Hand laid track

[Anonymous]

Like so many postings I have seen here, I am getting back into a layout after several years away. Is hand-laid track worth the effort? Is it as hard as it seems? I am looking at an HO layout.

[cmrproducts]

Bob

It depends on several things. How much track are you going to put down? How long do you expect the track laying to take and can you wait that long to get the layout up and running?

I have about 2500ft of track down on my layout now and still have a bunch to go. I wanted to be runing some time this century and went with Atlas flex code 100. It is durable and inexpensive enough to get the job done. And I do not spend a lot of time looking at my track to see if I can tell how detailed it is. My layout was made to operate! It is Radio Digitrax and I will sometime in the future weather and ballast the track but right now I am having too much fun operating!

So this is something to decide upon before you layout the money.

BOB H Clarion, PA

[Anonymous]

One of the butiful thigs about handlaid track is being able to make turnouts to fit the space rather having to change the track plan to accomadate the turnout. Hand build turnouts are also a lot cheaper just a lot more time consuming too.

I still use flex track between the turnouts. handlaying that doesn't cost any less there and the spike detil is better on the flex track.

Here's a turnout I did a few months ago. The outside is a large radius while inside is fairly tight. http://members.shaw.ca/paul_davis/MRR/images/track001.jpg

[Anonymous]

I like to do two things in HO scale, detailing locomotives and handlaying track. There is real pleasure in laying down ties, rail, and spiking it in place. At a distance from real-life tracks spikes are hard to see so the unprototypical spike only here and there is not a problem. My very first hand-built switch operated smooth as silk and better than store-bought. Flex is a little cheaper but you save big-time with hand-made switches and more are more satisfied in operation.

[dknelson]

You might want to "get your feet wet" in handlaid track by investigating the TruScale roadbed with ties already milled in and pregauged areas for the rail and spikes (gauge tools still needed of course - Micro Engineering makes a good one). This will at least tell you if you enjoy the basic skill of spiking rail and keeping it smooth. I myself decided that while it really is not difficult to do, there were enough little flaws in my workmanship that I personally preferred to go the flex track route. But maybe I just gave up too easily
Dave Nelson

[Sperandeo]

I'm handlaying the track on my own HO railroad for several reasons, but the first is that I really like to do it. I don't recommend that anyone bother with it unless they enjoy it, though of course you have to at least give it a try before you know that for sure.

Giving it a try can't hurt, and it's probably worthwhile to know how to build a turnout even if you end up buying most of what you need for your layout. It's good to have the ability to build a special piece of trackwork that will fit just so, and you'll have a better appreciation of how turnouts work if you can build a working turnout for yourself.

Happy holidays,

Andy Sperandeo
MODEL RAILROADER Magazine

[BR60103]

Bob:
I think that it depends on what you intend for your layout. If you want operations soon, use pre-done track. If you're looking for extreme scenic realism, hand-lay your track. By all means, try it out to see that you can do it; if you like it go for it. You may develop some skills that will be useful when you need a special situation.
You can also mix and match, using handlaid up front where it can be seen and commercial in the back or in tunnels.
--David

[dknelson]

Just to add a new thought to the discussion, you might want to investigate just how much hand laid track, and of what, is required by the NMRA achievement program. It is not required as I understand it that it actually be part of a layout -- scrap plywood or homasote is ok -- so long as you do something a bit complex like a turnout or crossing and that they "work"
Dave Nelson

[mhdishere]

I've been thinking of trying my hand at hand-laying track. Can anyone recommend a good source for the supplies involved (rail, PC board ties, "regular" ties, etc)?

[Sperandeo]

I have a clinic handout listing the supplies I use in handlaying track. It's a Microsoft Word file, and I'll be glad to send it to anyone who sends me an e-mail with "tracklaying handout" in the subject line at [e-mail].

Happy holidays,

Andy Sperandeo
MODEL RAILROADER Magazine

[Anonymous]

Greetings from Michigan! Out of all the replies I've read here I'm amazed no ones offered the easiest solution. I've been hand laying track since day one,after experimenting with everything else. I try to achive the closest to prototype as I can (though this isn't for everyone)so I started using CVT (Central Valley)tie strips. Flex's spike detail was just to big, if you get into the scale flex I found it to hard to work with. If you hand lay on wood ties you lose the tie plate detail(unless you model pre-1900s)plus useing CVT you can use any scale rail you like. PS, No I don't work for CVT. Give it a try!

[on30francisco]

I hand laid some track on the On30 portion of my layout. It looks great but I now use Micro Engineering code 70 flextrack for the layout. The spike heads look good for O scale. Once it's weathered it looks just as good as hand laid. For the HO portion of the layout I tried Central Valley tie strips. Once it's weathered it looks better than hand laid. The details on the CV tie strips are fantastic - scale sized tie plates and spike heads. With these tie strips you can use either codes 82, 70, or 55 size rail.