Talking T Gauge

DanMacK

Hey all,

Given the cost of track and the current availability (or lack thereof) of flextrack and turnouts, I have a feeling alot of T Gaugers will be delving into the madness of handlaying track. Here are some thoughts based on my observations so far.

I had some code 40 rail lying around, and after a quick look at it, while it's oversized, it's possibly not 'that' oversized so as to be noticable, especially when painted and ballasted.

I was wondering how easy it would be to do curves though. David's strip method works great for straights, but what about curves? You'd almost need to cut tie strips of 2-3 ties and place them around the corners, soldering as you go (or solder them straight on one rail and then bend it)

Looking at my code 40, I wondered if cutting a groove in the ties and using CA or epoxy would work as well. I still need to test this theory.

The only disadvantage to code 40 rail is it's not magnetic like steel wire. It may be easier to obtain however.. It may also be easier to fabricate turnouts out of than steel wire (Steel rail, nickel turnouts?)
Anyone else thinking aobut handlaying? share your thoughts here.
_________________
Regards,
Dan MacKellar

TBA · Joined: 08 Sep 2008 Posts: 120 Location: Massachusetts

Simple...use individual wood ties and spikes. Very Happy

David K Smith · Posted: Sat Sep 27, 2008 6:20 pm Post subject:

My plan for laying curves was to cut the raw PC board strips in curved sections, then notch them just as I had done for the straight. This would have been far more tedious given that each cut would have to be wedge-shaped--thus I tried my best to avoid curves in my track plans. (Turnouts would actually be easier than curves, because up to just past the frog, the ties are all parallel, and at right angles to the straight leg.)

Ideally, however, this work should be done on a CNC machine. My hope is that I can eventually connect with someone outfitted with CNC equipment who would do it for a reasonable fee. And the CNC approach offers an option to use thin flat wire and sink the wire on edge in slots cut in the ties not so much to reduce height but to simplify gauging the track properly; gauging 3mm rail is a bit of a headache, I confess.

By the way, another problem with Code 40 rail, aside from not being magnetic, is the excess width; the head of the rail that Eishindo uses measures a foot wide! (A real railhead is less than three inches wide.) Presumably that's why they had to make the ties over two feet longer than they should be.
_________________
—David

http://www.t-gauge.net/
http://1-450.blogspot.com/

DanMacK · Posted: Sun Sep 28, 2008 12:42 pm Post subject:

What about a laser? Would that work for roadbed/ties? I know a couple people around have lasers (Robert Ray, you listening? Wink

) that may work for this.
_________________
Regards,
Dan MacKellar

David K Smith · Posted: Sun Sep 28, 2008 4:11 pm Post subject:

Only if you can laser through copper foil and at least halfway into .060-inch thick PC board...
_________________
—David

http://www.t-gauge.net/
http://1-450.blogspot.com/

TBA · Joined: 08 Sep 2008 Posts: 120 Location: Massachusetts

In this article regarding 1:240 scale A. A. Sherwood notes he used hard PVC, milled in straight sections with slots for ties, and parallel grooves for flat wire rails. He curved the sections simply by running hot water over the PVC. He recommended stub-type turnouts.

http://www.zen98812.zen.co.uk/smaller.html

DanMacK · Posted: Sun Sep 28, 2008 10:01 pm Post subject:

pray59 · Joined: 05 Sep 2008 Posts: 88 Location: Fremont, CA

I have tried to laser copper clad, but the only thing that happens is the FR board turns black and expands. The copper swells up over the burnt board, but thelaser will not punch through.

I can however cut wood ties, and if a copper clad tie is used every centimeter, you can solder the music wire rail in place.

It is also possible to laser engrave a slot on top of the tie strips, so the wire will sit in a groove. Every so many ties worth, the wire rail can be bent 90 degreed, and go straight down through the layout board to double as a track feeder. Then up top, we solder a bridge gap between ajacent rail ends.

We have to re-think traditional track laying methods. This might be very easy, and all super easy ballasting. Think of a staple gun, stappling end to end, then solder the dip in between ajacent staples.

-Robert
_________________
-Robert Ray

David K Smith · Posted: Mon Sep 29, 2008 8:47 pm Post subject:

Might be less work just to drill a hole every X ties and insert a wire pin, then solder the rail to the pin.
_________________
—David

http://www.t-gauge.net/
http://1-450.blogspot.com/

DanMacK · Posted: Tue Sep 30, 2008 12:58 pm Post subject:

Both methods sound great, and would be excellent for larger layouts as well

The bent-wire mthod may actually work well for turnouts, have the actual throwbar under the layout and you can have it larger. a smaller version could be on top. Could also solve issues with the point pivots as well (unless you uses a solid point rail) Regardless, as Robert said, we're going to have to definitely rethink the way we lay track.
_________________
Regards,
Dan MacKellar

David K Smith · Posted: Tue Sep 30, 2008 1:47 pm Post subject:

I'd used an approach something like this to make the points for a Code 25 turnout in N scale. The ends of the points are bent downward at 90 degrees to engage a throwbar that simply has two slots.

http://whiteriverandnorthern.net/detail_30.htm
_________________
—David

http://www.t-gauge.net/
http://1-450.blogspot.com/

DanMacK · Posted: Tue Sep 30, 2008 3:10 pm Post subject:

That could definitely work! Definitely opens up alot f possibilities and headaches handlaying in this scale, but as in any scale, it's probably the most cost-effective way
_________________
Regards,
Dan MacKellar