Based on your comment mentioning Peco, I grabbed a Peco turnout and brushed some MEK on the underside of a tie, and I'm pleased to mention that it will work just as well with Peco as it does with Atlas. Also, while Peco spike heads are smaller than those on Atlas track, they're the same height as Atlas, so the .060" material on the outside of the rails will be level with the rail tops, and the procedure for the portion between the rails will be similar to what I mentioned for Atlas track.I hope that when you get that part of your new layout done, you'll share some photos with us.
Wayne
doctorwayne . Wayne
.
I thought it was you who described your process before. Thanks for posting the pics as well as the thickness dimensions again.
The yard will look a lot like the above, without the large structures.
It will be a fairly large area, about 18" x 30", so a thread about how to find large pieces of styrene is timely.
Most of the track on the new layout is Peco 83. But I saved quite a few Atlas 83 flex track from the previous recycled layout for the intended purpose of likely trashing them with modifications this time around.
- Douglas
DoughlessWhat thickness of styrene would be best for making crossings or more specifically intermodal yards? Atlas code 83 track....
For code 83 track .060" styrene works perfectly for the approaches to the tracks, as the styrene can be cemented to the plastic "spike heads" on Atlas track.
For the portion between the rails, .080" would work well, but if you have .060" sheet-stock on-hand, you can cement a couple strips of .125"x.020" strip-stock to the Atlas ties, just inside of the spike heads, then add the .060" material on top. Keep the .060" stuff between the spike heads, and not on top of them. This creates room for the flanges of locos and rolling stock to pass over the crossing without causing derailments...
...it works for parking areas with tracks, too...
For gravel roads or roads made with plaster, I use strip styrene, distressed with a razor saw, then painted a suitable colour to represent creosote...
The "planks" outside the rails (.060" thick) are cemented together, then cemented atop the Atlas spike heads, while the "planks" between the rails (and also between the spike heads) are .080" thick strip material, cemented together and then cemented to the ties. If you're using track that doesn't have styrene ties, like Micro engineering, you'll need a different glue, as solvent-type cement won't work on engineering plastics.
Less-used crossings might not be fully planked, like these...
You can use similar techniques to create details like planking to allow easy on- or off-platforms for handcars, too...
I also use the .060" sheet styrene for making "crowned" streets with sidewalks. Here's an end-view, with the piece representing the roadway extending under the sidewalks, which were added directly atop the sheet which formed the road. The "crown" was done by cementing a strip of .060" styrene under the centre of the roadway...it, and the edges of the road, were cemented to the plywood top of the layout using contact cement. The sidewalks were secured using to the road with MEK...
DoughlessThat would be for a road crossing, right? From the top of the ties to flush with the rail?
Forget what I said.
I forgot to figure in the fact that I use N Scale, and it probably would need to be thicker for HO. Sorry about that.
Another issue is what one uses to fasten the styrene to the table. I use caulk, and the height of the styrene's surface depended on how thick I laid the caulk.
York1 John
York1 Doughless What thickness of styrene would be best for making crossings or more specifically intermodal yards? Atlas code 83 track. The big concrete parking lot with rails embedded therein. That kind of look. I used 0.040" for mine, and it worked well. Also, I mainly use 0.020 or 0.030 for my scratch-built buildings. Cutting windows in the 0.020 is a lot easier than the thicker pieces.
Doughless What thickness of styrene would be best for making crossings or more specifically intermodal yards? Atlas code 83 track. The big concrete parking lot with rails embedded therein. That kind of look.
What thickness of styrene would be best for making crossings or more specifically intermodal yards? Atlas code 83 track.
The big concrete parking lot with rails embedded therein. That kind of look.
I used 0.040" for mine, and it worked well.
Also, I mainly use 0.020 or 0.030 for my scratch-built buildings. Cutting windows in the 0.020 is a lot easier than the thicker pieces.
That would be for a road crossing, right? From the top of the ties (spikeheads) to flush with the rail?
For an intermodal yard, I think I'll need two thicknesses.
I need to start at subroadbed (laid the tracks right on the plywood) so the styrene comes to the same height as the top of the spike. Then another bit from the top of the spike to make the whole yard flush with the rails.
That's my vision for how that would work.
Yes, I would want to be able to cut styrene easily for making structures.
By the way, I did the math. That 55 gallon drum works out to 7040 ouces of oregeno.
Styrene sheets are free, a lot of major retailers use them for signs and then toss them out. You do get a print on one side but free is free, mine came from Walgreens.
I tried Mc Master Carr first, but the shipping was alot. Then I found this deal on Amazon. I know Amazon can be pricey, but they can also be a good deal if you hit it at the right time.
I haven't bought any 4x8 sheets in years, but at the time the local distributor was far cheaper than any mailorder house. Of course that means you need to live near a big city.
It may be that the places that say "request a quote" are cheaper than those that advertise a price. That's only a guess.
I've had styrene rolled up for a year and it does not take on a memory of being rolled.
Henry
COB Potomac & Northern
Shenandoah Valley
MisterBeasley You won't get large sheets, but a quick source of thin styrene sheets is hardware store For Sale or Beware of the Cat signs.
You won't get large sheets, but a quick source of thin styrene sheets is hardware store For Sale or Beware of the Cat signs.
