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 Posted - November 28 2021 : 11:51:24 AM
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These are the fixtures I use when building track. The well used one top right is for #5 switches, also shown are fixtures for #6 switches and curves of 18r, 20r and 22r. These make building your own track quick and easy. I can build a switch from a 3 foot length of rail in about an hour.
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Posted - November 28 2021 : 2:35:07 PM
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I've always thought those who handlay their own track a special breed.
If I did that, it would like something out of Looney Tunes and Cat in the
Hat combined. And how is it nailing the stuff in with tie spikes?
The ties look a little wide spaced, which would be excellent for narrow
gauge and first generation steam track.
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Posted - November 28 2021 : 4:14:51 PM
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The ties in the fixtures are for PC board ties that are used to keep the rail in guage. The in between spaces are filled with wood ties when the track is laid.
Spiking is tedious, but whether it is unbearable depends on what you lay your track on. Plywood is a bad choice as it's too hard to spike into. The best material I've found so far is clear pine. It's soft enough to make spiking easy, but dense enough to hold the spikes exactly where you drove them. And there are no knots to deal with.
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Posted - November 29 2021 : 12:11:13 AM
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| This is maybe a stupid question, but once you have the track pieces created, can you not glue them down to the layout as you would with plastic track?
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Posted - November 29 2021 : 08:55:42 AM
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The wood ties are glued down and ballasted. The rails are spiked to the wood ties. I don't know what you'd use for glue to hold the rails to the ties.
This photo of an uncompleted siding shows the ties glued to the baseboard, and the rails spiked to the ties.
The switch at the top shows what they look like coming out of the fixture. The one on the bottom has been spiked onto the wood ties.
This is what the switch looks like when completed, but not yet ballasted. All it needs now is a switchstand to throw it.
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Posted - November 29 2021 : 12:45:03 PM
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| Very cool! What material are the ties used in the jig made from?
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Posted - November 29 2021 : 2:27:39 PM
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| The ties used in the jig are PC board, that can be soldered to. A gap must be cut in the copper cladding to prevent the rails from shorting out.
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Posted - November 30 2021 : 02:04:54 AM
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| Ahhh that makes. I noticed the cut in the ties in the picture but couldn't tell what the material was.
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