the boxes of business cards I had from my work career. They fan out nicely, and finally serve a legitimate purpose.
Here is another thing I am doing a bit differently than I used to do. I'm "raising the ground", by adding a couple layers of sheet cork. There are a lot of possibilities with this, and it definitely works. So when the track leaves the main line - set about 1/4 inch up from ground, it goes to a 3/32 inch raised ground (1 layer of typical cork sheet from office supply stores), and I give the track another layer of 3/32 inch cork as a "shallow roadbed", which means that my drop is the difference between the 1/4 inch main and the 3/16 inch yard or siding area. This gives a drop of about 1/16, easy to smooth out with a few business cards under the cork.
ENJOY !
Mobilman44
Living in southeast Texas, formerly modeling the "postwar" Santa Fe and Illinois Central
Seems to me you could use stacked single layer cardboard to support the stepdown to the lower track.
Or better yet, you could get some of the Woodland Scenics flexible foam risers and cut off the end to the height of cork you need. They go from "zero" in height up to one inch or more depending on grade selected.
Just an Idea.
-G .
Just my thoughts, ideas, opinions and experiences. Others may vary.
HO and N Scale.
After long and careful thought, they have convinced me. I have come to the conclusion that they are right. The aliens did it.
With my main line and long passing siding on cork and where the track goes into a industrial siding or a track straight on the plywood.How do you to get the train to go from cork to the lower track.I will be running big locomotives and a lot of long rolling stock over the change in track.Thanks.
Russell