Yes, and local sign shops buy styrene sheet in even larger sizes. Best of all they often can give you, or sell cheaply, their cut-offs just as lumber yards often give away their cut offs from plywood or dimensional lumber.
A friend who was a truck driver once gave me an enormous haul of styrene sheets with a sign for shock absorbers painted on one side - the sign shop had run off a whole batch until they noticed a typo or other printing error and were ready to throw the whole lot in a dumpster at the very time my friend was making a delivery and took the styrene with their permission. I am still working off that stash although it was thinner than I tend to use for scratchbuilding. But some sign uses would be the right thickness.
So in addition to the signs found at hardware and other stores, don't overlook local sign shops as a source for styrene sheet. It does no harm to ask
You might also be surprised to learn that there are wholesale dealers in styrene sheet in your locale. They are not aimed at the hobby market so they tend to be unknown to us. I recall reading that Model Railroader's Jeff Wilson and the well known hobbyists and scratchbuilders Ray and Renee Grosser buy their styrene in bulk from such dealers, perhaps 4x8 sheets. And I think the prices would be lower than that quoted on-line price, plus no shipping cost if you can pick it up yourself (and verify it is really what you want and need).
As in so many other cases, the relatively small sizes of sheet styrene that Evergreen and Plastruct sell us are priced for the convenience of finding them at a LHS but sometimes it is possible to go to the source and get a deal
Dave Nelson
Overmod I remember that car -- paneled with dryer-vent tape, if I remember correctly, making it easy to detail a plain-styrene side.
I remember that car -- paneled with dryer-vent tape, if I remember correctly, making it easy to detail a plain-styrene side.
HO-Velo doctorwayne Regards, Peter
doctorwayne
Regards, Peter
Thanks for the kind words, Peter.
Rolling-up the sheet didn't seem to have any lasting effect on the plastic, although I always got it home the same day that I purchased it. I always took it straight down to the basement, removed the tape and stood it up, on its long-side, leaning against the supporting benchwork of the layout....
...of course, depending on to what I needed access under the layout, the sheet(s) did get moved around...
The minor curve that occurs while it's leaning doesn't seem to cause any problems. The main reason it's stored in the layout room is because it's the only space where it can be laid flat on the floor, then worked on using a carpenter's square, a straightedge, and a utility knife - score (several times) and snap.
doctorwayneThey simply roll the 4'x8' sheet into a cylinder, about 1' in diameter, then put some tape around the roll.
Remarkable structures Doc', always love seeing em', not to mention the great presentation. .060 styrene sheet is plenty flexible, obviously rolling it up that tight doesn't bother it or effect the flatness?
It takes an iron man to play with a toy iron horse.
I use .080 4'X8' sheets for my backdrops (I cut them to the right height, of course). It's easy to make a very long seamless backdrop, and the styrene curves around the corners of the room very easily.
Mark P.
Website: http://www.thecbandqinwyoming.comVideos: https://www.youtube.com/user/mabrunton
mobilman44 Wow, what will shipping be for something that size?
Wow, what will shipping be for something that size?
jjdamnitAnother consideration is, will you use that amount in your lifetime?
Hello All,
mobilman44Wow, what will shipping be for something that size?
A great question!
I always factor in the cost of shipping for the overall "bargain" price.
Even eBay has filter criteria that list "Lowest Price + Shipping".
Another consideration is, will you use that amount in your lifetime?
In the early 2000s, I was a line cook in a catering kitchen. The Sous Chef found a "bargain" on dried oregano, a spice that we used frequently.
When the order arrived it was a 55-gallon drum of dried oregano- -at a "bargain" price!
To this day I don't know if that kitchen ever used the entire order.
Caveat Emptor.
Hope this helps.
"Uhh...I didn’t know it was 'impossible' I just made it work...sorry"
It's hard to say if it's a bargain or not, but that's pretty close to the price I payed for 32 sq.ft. The first sheet I bought, 4'x8'x.060", was around twenty bucks, but the price has gone up over the years. The last sheet I bought (can't remember if it was the fourth or fifth one) was just under fifty bucks. There were two different businesses, relatively local, selling the stuff, but only one remains, and their prices were usually higher than those at the now-defunct one.
Around here, the price of pretty-well anything has gone up dramatically - the price of lumber, if you can find it, has quadrupled over the last year-or-so, and regular gasoline is around $5.85/gallon (Imperial gallon).
ENJOY !
Mobilman44
Living in southeast Texas, formerly modeling the "postwar" Santa Fe and Illinois Central
Maybe. US Plastic (https://www.usplastic.com/catalog/item.aspx?itemid=22883) has 40 X 72 inch 0.060 sheet for $22.86 per sheet.
If you're finding your "bargain" on Amazon, I find prices there are usually excessive compared to other places if one is willing to search.
If your're finding the plastic on Ebay, maybe you are getting a good deal. But I would still look around.
If you're seeing the plastic on a real plastic vendor site, please share the site so that the rest of us can look and compare.
I am using .060" styrene sheets for my layout. I am using them for highways, roads, parking lots, intermodal yard (2' X 17') and misc. stuff. I found 4 sheets 24" x 48" online for $53.78. They are the real stuff. I think that may be a bargain.