A Scratchbuilders Approach to Tracklaying

[@bobthebomb1596]

How sad is someone to dislike this video? Great work.

[@boltuss]

simply superb your attention to detail has paid dividends

[@boomerdiorama]

Back in my Hand laying days I used to ballast the stained ties first before laying the rail. Makes for a nice clean look. Cheers.

[@MichaelEldridge]

I have done it both ways. The diluted glue causes the ties to swell, and I believe they continue to grip the spikes better after the glue dries, so I decided to ballast after spiking. Your way certainly makes it easier to get a good profile and distribution.

[@ioanekirarahu951]

I take a similar approach to hand-laying track in S Scale. Rail size: 100, 83, and 70. Only I make my ties out of walnut wood. This way, I don't have to stain them. The end result is medium weathered ties, that look like they have been there several years, but without being all worn out yet. There is also some natural variation in hue of the walnut ties, as is often visible in the prototype. Depending on the spikes, sometimes I have to pre-drill spike holes, and sometimes I don't. But as far as "hardwoods" go, walnut is not very hard, a bit harder only than basswood. The slightly open grain of walnut simulates nicely natural cracks that develop over time in prototype ties. I haven't tried to use tie plates yet. What you do here looks really nice. Good job. To make my ties, I use long walnut scraps (3-5 feet long, mostly), cut to just over 9/64" thick. I then run these "planks" through my drum sander to reduced them to exactly 9/64". I then rip these "planks" on my band saw, to somewhat over 7/64". Then I run these resultant strips through the drum sander, 4-5 at a time, to reduce them to exactly 7/64" final thickness. I then cut the individual ties to length with a relatively fine-toothed band saw blade. I just use a piece of making tape on the band saw table to mark how long the ties should be (generally 8.5', scale) I can make a bunch of ties in fairly short order. I then use a piano jig exactly as you do the space out and glue the ties down. Can you find .010 styrene in brown for tie plates? I also paint my rail (and solder on feeder wires) before spiking down the rail. For building switches (and for that matter all kinds of creative or unusual track work) using generally the "Fast-Tracks" method, only using a paper template, taped down onto a board. I start by taping down the PC board ties in the proper locations onto the paper template, and then solder the rail/switch components down onto the PC board ties. I carefully use a NASG standards gauge to insure gauge and flangeways are correct. I use a few wooden jigs for straight track, pretty much as you do with your brass track gauge to insure correct gauge. Great video, Thanks.

[@philipmarq]

Michael, below you say you don't do well with adhesives. When I watched you lay down the white glue I thought to myself, "This man is the God of glue beading.". You must have been doing this a while. If it had been me the glue would have been on my hands, clothes, all over the newspaper I used to wipe up the overage and oozing from under everything I placed on it. Really good video and my hat off to the God of Beading.

[@momohunkerton4294]

Wow, just wow. You are meticulous and patient. Very, very nice job.

[@IFLYBELL]

Great video. I just started hand laying track for my garden railroad, cutting ties on the table saw also. When I first started I thought holy crap I will never be finished, but I find it relaxing.

[@everonrailways8399]

Great video! It looks very satisfying to hand lay your own track, especially making everything from scratch. Sure it takes more time but the effort seems well worth it. Great job.

[@hntrains2]

Painstaking effort! Not many can pull such a feat together! Very impressive! Clean and effective technique all the way.

[@GlennEaton]

Great video. I like the tip about using wood to clean the rails. Excellent idea!

[@francoisrichard2905]

Very nice ! Tks for sharing.

[@gmantree]

What a fantastic video, very informative and enjoyable to watch.

[@cowboyvalley]

Well done! Looks great!! As always...a labor of love!

[@lightningstrike20111]

This is inspirational, as a new hobbyist of model trains.

[@Ravrjei]

wow that track looks beautiful very well done,

[@steamsearcher]

Hi from England! Yes get the track right and the rest of the model is superb! I just spent £150 on some O gauge from C & L yes the turnouts cost £80 each but are the best! David and Lily.

[@carstop]

Nice track work. I love laying track

[@edwincook5603]

"

[@coxsj]

Hey man, nice video. Would love to see more of your track laying and trackwork.

[@robertbowman3406]

Many years ago I attended a model railroad club. They were laying ties on their layout. They were using a 50/50 mix of water and Elmers white glue. They would spread out the glue and lay the ties, like you have here, and let the glue dry. When it came to leveling the tops of the ties they would use a black magic marker. All ties were coated on top and allowed to dry. When dry the instructor would lightly sand the tops of the ties. When all ties were the original pine color again the ties were ready for laying the rail. The purpose of the sanding was that not all the ties were level on top. They were using white pine ties purchased in 2,000 count bags.

[@waldenhouse]

This is outstanding work! Love it.

[@ashevilletrainman6989]

I like how you put on the ballast.

[@MarkInLA]

Beautiful job and demonstration. Thank you..M

[@richarderiksen4347]

Very good. Wish you had in person instructions. I would be really interested in learning from you...

