Large Scale Central

Textured PVC boards

Tools and Tips
#1

White PVC boards like these

Thanks to Ken I am buying this stuff my the box car load. It is expensive but should last in the weather for an eternity. I am using it for the bench work for the railroad. Others use it for their ladder. So what do you do with the trim ends? Well I don’t toss anything. And I decided to use it for Railroad crossings. Well I really used it to protect my rails from accidental foot falls.

I cut it into 1/4" (code 250) X 1/4" strips and hand spiked it to the ties. I then painted it. I am very please with how it looks and its functionality. This got me thinking of all of its uses. Bridge abutments, cribbing, tunnel portals, anywhere wood grain is desired only on the face of a board. It should be weather resistant, if not weather proof.

I just thought I would share what I found. Anyone else using it for similar features.

#2

Devon,

I used a 1x4 piece of it for a freight platform and after a couple of weeks it warped in the Florida sun. Like you, I thought it would last forever, but it didn’t! (http://largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-cry.gif)

#3

That’s a good warning. Can I asked how you fastened it. Just wondering if this might have something to do with it. Or if it was just the heat. With that warning I will see how it does on the track crossing. I have it nailed down to every other spike. We will see. I won’t go crazy with it until I experiment with it some more.

#4

I use that stuff for station platforms. I fasten a few cross members under it with 1/2" or 3/8" aluminum angle to keep it from warping. It also comes with rounded edges that I run through the a joiner to get square then glue the pieces together with PVC pipe cement and pipe clamps. I usually run a 1/4" thick strip of wood around the outside edge for looks.

unpainted

#5

Devon,

My painted freight deck was completely unbraced and sitting on cement pavers, so it must have been the sun. (http://largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-cry.gif)

#6

Joe Zullo said:

Devon,

I used a 1x4 piece of it for a freight platform and after a couple of weeks it warped in the Florida sun. Like you, I thought it would last forever, but it didn’t! (http://largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-cry.gif)

PVC will definitely warp in strong sun. I had a 4" x 36" piece coated in black vinyl sitting on my workbench near a south window for a few weeks. I noticed yesterday that the center of the plank was almost a 1/2" above the bench (http://www.largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-surprised.gif)Properly supported and fastened it is pretty stable even in bright sun.

#7

Ken,

I was hoping you would chime in. I am sure you have a plethora of scraps and I figured you would have put them to use. My next experiment will a cribbing wall. My thought is to glue anywhere they touch each other and then glue in PVC pipe vertical supports that can be buried into the ground. and then fill in behind it with ballast stone. I hope it works

#8

I have sawn them up into blocks and are “stone” buildings with them. The gray deck boards look like granite!

#9

Devon Sinsley said:

Ken,

I was hoping you would chime in. I am sure you have a plethora of scraps and I figured you would have put them to use.

What scraps I do use are usually as shims under track that needs leveling. Or as throwbars under the points of switches. The bigger stuff I square off and use in the corners of buildings.