Custom Built Track
Most people simply buy manufactured train tracks to run their model trains. Some people will painstakingly build their model track just like building the real thing... railroad ties, rail, tie plates and spikes... and drive every single spike themselves. This option looks the best but it is a lot of tedious work. Some of us find some middle ground for various reasons.
I'd prefer to be getting some work accomplished on the house outdoors but it is damp, wet and waterlogged out there so nothing is getting accomplished outdoors. Besides, since we are at the hospital every afternoon for Sheila's radiation treatment, there really is little time for any home renovations. By the time I set up all the tools, saw horses and materials, I would need to start cleaning up so we could eat lunch and then head to the hospital. Needless to say, I've been indoors for the past few months.
I am currently indoors working on building a 12 foot test track. I call this a "test track" for two reasons. First, it is a test track in that it is a track built like I've never seen used on any model railroad so I'm not sure it will work the way I hope it will work. Second, if this idea works, then I will simply use this 12 foot section of track as a test track for testing locomotives.
I have various types of locomotives in O scale and I'd like to be able to run all of them on my one model railroad (when I get to that... right now, I'm in the testing phase).
Some of the locomotives that I have are the most common O scale locomotives that run on 3-rails. These locomotives pick up power from that middle rail as well as the outside rails.
I also have 2-rail O scale locomotives that only utilize the outside two rails so they have no need for that center rail.
Additionally, I have O scale locomotives that are designed to run on narrow gauge track. Rather than running on rails that are 4'-8 1/2" apart in the real world, these particular narrow gauge trains run on a rails that are only 30" apart in the real world. In the scale world, this works out to spacing the rails just like HO scale track.
And, speaking of HO scale, my grandson, Lukey, has been building up a collection of HO scale trains so I would like a test track so I can work on these locomotives too.
My thoughts are that if I just slightly move that middle rail of 3-rail track to slightly off-center, then I can also run the narrow gauge and HO scale locomotives on this same length of track. The middle rail needs to be moved so little that I think that the roller pickup on 3-rail locomotives can still ride on this slightly off-center middle rail. I know it can accomplish this on the straight track but the curves are a possible issue.
If all these different locomotives run on this one test track (of course, I'll need to wire it and power it differently for each type of locomotive), then I will build a curved test section to test this idea on a curve that I can eventually use on my model railroad.
So, my plan is to take MicroEngineering O scale 2-rail track... cut out every fourth tie... then mount it on my test track base. Then I'll slide in and glue down wooden ties where every fourth tie is missing. These wooden ties will allow me the ability to easily spike in a center rail exactly where I need it. The plastic ties of the manufactured track won't allow me to spike effectively nor easily so I need to swap out every fourth tie and replace with a wooden tie.
This track is made with code 148 rails and I have found that ALL of my O scale trains will run on this height of rail. Most O scale 3-rail track uses terrible looking rail that is significantly higher (I think it is around code 248-250) than this MicroEngineering 2-rail track. The code 148 rail looks much more realistic and all my trains will run on it... so it is a winner.
I have already built the base for my 12 foot test track and today I started cutting out every fourth tie from some track. So far, it is looking good and it is nice to make some headway on this project!
I'd prefer to be getting some work accomplished on the house outdoors but it is damp, wet and waterlogged out there so nothing is getting accomplished outdoors. Besides, since we are at the hospital every afternoon for Sheila's radiation treatment, there really is little time for any home renovations. By the time I set up all the tools, saw horses and materials, I would need to start cleaning up so we could eat lunch and then head to the hospital. Needless to say, I've been indoors for the past few months.
 |
| Every fourth tie removed using a Dremel tool. |
I have various types of locomotives in O scale and I'd like to be able to run all of them on my one model railroad (when I get to that... right now, I'm in the testing phase).
Some of the locomotives that I have are the most common O scale locomotives that run on 3-rails. These locomotives pick up power from that middle rail as well as the outside rails.
I also have 2-rail O scale locomotives that only utilize the outside two rails so they have no need for that center rail.
Additionally, I have O scale locomotives that are designed to run on narrow gauge track. Rather than running on rails that are 4'-8 1/2" apart in the real world, these particular narrow gauge trains run on a rails that are only 30" apart in the real world. In the scale world, this works out to spacing the rails just like HO scale track.
And, speaking of HO scale, my grandson, Lukey, has been building up a collection of HO scale trains so I would like a test track so I can work on these locomotives too.
 |
| Wood ties inserted for spiking a center rail by hand. |
If all these different locomotives run on this one test track (of course, I'll need to wire it and power it differently for each type of locomotive), then I will build a curved test section to test this idea on a curve that I can eventually use on my model railroad.
So, my plan is to take MicroEngineering O scale 2-rail track... cut out every fourth tie... then mount it on my test track base. Then I'll slide in and glue down wooden ties where every fourth tie is missing. These wooden ties will allow me the ability to easily spike in a center rail exactly where I need it. The plastic ties of the manufactured track won't allow me to spike effectively nor easily so I need to swap out every fourth tie and replace with a wooden tie.
This track is made with code 148 rails and I have found that ALL of my O scale trains will run on this height of rail. Most O scale 3-rail track uses terrible looking rail that is significantly higher (I think it is around code 248-250) than this MicroEngineering 2-rail track. The code 148 rail looks much more realistic and all my trains will run on it... so it is a winner.
I have already built the base for my 12 foot test track and today I started cutting out every fourth tie from some track. So far, it is looking good and it is nice to make some headway on this project!
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