Here is something that might draw the interest of serious rivet counters: has anyone ever modeled fish plates in HO? Wiki says it's the term used in England for the splice or joint bars that are bolted to the sides of rails to join the ends together. Of course they'd be too small to functionally bolt or screw together, but someone may have at least glued them in place for a super-prototypical diorama, photo or whatever. To go to the next step, one would have to also gap the rails to make them look right. As if there wasn't enough to do elsewhere on your pike.....
Just wonderin'.
John
Bill at Pdc.ca sells them. They are very nice.
TomO
Yup, I did 'em on a short display track.
I forget who made them, though. They were black styrene, and came in two sizes.
I've also done tie plates. I put a strip of black electrical tape underneath where the rail was going, and then cut out the voids between the ties. And then applied 4 spikes per tie.
Ed
7j43kYup, I did 'em on a short display track.
I have a spot where I wanted to simulate a crossover that had been ripped up and turned into the end of a siding. It is also more of a detailed "mini-scene" like Ed mentions above.
Track_joint1 by Edmund, on Flickr
I scattered a few joint bars (IIRC, Details West JB922?) and crudely drilled the ends of some scrap rail.
Track_joint2 by Edmund, on Flickr
They look great but I sure wouldn't worry about doing the entire layout with 'em! I wish they had some with open holes since the bolts would have been burned off in my case.
Track_joint0 by Edmund, on Flickr
I scarfed-up some wood ties to make them look like spikes had been pulled up.
Track_joint by Edmund, on Flickr
I still need to "plant" some weeds.
I would like to know if anyone has "stockpiles" of track materials in HO. I feel that stuff like stacks of joint bars and tie plates, kegs of spikes and bolts and piles of rail anchors are a necessary detail for maintenance yards and along rights-of-way.
Good Luck, Ed
Beautiful work, Other Ed!
I like your idea of "stockpiles". Up at my fave location (Lyle WA), there's some piles of just such stuff. Now it's on my to-do list.
Wow, I have to agree, excellent!
Mike
My You Tube
I believe that the Proto modellers in the various scales regularly use joint bar detail parts, and recall seeing someone model a pile of tie plates made from paper - they were painted and looked very convincing.If you wanted to add joint bar detail, it wouldn't be necessary to cut the rail completely, only the top would show and would give you the clickey-clack (sorta) when the train passed over each joint.
Wayne
Thank you!
Still a work-in-progress.
Here's a link to one of the Proto:87 sites. Very Informative...
http://www.proto87.com/HO_Ultimate_ultra-accurate_turnouts_and_track.html
I'll have to look into making some masters and silicone molds for resin casting some track stockpiles. Tichy makes wood kegs but they are too large to be spike kegs. I'll have to see if he has them in N scale.
I often see bins made of thin wood slats and twisted wire (Gaylord bins?) on pallets. Lots of these in track material stockpiles.
So many details — So little time!
Regards, Ed
Evergreen Hill makes, or made, "scenery" joint bars such as you see stacked trackside.
https://www.walthers.com/rail-joiners-stacked-2-pack
Dave Nelson
dknelsonEvergreen Hill makes, or made, "scenery" joint bars such as you see stacked trackside.
Thanks, Dave. Those look neat
doctorwayne ...and recall seeing someone model a pile of tie plates made from paper - they were painted and looked very convincing.
That just gave me an idea to try, Wayne! I recently picked up a few packages of Minuteman Models laser-cut, three-tab shingles. I'll have scraps left over and I'll bet they can be cut to look like tie plates and they already have a sticky-back so they will be easy to stack or scatter. Spike holes can be punched with a small scribe or awl.
http://www.minutemanscalemodels.com/product-p/87-1010.htm
Maybe the slate ones would be better? I'll have to experiment.
Great stuff! Thanks, Ed
tloc52 Bill at Pdc.ca sells them. They are very nice. TomO
Yes, they look nice. pdc.ca is precision design company: www.pdc.ca
4 hole, 6 hole, with and without bolts. Also in different scales.
maxman tloc52 Bill at Pdc.ca sells them. They are very nice. TomO Yes, they look nice. pdc.ca is precision design company: www.pda.ca 4 hole, 6 hole, with and without bolts. Also in different scales.
Yes, they look nice. pdc.ca is precision design company: www.pda.ca
Thanks, Tom and Maxman.
These do look great! Please note that the URL is http://www.pdc.ca , not pda. They are found in their listings under their first header, "HO Scale Railroad Detail Parts". Also note that they are a lasercut composition paper product, not plastic or etched metal. Should be no big deal for their use. And free shipping!!
I wonder if owner Bill Brillinger would also consider offering tie plates.
Details West makes Joint Bars in both Brass and plastic. I am using the Brass ones to take the place of rail joiners on my next layout.
http://www.proto87.com/
The above website has tie plates, joint bars, scale spikes and Manganese and self guarding frogs.
AttuvianPlease note that the URL is http://www.pdc.ca , not pda.
Went back and made the correction.
Thanks
Proto87 has them. I believe they are metal.