Fluesheet's Shelf Layout

[tetters]

Not that this really matters...

Snipping half of the spike head off is what I did to my ME spikes when I began spiking rail to my pier. The ME spike heads are way too big and by snipping off half of the head they sit flush on the base of the rail and don't shove the rail out of gauge when its fully inserted into the tie. Yes it takes some time, but its well worth it.

Great looking track work Flue. This is going to be really fun to watch!

[Fluesheet]

Snipping half of the spike head off is what I did to my ME spikes when I began spiking rail to my pier. The ME spike heads are way too big

I was a little disappointed I had to do that - ME spikes USED to look small! They still have their place - they aren't too bad as rail braces alongside switchpoints. I'll be trying the near-scale sized spikes from Proto87 sometime in the future out of curiosity; then I can decide where the pain is more acceptable - handling very small spikes, or trimming larger ones.

Thanks for the comments tetters.

[tetters]

I tried a set of micro spikes from ME. I am not familiar with the Proto87 ones. However, if they are anything like the ME micro spikes, then unless you are spiking into anything but wood ties, forget it. They bend pretty damn easy.

[Fluesheet]

Next it was time to experiment with ways to attach the rail to the ties.


Spiking:
Spiking not only secures the rail to the ties, but has the added benefit of anchoring the rail / tie structure to the roadbed. I spiked every 10th tie or so, counting on the tie plates to keep the rail in gauge between spikes. See the photo in the “Ties” post.
Notes:
• Drill a #75 pilot hole through one of the tie plate spike holes to prevent the tie from splitting. I also found that spikes (even relatively fine Micro Engineering spikes) have to have their heads shortened, which is tedious.

Gluing
I used the method described on CVMW's web site; they recommend using Barge Glue diluted 50:50 with MEK


The mixture is “painted” onto the bottom side of the rail’s base and on the tie plates and allowed to dry.


After the rail is set in place then apply straight MEK with a very sharp paint brush right where the rail / tievplate meet – you should see it wick into the space beneath the rail. This reactivates the Barge. Allow to dry, and it should be good to go.


NOTE 1: The rail has to have solid contact to the tie plate for this to be successful. I weighted some sections, most I temporarily spiked in place prior to applying the MEK (as in the photo above) and one section I simply worked slowly and held the rail down with my fingers as I went along. This last method worked best for me.
NOTE 2: from experience, I found that this technique works better if a second coat of the dilute glue is added to at least the rail base – there doesn’t seem to be enough glue for a really strong bond with only one coat. YMMV. Alternatively, it would probably work equally well with one coat that is less diluted, but a thicker glue gets hard to brush on evenly, and can sometimes leave messy glue “strings”.
NOTE 3: Be careful how accurately and how much MEK is applied as it *can* soften the styrene ties and potentially blunt detail.

Central Valley Cast Spikes
The 8'6" Mainline strips have tall spikes and rail clamps / anti-creepers molded onto the ties that are intended to bent over the base of the rail to hold it in place (picture those little nubs on tires, and you’ll get the idea, or better yet, see: <!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.cvmw.com/imagecvmw/2003album/pages/2003_05.htm">http://www.cvmw.com/imagecvmw/2003album ... 003_05.htm</a><!-- m -->). This feature is NOT available on the branchline or 9’ mainline ties.
Once bent over onto the rail they look essentially the same as the spike detail on Micro Engineering track. Use a nail set to bend the spikes over onto the rail base. I used a combination smearing – rocking technique that worked well, though I had to be careful that the smear too hard as it could end up shearing the spike.

(Folded spikes can be seen in the foreground of this photo.)

