G-scale Rail for Hand Laying
Neal Horner
Does anyone know of a source of bulk brass G-scale rail like
that used in L-G-B, Aristo, etc. sectional track? Can you
hand-lay this track more economically than the $2-4 per foot
that sectional track seems to cost?
Neal Horner
Bruce K. Bates
Yes, You can hand lay code 332 rail. Be sure to use a rail bender on the
curves (no kidding - you really need one if you are hand laying large
profile rail)
I can be less expensive if you cut all of your own ties and spike it all
together. I did this on my last layout.
Rail can also be purchased from Llagas Creek Railways and Garich Light
Transport.
I suggest a careful look at the adds in any of the current Garden
Railway publications. Or check out Large Scale Online:
http://www.largescale.com/index.htm
Joel Waterman
Neal Horner (hor...@bocaraton.ibm.com) wrote:
: Does anyone know of a source of bulk brass G-scale rail like
: that used in L-G-B, Aristo, etc. sectional track? Can you
: hand-lay this track more economically than the $2-4 per foot
: that sectional track seems to cost?
: Neal Horner
LGB markets brass rail and plastic tie strips, but it costs atleast as
much as their sectional track.
Micro Engineering, PHS hobbies, and others market aluminum rail which is a
lot more economical. It is readily available in code 250 and in code 332
(LGB size). If you use it, you must protect the rail joints from
corrosion with conductive paste.
Micro Engineering also markets nickel-silver rail - very expensive.
Joel Waterman
Rushbury Valley Railroad
Burlington, Ontario
RV...@freenet.hamilton.on.ca
Vance Bass
hor...@bocaraton.ibm.com (Neal Horner) wrote:
>Does anyone know of a source of bulk brass G-scale rail like
>that used in L-G-B, Aristo, etc. sectional track? Can you
>hand-lay this track more economically than the $2-4 per foot
>that sectional track seems to cost?
The best-known suppliers of bulk rail are
Llagas Creek
2200 Llagas Rd.
Morgan Hill CA 95037-9429
phone/fax: 408-779-4391
catalog: send large self-addressed
envelope with $0.52 postage
and
Garich Light Transport
13428 209th St. SE
Issaquah WA 98027
phone/fax: 206-255-2453
catalog: send large self-addressed
envelope with $0.52 postage
I can't say whether you'll save money by laying your
own. If you cut your own ties and have a good source
of free wood, perhaps you'll save some. Your time
investment would have to be counted as "meditative"
or "stress-relieving", but not as "enjoyment", according
to reports I have heard. (One friend with over 30 feet
down now (!) pays his teenage daughter to work with
him so it will go faster.)
On the plus side, choose the size of the rail appropriately
cut ties from real wood and soak them in creosote, and
you will have an accurate scale model of a railroad roadbed,
which is something most model railroaders (and certainly
those using code 332 sectional track) don't come close to.
And that DOES make a difference in how your railroad
looks. It also makes it harder to keep your trains on it, but
constant track maintenance in the face of washouts, heat
buckling, etc. is part of the reality of outdoor modeling.
Advice: talk to someone who's done it before you jump
in. . . .
-vance-
Vance Bass
Small-scale live steam homepage at http://www.indirect.com/www/vrbass
=====================================
The steam locomotive teaches us that the railway age was a totally
viable and a civilised alternative to the hideous consequences of
basing national economies on road transportation. -- Colin Garratt
Rich
You might also want to try Istra Metalcraft 6089 Lee Ann Dr., Naples,
Fl 33942 (813) 597-6445 7:30 AM - 4:30 PM Eastern Time.
They have a real nice railbender. You need a rail bender if you are
going to hand lay curved rail. The rail can kink or bender at an angle
if you don't use one.
Happy Railroading.
Rich
Carol & Pete Jobusch
I have hand laid several hundred (actually about one thousand) feet of gauge 1
track using components from Llagas Creek. Gary is great to deal with.
Most of the track was 1:32, code 215, NS. It was laid using Llagas creek tie
strips. Make yourself a tool for pushing the tie strip onto the rail. I
notched a 2*2 to match the spacing of the ties and used this "comb" to push
the tie strip along the rail after hitting the end of the rail to remove burrs
and putting a drop of steam oil on the web to lubricate things. I pushed the
strip onto both rails at the same time.
I have also cut my own ties for 1:20.3 3 foot and standard gauge track. First
cut redwood into +/- 2 foot lengths (I cut it to five tie lengths + 4 saw
kerfs). Then rip the shorter (easier to control) pieces to the proper cross
section. As an option to spiking the rail in place, I used a
"tie-plate-on-a-post" casting from Llagas creek. With that, I was able to
drill holes in the ties so they became self gauging (make a jig for your drill
press!). We slid (and spaced) tie plates onto the rail (10/foot) and pressed
tie plates into the pre-drilled ties. I think this was cheaper, and it sure
looks a lot better than sectional track!
Pete
Ray Turner
> >
> > I can't say whether you'll save money by laying your
> > own. If you cut your own ties and have a good source
> > of free wood, perhaps you'll save some. Your time
> > investment would have to be counted as "meditative"
> > or "stress-relieving", but not as "enjoyment", according
> > to reports I have heard. (One friend with over 30 feet
> > down now (!) pays his teenage daughter to work with
> > him so it will go faster.)
> > in. . . .
> >
Amen on the effort part! I used Ramos aluminum rail (code 250) and a
combination of wood and Ramos plastic ties. I figure it cost about
$1.50 a foot. But cheap plastic ties don't hold up too well. However,
it does look a lot nicer, especially hand laid switches compared to
LGB. If I had it to do over I'd spend more on good tie strips and
minimize wood ties too. I'd rather run trains than do track
maintenance.
Ray