[@warrenholmar1129]

really nice work well done

[@Zeisslermusic]

How cool is that. Its amazing 😀

[@mikesaunders9627]

Sand the piano jig a little thinner then your toes makes removal easier.

[@MichaelEldridge]

That is a sheet of Homasote 440 SoundBarrier, the product most people simple call "Homasote." Outside of the terminal area I would recommend roadbed from Cascade Rail Supply - already milled from Homasote.

[@locomotive536]

Super job. I would add that for the stain, maybe experiment with an exterior water based stain. I have used Benjamin Moore Arborcoat - Solid, which is outstanding for this. You can get it tinted to any of 3,000 colors, and comes in pint sample sizes. Then, just use different dilution strengths with water to get various tints.

[@jodyblackwell8340]

Instead of cutting tape in two for radius go to your local automotive paint supply store and get a roll of 1/8 or 1/4 innh fine line tape it goes around curves and turns real well that is what I use for laying flames out on a car

[@marcusc3463]

Amazing Work!!!!!

[@josephbrandtner9885]

Just a note on hand spiking: In 1:1 scale, when spiking a rail to a tie, spikes are never placed opposite each other. They are "cross checked". On the near side of the rail the spike may be set to the left side of the tie. On the opposite side of the rail the spike will be set on the right side of the tie or visa versa. In this manner, the spikes check rail expansion and contraction driving that force down into the road bed. Crosschecking spikes serves the same function in model railroads where hand spiking is employed. Try it! You'll see the difference!

[@brianchapman3701]

Excellent information, thank you much.

[@Tomeleck]

Excellent. Thank you.

[@uptownphotography]

Nicely done. I used to hand lay code 83 HO track using 3/32 X 3/32 bass wood ties. Do you have any videos showing your layout?..........Thanks.

[@MichaelEldridge]

I totally stalled on the layout. There isn't much more than what you see in the video. I'm more of a model builder.

[@uptownphotography]

@@MichaelEldridge I know the feeling. I was stalled many years (probably about 10 years). I just started working on the layout again about 5 months ago. I like to build scratch-built bridges to scale. I have build quite a few based on prototype drawings and specs. I am building a mountain railroad with Colorado type scenery. That allows me to build quite a few bridges. I had one shot of a bridge in Track Side photos in MR years ago. (Sept. 2002). It's a great hobby, just requires a lot of time if you want to achieve a certain level of detail. All the best to you and I hope you'll find the time to get back into it based on the level of detail you like to achieve. Philip

[@atsf81rj]

I have been thinking about hand laying my n scale track. I use fast tracks for my turnouts.

[@gregwarner3753]

Get a small paint roller to spread the glue.

[@dibasol]

"-знаете ли вы толк в извращениях, как я? "))) Super, great! But how's your back and eyes? It's havy duty!!!

[@amandahammond2691]

How do you wire it all and power it?

[@davidcurtis5398]

As someone who has cut a lot of thin strips on the table saw you only need to make a push stick from a scrap of 2 X 4 and you can eliminate the saw throwing back the strips completely. EASY...............................

[@northseabrent]

You could build great trestle bridges cutting wood down like that.

[@Barney-hk3es]

I like your video and will use this technique. I am interested to know if there is a particular reason you use homemade tie plate instead of the ones from Proto 87?

[@MichaelEldridge]

They weren't available at the time. Maybe I'll give them a try. On their website, they suggest gluing them and only adding a few spikes, but I don't get along well with adhesives.

[@bigdon1a1]

good job patience of Jobe

[@matthewlipscomb2100]

so far this is the best how to on hand laying track I've seen. I have a few questions though. 1. what ratio did you use to dilute the white glue for ballasting? 2. where do you get the rail from? thanks again for the great video.

[@MichaelEldridge]

+Matthew Lipscomb The white glue is about 1 part glue to 3 parts water and one drop of detergent. I get the rail from our wonderful local hobby shop - The Train Shop in Santa Clara. It is Micro Engineering rail.

[@ScottTaipaleRail]

Been 9 years, still got all your fingers?

[@davidcurtis5398]

Your hands and arms will be completely out of the way if you set the camera behind the track you are laying and shoot into your body. This can be done by setting the camera on a 3/4 inch board with a 1/4 - 20 threaded bolt through the board and into the camera. If you want a better shot and want to have the camera higher and tilted down, use a bag of sand or beans the size of the board. I have used this trick in my wedding photography for the past 30 years and also in product photography...

[@brianchapman3701]

You still here, years later? Wish to ask you what form you used for your tie plates - a rectangle with a certain depth? Or, did you use an actual plate profile and cut them in 3D?

[@MichaelEldridge]

The tie plates are .010 black styrene, painted sort of rail brown with a little more rust, then cut to 8x14 inches. With white styrene, the edges show after cutting, and the black styrene kind of blends in so I don't have to paint after cutting. I decided not to worry about the raised ridge on a tie plate, since it is nearly invisible (until you take a picture). I do kind of miss the unused holes, so now that I have a laser cutter, I will probably cut tie plates from laserboard and cut the holes in them.

