0045 T gauge track laying on The Dawlish T Wall

I make a start on laying the T gauge flexitrack on the North-Eastern section of my Dawlish T Wall layout.
Things of interest I used in this video:
8x self-adhesive cork 21x30cm 1mm cork sheets
www.amazon.co....
Flexitrack:
www.tgauge.com...
M1 screws (I got packs of 3mm and 5mm long ones):
www.ebay.co.uk...
Ultra Fine wire:
www.railwaysce...
The flux I bought doesn't seem to exist on Amazon any more.
Solder with silver:
www.amazon.co....
Soldering iron tip tinner
www.amazon.co....
Soldering iron:
www.amazon.co....

[@PatGilliland]

This is a great project. Scenically it's going to look wonderful with the HST travelling down that long sweeping curve.. Looking forward to further episodes.

[@endoorrailway]

Thanks 🙂 I certainly like how the trains look sweeping along that curve at Dawlish, hopefully I'll be able to replicate it well enough!

I really like your work in t-gauge! Hope to see more videos in the future 👍

[@endoorrailway]

Thanks 🙂

[@paulwhite6543]

I am glad I felt this page I found out about a T gauge about six months ago I’m really interested in it and you seem very intuitive on what you’re doing. I plan on doing a layout of the big sir in California.

[@endoorrailway]

I'm glad you like it too 🙂 I didn't know about it, but having just done a search about it I think the Big Sur would make for an excellent layout - you'll have the space to fit in big mountains etc.

[@ingomoba1001]

Schön, dass jemand zeigt, wo die Schwierigkeiten bei einem Flexgleis liegen. Ich habe auch überlegt, dass zu benutzen. Da ich noch kein konkretes Layout habe, kann ich aber auch auf Standartgleise zurückgreifen. Danke für die Informationen🛤️🛠🤩👍

[@endoorrailway]

I'm glad it's useful 🙂 The track with the fixed plastic base is definitely a lot easier to set up.

[@adamchurvis1]

The thing I really love about T gauge is that you can crank up the speed really high and they stay on the track in the corners. I rigged a 1,500 megawatt transformer to mine, and I got the speed up to about 8,700 miles per hour (at scale, of course) on the straight and it hugged like a koala bear on the curves. For extra fun, you can glue live cockroaches to them and then go really fast.

[@endoorrailway]

I'm glad you're able to enjoy T gauge... personally I enjoy the more traditional speeds and cargoes 😉

[@adamchurvis1]

@@endoorrailway Ever try the cockroaches? Fun.

[@endoorrailway]

@@adamchurvis1 No, I'm not into playing with little creatures, and happily we don't have any cockroaches here 🙂

[@paulchana84]

I’ve had the same problem with the flex track twisting - in the end I gave up with it (I think it’s possibly just too small), but I found that the the sectional track is much better. Oh also, make sure you clean your solder joints with ipa, especially if you are us8ng acid flux. Great video, looking forward to the next instalments

[@endoorrailway]

I'm glad I'm not the only one with corkscrew flex track. Ah, yes - I've been told to use IPA on solder joints several times but keep forgetting to buy some wipes! Thanks for the advice and encouragement! 🙂

[@forrestrobin2712]

A braver man than I ! I think I’d have stuck with the T gauge fishplates. I imagine that once painted and ballasted they shouldn’t be too visible. I reckon I’d have difficulty with N gauge nowadays, so I’m sticking to 00 😂

[@endoorrailway]

I've been told by others that weathering and ballasting does a reasonable job of hiding the fishplates, but I'm still a bit undecided - I think the ballast would have to come too high, and I don't think paint will hide the shape. I may yet try soldering rails together on the underside, but thankfully I don't think I'll actually need many more scenic-side joins 🙂

[@iansngauge]

Good morning Jonathan! Gosh, I thought laying N gauge track could be difficult! I definitely don't have the eyesight for T gauge! I'm using Copydex on Shelfington, as it dries quickly (faster than PVA at least) and gives some flexibility beneath the track, and some wiggle room before it finally grabs the sleepers! However, be wary when trying to drill or screw through it once it's dry! Because it's latex based, it will wrap around the drill bit or screw, and pull the track up before you know what's happening unless you take it slowly! I'm definitely looking forward to see how this project develops! All the best, Ian.

[@endoorrailway]

Hi Ian, I don't think I've particularly got the eyesight for it either - the magnifying glass on the helping hands is use quite a lot! Interesting about the Copydex drying time - it seems I'm giving it far longer than it needs - I think for the next stretch I'll move on between sections more quickly. Thanks for the warning - I'll be careful when drilling the holes for the infrared sensors!

[@ngaugefouroaksstreetstatio6932]

I have had great success using pva, a thin layer on the track base and a thin layer on the cork, wait five minutes and a few heavy items and its done, no drilling or nailing, works perfect on curves. I found the mini disc on a dremill makes a very clean cut.

[@endoorrailway]

It sounds like PVA is quite similar to Copydex then. I've heard other people say Copydesk has a little more flex in it to help with sound insulation, so maybe I could use PVA in the more accuracy-critical areas, like the track joins. Sounds like it dries much quicker too (in the Australian climate at any rate!), but I don't actually know if the Copydex needs anywhere near as long as I'm giving it. I may have to splash out on a proper Dremel - there's still a fair bit of track work to be done yet, and the cutting disc I've got struggles. Thanks for the tips :)

[@ngaugefouroaksstreetstatio6932]

@@endoorrailway The PVA has worked really well for me and i gave up with the track cutters after a few cuts i looked at under a magnifying glass. I think with T the track needs to be as good as possible given the smaller wheels going across the joints. Does the track have a preferred side to bend like the code 55 does with arrows pointing to one side? The disc i use on the dremill is wafer thin and about 25mm. Enjoying your project all the best.

