Laying Atlas track

PIe r Round....Cake r Squared...

 

Oh boy! I think I'm back in school.

 

Doug, don't quit your day job for the comedy circuit. You might have to sell your trains in order to eat.

 

...And ice is cubed, at least in my refrigerator.

 

I have no day job to quit. I am retired.

And, I guess the plastic buildings, foam grass, plastic ties, and electric motors inside steam locomotives bother me more than some nails stuck in the ties.

Doug

 

So, my 4th attempt at building an HO scale railroad empire was going to be my most ambitious project yet. I had all the lessons learned from the first layout which was WS risers on ply, great for watching trains but nothing else, my second which was 4x8 and not as portable as originally conceived, my 3rd which was 5x10 and actually portable, but no where to keep it once I moved to WA… I discovered that layout #1 had no expansion joints in the rails. Every railjoiner was perfect, all track was 100% brand new and all joints were soldered. All my trains would run flawlessly… until the summer time. We had AC but the temps in the room were still warmer than during the winter when the train layout was built. I ended up cutting some of the rails at the joiners to give some expansion room, but the damage was done, my tracks were no longer laid down as they were before, and that was one reason my first layout was destroyed.

Layout #2 was built with the lessons learned from #1 and was actually a pretty ok layout for a 4x8. My track was nailed on the plywood and cork parts (sidings were lower and directly on the ply), and glued to the risers for my slight inclines. I had no issues with this layout at all, other than it took 2 people to move it and that was a chore. Not what I wanted in a Portable layout. It was built in the same room as #1. On this one I left 1mm gaps in the rails every 5 or 6 feet. You could definitely see the gaps close up in the summer.

Layout #3 was wonderful. I built it larger than the #2 but also in 4 smaller sections that would link together like a modular layout does. Just like #2 it was nailed and glued, gaps ever so often. This layout was built in VA and survived a Navy move to WA, and worked perfectly when I got it here… I just had no place to keep it… this leads me to layout #4… the one I mention above.

Layout #4. This is the first layout build in Washington. We have a totally different climate than in Virginia, but with wider temp changes and no humidity I figured I just needed to do better in the rail gap area and I would be fine… boy was I wrong. This layout was both an end to end and it had a continuous running ability as well, it checked off all my needs, I was even able to run an op session with a friend from VA using web cams and Remote Desktop. It was built in a 9x9 shed, had a double decked yard, and a wye for turning trains. I had a lift out section for when I needed to use my work bench and I didn’t want to duck under. It was built at just below shoulder height, and I had a safety built in so when the lift out wasn’t in place, even my fastest train would hit dead track and stop well before the fall. I had the benchwork and track work all done before winter. I started in late spring and finished in July. August, September and October trains all ran great. I didn’t use it much in the winter, I’m not a fan of cold and cold it gets here. But I got the itch to watch a train run sometime in January or so and went into my shed to get a train going… well… a few cars were laying on their side, and my lift out didn’t fit at all. It was too big by about 3/4 of an inch. This lift out had guides that kept it perfectly in line, as well as some “trim” adjusters and it always just slid right into place. The track work was also a total mess. Some of the track had lifted off the nails or popped out of the ties, and most of it was warped. This time my issue was the wood in the shed and the wood from the benchwork had swollen up to the point of ruin. I hoped it would return to normal in the summer but alas it was not to be. I tried fixing it, got it to work ok again but it wasn’t ever the way it should have been. I still use parts of that layout as shelves in the shed, but no more trains in it… and now no more HO scale.

 

I can't imagine having a layout here in a shed or garage. From the nineties in the summer to -20 in the winter is way too extreme. They have to be in the house. Unless, of course, you are willing to keep the shed or garage heated 100% of the time in winter and air conditioned 100% of the time in summer.

And, as far as track nails, they are perfectly prototypical. Maybe a little out of scale but real railroads routinely had them (maybe still?).

Doug

 

THERR is built in an RV. The temp swing is as you describe. Of course I am using Unitrack with a bead of latex caulk smoothed out into the plastic ballast and onto the plywood deck. It doesnt look to bad and keeps the track down. I run trains year round.

Freezing in there until the heater warms it up in the winter where its comfy to be in there. Hotter then Hades in the summer until the rooftop AC cools it down. But I dont have any track issues. Of course thats Unitrack...not Atlas track...

 

OK, I partially take back what I wrote. I forgot you have mastered the "unconventional location" layout building expertise/craftsmanship!



Doug

 

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But were they in the middle of the crosstie? Also track nails are not used on concrete ties which, today, are being used more and more. ​

 

Me too.​

Have you considered G gauge? There you can have wood buildings, real plants, wood ties and even live steam. ​

 

I believe it was G I had for my layout in the yard. Yes a lot of live scenery. And buildings. And critters.

 

Just had a conversation with a guy down the street. He put in a G scale layout in the backyard. Now I heard guys on this forum complain about cats. This guy's critter problem is deer.

 

Mine were squirrels and ducks. I was on a lake. The neighbors hunting dog in a pen would just lay down and watch.