Notes:
• Central Valley recommends a specific nail set for doing this task. I used an old set that I cleaned up a bit. If you choose to buy one, don't (as I initially did) get one that has a dimple cast into the set's tip. This may be great for centering on nails, but that void does a lousy job of bending spikes over! The tip should be flat, with rounded edges. Sharp edges increase the risk of shearing the spikes off the tie.
• Along with the spikes, anti-creeping clamps are also cast onto the tie strips. These also need to be bent over the rail base and create a much stronger physical connection than the spikes alone due to their heftier size. I cut these off for this layout as I don't think they were prototypical for an industrial flat switching area for my era. I may be wrong on this, but the damage is done!


Hybrid(?)
The last technique I tried was a combination of gluing and spiking. One rail was glued using barge, leaving the strip flexible while I fiddled with the alignment. When it looked good, I spiked the second rail, securing the second rail and the entire strip. Why do this? This was the first curved track I laid, and I wanted to be sure I wasn’t left with a kink where it joined the crossing. Sticking one rail in place allowed me to ensure that the kink didn’t develop while I messed with the curve. Like a standard section of flex track.
As you can see from this photo, the Barge had no trouble holding a rail in place while experimenting with some sharp radii (I used a double application as noted above for this experiment)!


Conclusion
For mainline ties, I think I prefer the cast spikes on the 8’6” mainline ties, for a couple reasons.
• No prep is needed (glue or drilling)
• The rail isn’t fastened to the ties, so track can still be adjusted after all the spikes are bent over – like flex track. With glue, once the second rail is glued in place, the curvature is fixed.

For Branchline ties (I won’t be using any more of the 9’ mainline ties as they are too long for my era), it’s pretty much a toss up between spiking and gluing. Both have advantages and disadvantages. I’ll use either, depending on what suits my fancy that day. I may be more opinionated, however, after I gain experience.

I have one last rail attachment idea up my sleeve, but will hold off on that until I have a chance to experiment with it.

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[Fluesheet]

I've also experimented with two types of manual turnout controllers: The Bluepoint from Newrailmodels (<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.newrailmodels.com/">http://www.newrailmodels.com/</a><!-- m -->) and the Bullfrog from FastTracks (<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.handlaidtrack.com/BullFrog-Manual-Turnout-Control-s/2087.htm">http://www.handlaidtrack.com/BullFrog-M ... s/2087.htm</a><!-- m -->)

Cost
Bullfrogs are $6 as a kit and $9 pre-built
Bluepoints range between $12 and under $9, depending on where you get them and whether you buy multi-packs or not.

Features
Besides (obviously) moving your points, both types have micro switches - the bullfrog has one, the bluepoint has two. The switches can be used to power route frogs and provide signalling. Although the Bullfrog comes with only one switch, it is designed to be able to be used with two, though you have to purchase the extra one.

As an aside, these two devices work opposite of one another - that is, with the Bluepoint, pulling the linkage pulls the turnout's points toward you. With the Bullfrog, pulling the linkage pushes the points away from you.

Dimensions
Bluepoint - 2 3/8" deep
Bullfrog - 2"

3/8" doesn't sound like much, but is a significant difference if you are conserving space.

Other
Bluepoints, in my opinion, are easier to mount. Though neither are especially difficult, they (Bluepoints) allowed a straighter shot to the screws, which lessens the chance of boogering them up.

vs.


Linkage
Both kits come with the actuating wire that goes through the roadbed - the Bullfrog with wire about .036" diameter, the Bluepoint with ~.032". In my few installations, I've found (generally) that my turnouts work better if the Bluepoint wire is thicker and the Bullfrog is thinner. Four of my Bluepoints now have .039" wire, both bullfrogs have .032".

Neither mechanism comes with the push - pull linkage, though both offer kits for that. I used a "Z" bend connector that Fast Tracks sells to connect to the Bullfrog mechanism, and a flexible push-pull rod that threads onto the Z connector. For the Bluepoint, I bought some nylon clevises from the local R/C hobbyshop to attach to the mechanism, then threaded some 2-56 threaded rod into the clevis. So far, this works fine.