[@endoorrailway]

The webbing under the track is a more sensible design than the N gauge code 55 because the gaps alternate between sides every time, so it can be bent either way just as easily. That preferred direction of bend in N gauge often caught me out! Thanks :)

[@Demdere]

eagerly awaiting a new update soon! :)

[@endoorrailway]

I'm glad you're interested in it 🙂 I haven't spent time on the Dawlish T Wall since this video, but it's a project that's still alive in my mind and which I want to progress, so I'm sure I'll do something with it at some point this year.

[@modelrailmusings5981]

It is a bit late to offer tracklaying advice, but here it is anyway! When I built Sarum Bridge 10 years ago, it needed 14m of flex track. I used the flex track joiners (two joiners on a sleeper base). When painted and ballasted, they are effectively invisible. You can easily solder the power feed wires to the brass joiners. Lay the track on a warm day or in a warm room with the track at ambient temperature, so that rail expansion doesn't become an issue in summer. I didn't use screws or anything mechanical, but directly glued the track down with superglue (cyanoacrylate), doing short 6-inch stretches at a time holding the track down by hand with a block of wood, as 30 seconds was enough drying time. A piece of paper slipped under the track and moved around worked well as an applicator and spreader. Your N Gauge experience has already told you to avoid joints on curves, and yours are only 180 degrees, so no problems there. The one thing I didn't tackle was board joints, so your guess is as good as mine with them.

[@endoorrailway]

Thanks for your pointers, and it's definitely not too late - I've still got the larger baseboard to go! I had thought the joiners were an eyesore, but to be fair I haven't weathered or ballasted them, so it's useful to know they can be hidden by that. I'm not sure I'm brave enough to use the superglue - I feel I need the time to wiggle the track into place! Though not having to wait overnight would make it a lot quicker. I've got some vague ideas about brass strips for the board joins - I recorded 2 minutes of talking about that, but couldn't make suitable visuals to go with it, so decided to leave all that for a video for when I've had a go. You're other tips are good too, and applicable to other scales - thanks!

[@daveb.trains7019]

Thank you for the very informative video!

[@endoorrailway]

Thanks for saying so 🙂

[@GPR128]

Interesting 👍

[@tidmouthmilk12]

It's interesting that you're building a scene based on Dawlish. I'm planning to have a section of my layout inspired by that coastal area too, though it'll be a sort of merge between the sea wall at Dawlish and the red rock overhangs nearer to Teignmouth.

[@endoorrailway]

That sounds good - there's a lot of the line between Dawlish and Teignmouth that looks great, but in any scale would take far too much space model entirely.

[@tidmouthmilk12]

@@endoorrailway Yeah, space is definitely gonna be a bit of a challenge for me as I'm building in OO. Though scenery building is gonna be future Jon's problem. Still got to lay the track first ^^

[@JamesPetts]

To use Peco track pins, pre-drill a hole for them with a 0.6mm drill.

[@endoorrailway]

Thanks - I haven't experimented to find the necessary diameter, but I've got a 0.6mm drill bit so I'll know to use that next time I want to use the pins :)

[@johnchase7667]

solder the gap together and if you need the gap you can then cut it with a dremal tool and it will be smaller sized gap.

[@endoorrailway]

That may well be the way to go, thanks. I don't have a decent Dremel-type cutter at the moment, but I intend to get one.

[@mikeutube82]

Nice work. With my n guage layouts I've often soldered rail gaps together and then carefully filed back the extra solder to help reduce bumps and gaps. I wonder if this is possible for you?

[@endoorrailway]

Thanks 🙂 That may well be the way to go, and as someone else suggested I could but through with a Dremel-type cutter afterwards if I need expansion joints. One thing is for sure - what I tried already left too much of a gap, so another approach will be needed.

[@frogsshadow4189]

Could probably get away with superglue on the ties to keep the banked angle

[@endoorrailway]

It would only have a small area to grab with, and a lot of resistance to work against, so I'd be surprised if it would do it. But I didn't think of trying any, I must admit!

[@n.gravey3735]

Any updates on this??

[@big-smoke-rc]

You can fill that rail gap pretty easily, no? Don't use crossheads for the screws. Use torx.

[@endoorrailway]

I'm not sure what I'd fill it with - what did you have in mind? Although it stands out in scale terms, it's far too small in real terms to put a tiny slice of rail in. Thanks for the hint about torx 🙂 I'll have to see if I can find suitably tiny ones, and maybe buy some smaller screwdrivers.

[@big-smoke-rc]

@@endoorrailway you could try low melt soldering rod, after shielding the sleepers with tin foil. Or you could use jb steelstik, or any other metal epoxy putty. These work at room temp. Push a tiny bit into the gap and use a craft blade to form it into a shape continuous with the rail. Look at micro electronics (particularly fpv) parts. You'll find tiny torx hardware that will be much less likely to strip.

[@endoorrailway]

Awesome pointers, thanks 🙂

[@paultaylor9652]

I thought n gauge was difficult to use, as interesting this gauge is, my fingers just wouldn't be able to work with t gauge.

[@endoorrailway]

It's surprisingly not that much different for most of the track laying, but I do find both scales difficult!

[@Aster-NASA]

What trains are available in t gauge ?

[@endoorrailway]

I don't think there's a very big selection ready-to-run. I shopped on tgauge.com where there are a handful of British and non-British outline options - I just got lucky that it includes one I like. They also sell motors and mechanisms, so people with way better skills than me can build their own.