Chuck Inlow said:
Hey Bart,The switch and holding yard looks good.
It couldn’t be that light brown beverage in the glass mug that helped you forget or get the wrong nails could it?
I assume that you are running battery power. Anyway, I love the hand spiked rail and wooden ties.
Chuck
Chuck Inlow said:
Hey Bart,The switch and holding yard looks good.
It couldn’t be that light brown beverage in the glass mug that helped you forget or get the wrong nails could it?
I assume that you are running battery power. Anyway, I love the hand spiked rail and wooden ties.
Chuck
Hi Bart,
Just foolin around about the liquid in the glass.
On a serious note, do you use the nails as spikes and place them on the outside of the rail or do you pre-drill the web of the rail and put the nail through the hole, into the tie.
Currently I’m using 3/8" rail spikes from Micro Engineering. All of my bridges have wooden ties and the rails are hand spiked with the proper guard rails in-between the outside rails. I’m wandering if the nails you use are easier and less expensive.
Chuck
I use 18 x 3/4 Eustucheon pins…on turnouts, everywhere a rail crosses a tie get a spike on both sides, the heads holding the foot of the rail down. On other track I alternate spikes on one side or the other, so every tied gets two spikes on them…
Bart,
You said - “so every tied gets two spikes on them…”
Is it because of a splitting problem in the ties that you don’t use more spikes?
Nope…theres not a splitting problem a’tall when I use the correct spikes. I predrill a starter hole then tap it into place with a nail set, Just on yer average tangent track I find its not necessary. So I put two spiked on the left rail on one tie and then two spikes on the right rail on the next tie.
I bought THE RIGHT SPIKES yesterday after work, but all I did was nail down the ties for the yard ladder, course the good news was that I had enough switch ties to finish the yard ladder…
“Puttering” is good stuff and if you can achieve a goal or go a little further, even better. To me it always clears the head and keeps me on target, instead of having that work related stuff rattling around inside the head all night. That’s when the demons come out early in the AM, before you need to get up. Glad you got something complete.
When you have time, I sure would be interested in a close up of the spikes in place.
In line with my weekend goal, I managed to complete the staging yard…hereafter known as Jackson Switch.
The next thing that needs to be done is a wholesale Fall Cleanup of The Shop, and work on rolling stock now that we have a place to go…
Yeah and now that Fall is actually here one can “putter” some more.
Lots of puttering to do before it gets colder or even wetter.
Ok…its been suggested that a track diagram would be helpful when discussing my plans, or just generally figgering out WTF I’m talking about when I’m off in my own little world:
Originally I envisioned the Mainline coming outta Jackson Switch, going round The Cutoff through Tangent and beyond…then it struck me today…I beleive it would be ever so much more interesting to run the like a a switchback, citing shape curves and steep grades for the short trains and Hefty locos, instead of lack of siding space which is more the truth… The Cutoff would not exist operationally except to be the tail of the switchback, and only used for roundy round running…I can plan an industrial switching area in the Future Expansion area…
That plan has great merit. The “roundy-round” or “slot car” track (sorry, personal joke, you had to be there) could also be used as an industry or two with a full and empty sidng depending on which end you enter it from. You might also consider a “wye” going from in front of the shop to the future trackage at 11 o’clock to the shop. That is, if you are open to suggestions and it would work in to your future plans. But then, of course, the future does change and what was a great idea today is a “huh?” tomorrow. 
GEe Ric…I wasn’t there…but I get it!!! heheheheheh
And actually yeah, the Cutoff I’m thinking will be used to stage an interchange with a lumber railroad at some point…
And for this evening’s trick…I outfitted Shay No7 with some 1:20’3 scale KDs and took the whole 1:20.3 scale fleet out for a drag…Size wise looks about like EBT mikes dwarfing their hoppers eh? Makes it , what a 70-80 ton Shay?
Gotta do some maintenance in a couple of spots…but thats a given after a year or two eh? The new track worked FLAWLESSLY!
So who’s got an idea for putting a roof ove this yard with an eye towards keeping trains relatively dry and secure? I have a modest amount of salvaged roofing material…
So this would be a permanent structure that you would work under?
Naaaa, just a covering over the tracks to keep the rain off…Just to keep a couple of consists staged for spontaneous operations…
So you would remove it when youwant to run a train? If so, I think you need to make it secured in such away that it couldn’t be lifted or shifted and might hit the equipment underneath.
Why not extend that line into the shop and store rolling stock in there? Or make a “fiddle track” inside the shop?
Cause there alreeady is one…Thats where I keep the locomotives! heheheheh
I’m thinking a basic roof that clears rolling stock with a side that is secured but can flap down if needed at this point…just keeping out the wind and rain…
Bart,
How about a more permanent roof you could walk under. A pitched framework with fibreglass panels for roofing to allow light through and perhaps hooks around the edge to attach tarps or something for winter.
At the text “Jackson Switch Staging” on your sketch shows exactly the same as what is available in the picture of your shed. What are you going to do with the turnout? One more track in the yard or something else? How about a set of storage tracks in a small industry style cubby hole building and the third track out, plus the unknown track tha twould come off the turnout? Looks like two inside tracks that may hold 5 cars each or may be a few more. Could even be made lockable.