[@brianchapman3701]

Michael, thank you much for that information. Based on your laser-cutting approach, I think I will try to do the same thing with my cnc mill. I might cut a ridge with holes in it, try it anyway. I have a ton of white styrene, so maybe I'll drill the holes, cut the plates out and drop them all in a jar of stain? Or a jar of thinned paint? Or, maybe plop them down on double-sided tape and spray paint them? Boy, I'll bet your laser will make a much faster job of it than will my mill. Again, thanks much for your reply. Brian Chapman / Cedar Rapids, Iowa

[@MichaelEldridge]

@@brianchapman3701 try Rust-Oleum Universal brown primer

[@steamsearcher]

What a lovely way of track building and I thought this was fiddly in 5" gauge...The oo gauge model baseboard was cut out this afternoon in the sun!!! and yes I made changes just before I cut them??

[@AH-le3py]

This is what I called a rail🚈 road hobbiest.🚃

[@ricardojuricic9027]

Great! But, didn't get where you get the rail from, or better still... How can you actually make the rail itself (home made)? And before setting it down in place how you get the gauge all along to proper width? Thanks tons for your helpful replies. Cheers

[@MichaelEldridge]

The rail is from MicroEngineering. I'm not an expert metal worker, but I believe rail is typically made by pulling through a draw plate - not something most home shops could do. At 10:00 in the video I explain and show what I use to gauge the rails - I turned this myself on a lathe. Like I say in the voice-over, this works fine for straight and curved track, as long as the curves are not sharp.

[@cinstan]

Michael-What is the roadbed you are using? Is it a sheet of Homasote? I'm getting ready to hand-lay some On30 track and not sure what to use for roadbed.

[@MrJonfields]

Michael, are you using one spike on each side of the rail? Is it centered on the tie plate or are you using for spikes per plate?? Thank you for a very helpful video!

[@MichaelEldridge]

One spike on each side of the rail. In the future, I might offset it and then put a black dot where the other hole would be.

[@jonfields8489]

Thank you!

[@crashj]

We bow to the lord of scale.

[@PS-nf3xw]

How's can we build the micro engineering rails from scratch..??

[@edknecht57]

What model number of Xuron pliers do you use to spike the rails?

[@MichaelEldridge]

I've always bought this from MicroMark, www.micromark.com/Spike-Insertion-Plier. I don't know if you can get them anywhere else.

[@edknecht57]

At about 10:50 you say that you're using Xuron pliers with the Proto 87 spikes, instead of the Micro-Mark pliers used with wire spikes.

[@MichaelEldridge]

@@edknecht57 Right. The one in the video is the 485C

[@astridvallati4762]

I do the same method, but in On42 ( uses S gauge Track 7/8"). 42inch Ties are 7ft×9"x7"..1.75"x 3/16"× 9/64" ( approx) for the ties, I use Metric Wood Cutting...45mm. X 5mm x 3,5mm. Depends on the Veneer I am using ( from Plywood Manufacture.) I any case, the Ties are correct for 1:48. Tie Laying using Jig, staining " aged", ties occasionally crooked ( this is 1930s medium traffic ( 42-60 pound rail), and no tie plates etc...just single spikes each side of rail.) Rail for 1/48 is Code 83 and 70; ( yards, sidings) and painted Code 100 ( Mainline). Rolling Stock Scratch Built, Wood/Card/ Styrene/ Tinplate or Brass, Kits in Urethane. Fittings Brass. After a youth doing HO and Sn42, now have comeback with On42, P48. Need to find a US parts Supplier of 1:48 parts ( Loco Wheelsets, On3 Bogies ( Archbar), Brake Gear, etc. Our older 1880s locks were Baldwins, 42inch, much like DRG 3 footers. ( 2-6-0, 4-6-0, 4-4-0, and 2-8-0); later Locos ( British and Local built) incorporated a lot of Baldwin Practice. DocAV Brisbane Australia

[@peterstecks7660]

thumbsup! Thanks

[@HowardSue1]

Wow Thank You

[@OneMansAdventure]

LOL only 5000 more spikes to be finished. lol

[@EricH_1983]

Hobbyists don't see it like that. Hence it being a hobby and not a chore.

[@thelowmein9143]

Where did you get that mini table saw? Lol

[@MichaelEldridge]

It was a gift to me, but I think this is the same saw: www.harborfreight.com/4-in-mighty-mite-table-saw-with-blade-61608.html

[@nickgrandy3098]

wow!!!...

[@j8u2]

Question: Why only one head block tie on your turnouts instead of the standard two? You're going to a lot of trouble for realism! But in the real world, spikes are never set opposite one another. They are, cross checked. One spike is set left of center on one side of the rail and right of center on the opposite side of the rail. This serves to check expansion and contraction in the real world and with hand spiked rail in the model world. Try it! you won't be able to slide the rail forward or backward!

[@MichaelEldridge]

The single headlock is an old SP practice, fits the era I'm modeling. Since making the video I started cutting tie plates on a laser, with four holes, so now the spikes are staggered.

[@j8u2]

@@MichaelEldridge Your attention to detail os quite impressive!