Expensive one on the left, spring steel in the center, cheap but perfectly adequate nylon on the right




Mounted

[mountaingoatgreg]

Matt,

Glad you are are able to make a little progress on the layout. I need to get to working on mt switches....but they are so boring....

[BR60103]

Since the controls work in opposite directions, you could mix the machines up so that "normal" is with the knobs pushed in and "reverse" is pulled out. If you leave the turnouts at normal when you finish, there will be less chance of snagging clothes.
Oh, and don't fully assemble the Bullfrog's knob until you cut the tubing to length. Guess how I know.

[Fluesheet]

Mountaingoat - thanks for the comment and get to work on those switches!

Since the controls work in opposite directions, you could mix the machines up so that "normal" is with the knobs pushed in and "reverse" is pulled out. If you leave the turnouts at normal when you finish, there will be less chance of snagging clothes.
Oh, and don't fully assemble the Bullfrog's knob until you cut the tubing to length. Guess how I know.

Good advice both. I actually did exactly what you suggested as far as mixing and matching in two cases. Both of the turnouts on the rear of the shelf needed an opposite throw to allow the turnout to be lined straight when the knobs were pushed in. The Bullfrogs worked perfectly for this.

That said, I don't think I want to make a practice of that - the push pull throw is probably twice as long for the Bullfrogs as teh Bluepoints. This is not good or bad, but because the throw is so different, it may be confusing for operators (and me).

I just cut the first tube to length last night (after installation). Alas, I wish I'd cut it a quarter inch longer to make it easier to put my fingers behind the knob. But that's what this layout is for - living and learning!

[Fluesheet]

General pictorial progress photos. Almost all the photos posted up to this point were taken somewhere within the overall timeline pictured below:

End of Day 3/7/10


End of Day 5/5/10


End of Day 5/10/10 - I got busy in May; work was sending me out of town for 8 weeks in June / July


End of Day 5/11/10 - Almost all of the original trackplan was removed. I had intended to leave it, but the taped seams were causing high spots in the track.


End of Day 5/13/10 - Homasote fastened to plywood (screws), non spiked trackwork removed for paint. I'm going backwards!


End of Day 5/15/10 - Trackwork going back on.


End of Day 5/18/10 - Bluepoint switch controls mounted.


End of Day 6/5/10 - Heavy tie renewal underway!


I have a few more photos to catch up on on that I'll put in a later post. This is a logical place to end this post for two reasons - this last photo was also posted in the first post in this thread (a full circle thing), and this was more where my 8 week hiatus began. Hopefully smaller posts will follow!

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[Brakie]

Matt,Glad to see this update on the progress of your layout..

Please keep us posted.

[Gary S]

Some great work, Matt. Looks like you've been busy.

[Fluesheet]

Some great work, Matt. Looks like you've been busy.

Thanks, but one shelf pales in comparison to one complete building AND running layout in almost the same timeframe!

[Gary S]

But I didn't handlay my track. You guys that tackle that amaze me!

[Fluesheet]

Matt,Glad to see this update on the progress of your layout..

Please keep us posted.

I had my first operating session of sorts last night, with about five cars and and 0-6-0 switcher. More of a shake out session. It's amazing how well a switching layout works when designed correctly!

I had my dad over tonight to work a "local" that I had staged last night. Great fun and he seemed to enjoy it thoroughly, though my mother was somewhat puzzled on what the point was! I will soon be going back to the original thread to check out some of the switching advice that I was given there.

I found two potential sticky points; both of which I gave some attention to during the design, and with the input from the other thread:
- The left end lead is too short (it got shortened from my original requirement for valid reasons). An easy fix with a temporary staging extension. The 0-5-0 has been used as a cheat a couple of times.
. The long end of the run around (middle track) is a little short. I wanted to be able to hold a couple cars there, and I can, but just barely! It will require very accurate spotting to make sure it cars don't foul the bracketing turnouts.

[tetters]

...though my mother was somewhat puzzled on what the point was!

Funny, my wife thinks the same thing about my efforts.