CP Scarborough Harbor Branch Line - HO Scale

[nachoman]

that is exceptional, and should be a smooth piece of trackwork. I am noticing you are using all PC ties - are you cutting all of them yourself or did you buy them from fast tracks? And tell me more about this belt sander - I have been doing things the cheap and tedious way by cutting and filing everything by hand, one at a time .

[tetters]

that is exceptional, and should be a smooth piece of trackwork. I am noticing you are using all PC ties - are you cutting all of them yourself or did you buy them from fast tracks? And tell me more about this belt sander - I have been doing things the cheap and tedious way by cutting and filing everything by hand, one at a time .

Hey NM.

I am cutting the ties myself by hand. I just ordered a bunch of crossties as I initially at first thought only about treating the x-over in this manner. However, I obviously decided to go across the board with this.

So I cut and gap them individually and solder them in place. Make no mistake. There is still a ton of hand work involved. I just find my center and get all Zen about it.

The bench top belt sander I use is from Delta, doing a quick search on the web, I'm not sure if Delta makes them anymore??? At least they don't carry it in the product line on their website?



You can see it on the left of my work bench. Not a great pic, but it is one of those tools I couldn't live without and I've been able to tap it for a number uses around the house and for the hobby. I picked it up at a Home Depot on sale for 79.99 on sale. Regular at the time was a $149.99!!! Seriously, talk about an offer I couldn't refuse. I still see them in the stores though and they have come down in price. Last one I saw months ago was for about $100 and change.

[tetters]

... though not sure if the results would be as good as yours ...

Kurt my man, you are one of the modellers on this board who sets the bar for the rest of us and shows us what results we can acheive for our own layouts. I have no doubt that if you gave this a shot your work would be equally as exceptional. Thank you for the compliment.

[Sumpter250]

I have a similar one I bought from MicroMark, but I don't see it in their current catalog.

[tetters]

Perhaps it was one of those tools made by one factory and rebranded for use by other companies?

Actually I have question. What should I use to secure this to my roadbed with? I was thinking some construction adhesive, although, If I do decide one day to pull this up... hock: I may want to try salvage the trackwork and the Construction Adhesive is rather permanent. (Always thinking ahead...).

Would a thin layer of silcone caulk be a better alternative or does it flex too much when cured?

[Russ Bellinis]

If you want to be able to take it up sometime to move to a different layout or location, I would use something like Elmer's white glue that is water soluble. If you use silicone, construction adhesive, or other permanent type of adhesive, you might destroy the switches by trying to remove them.

[tetters]

If you want to be able to take it up sometime to move to a different layout or location, I would use something like Elmer's white glue that is water soluble. If you use silicone, construction adhesive, or other permanent type of adhesive, you might destroy the switches by trying to remove them.

White glue had crossed my mind. How does the white glue hold up to ballasting though? I am concerned that when I ballast, the water/glue solution might loosen the bond between the track and the roadbed.

Actually, a thought just occured to me. Does it sound ridiculous, if say, I just cut out the entire chunk? Track, roadbed, and ply and remove it all as one piece? If usable on a future layout, say many years down the road, I can then install it a la open grid benchwork? I know it seems kinda silly to be thinking about this when I'm in the process of rebuilding.

[doctorwayne]

Actually, a thought just occured to me. Does it sound ridiculous, if say, I just cut out the entire chunk? Track, roadbed, and ply and remove it all as one piece? If usable on a future layout, say many years down the road, I can then install it a la open grid benchwork? I know it seems kinda silly to be thinking about this when I'm in the process of rebuilding.

I was wondering when that one was going to dawn on you.

Wayne

[tetters]

I was wondering when that one was going to dawn on you.

Wayne

LOL! It kinda hit me, like when the missus smacks me upside the head.

[e-paw]

Have you tried to build them as a module "track, roadbed, and plywood base" with the idea of it being removable. Then you could just blend it in with ballast and ground foam.

It all looks great, This is something that I want to give a try at doing, do you have any tips for someone that has never done this before. Thanks.

[Steve]

tetters...
What can I say that hasn't been said already? Looking at your excellent work, just makes me want to try it. Perhaps someday....
Right now, I will just have to continue to marvel at your fine craftsmanship. Keep up the excellent progress!

[Russ Bellinis]

If you want to be able to take it up sometime to move to a different layout or location, I would use something like Elmer's white glue that is water soluble. If you use silicone, construction adhesive, or other permanent type of adhesive, you might destroy the switches by trying to remove them.

White glue had crossed my mind. How does the white glue hold up to ballasting though? I am concerned that when I ballast, the water/glue solution might loosen the bond between the track and the roadbed.

Actually, a thought just occured to me. Does it sound ridiculous, if say, I just cut out the entire chunk? Track, roadbed, and ply and remove it all as one piece? If usable on a future layout, say many years down the road, I can then install it a la open grid benchwork? I know it seems kinda silly to be thinking about this when I'm in the process of rebuilding.

The trick is to pin the rail in place, glue it down with white glue and then go ahead an ballast before you remove the pins. Just be careful about getting ballast or glue into the points.

[tetters]

Thanks for all the comments and kind words guys. Youze guys iz da best!

Thanks for the tips about pinning it down while ballasting and gluing Russ. Thing is, I don't know when I'll get to ballasting and I'd like to get some track down and start running trains. I have some long term goals to reach, however I need to aquire certain things. Things that have to wait for sometime in the near future.

e-paw - Tips...hmmm...a few dozen spring to mind. However, the basics. Practice good soldering skills, have a decent iron (I use a 40w iron for my track work), keep the tip of the iron clean...at all costs!!! I cleaned my tip dozens of times during this build. A quick dip with the hot iron in the flux and wipe it on a paper towel roll to get the oxidization off. A clean tip is a hot tip, which means the solder will melt faster and flow better. If your tip is dirty you will have a hard time getting the solder to flow and it will just blob all over the place.

Patience is also required. Knowing when to put the tools down and walk away is a good habit to get into. When I find I start to get frustrated or just plain ornery when doing this kind of stuff, I usually walk away, grab a beer surf the net or watch a sitcom for half and hour and then see if I can get back into it. 9/10 I pick right up where I left off no problems. If I don't feel like getting off the couch...it ain't happening.

Honestly, there are a ton of good handlaying resources out there too. I know I keep plugging their stuff but the Fast Tracks website is a great resource, even if you don't buy any of the products, there are tons of videos and intructional how toos about soldering, filing the point rails and frogs etc. Worth a look into by anyone. If it wasn't for those guys, I'd have spent a small fortune on Peco turnouts and probably be broke because of it.

Now...on with the show... :ugeek:

umm...almost done.





I just need to solder in the throwbars and then clean the solder paste off the track with some soap and water. It is surprisingly strong, however, still delicate to handle. I can pick up as one complete piece if I handle it carefully.

I'll get the throwbars on tomorrow and then start thinking about mounting it in place on the layout.

Peace!

[Sumpter250]

White glue had crossed my mind. How does the white glue hold up to ballasting though? I am concerned that when I ballast, the water/glue solution might loosen the bond between the track and the roadbed.

My choice would be to spike the track down to the roadbed, and then ballast it in place. Spiking allows easy moving, if there are any operating problems that require the track to be relocated. Once it "runs well", ballast it.

[Steamtrains]

...Or use clear latex caulk...If the track need removing, running a small spatula under the track will lift it off easily...