In the process of working on my layout and relaying some of the Code 100 with Code 83 and 70, I've wound up with various lengths of track in several scales. Not big enough to do anything good with, so what I did was make up scrap rail. I variuos places on the railroad, you can still find stick rail in 39-foot lengths. To make mine, I stripped the rails from the plastic ties, and using a 40-foot boxcar as a crude measuring tool, I cut lengths of rail just a bit shorter than the car. I set 'em aside, and painted them to look like rusty rail. They're now in a neat pile at one end of the yard. For proper scale, you could use the code 70 or 83 (I did both), but you can get away with code 100 (did that too). What do you do with leftover track that you can't use for whatever reason (different lengths of rail on a piece, replaced brass track, etc)?
I have also soldered some together to make railings/fences in the yard. Also you can make end of track bumpers with them. There was an article in MR a few years ago with different uses for old rail, A MOW flat car load would be another good one!
You can booby trap your train room by making cow hitches, Basically a four pronged spike. Better not with all the Pro-crime laws in the books these days though.
Several gondola cars were loaded with bent up rail pieces from a wreck sight going west by here on a BNSF train one evening. Another had broken trucks and couplers. Trains with wrecked engines and cars are usually hauled at night to prevent public view and media attention as much as possible. There is a repair facility just north of Ft.Worth that repairs freight cars. You can occasionally see some really beat up car hulks up there!
I used the ties to build steps and I actually used them to build a tie wall. I cleaned some ties up, stacked & glued them, and put them on a flat car & flat-bed truck.
I've been considering making a ghost-town on my layout with dilapidated old buildings, track that hasn't been used in many many years (over grown by weeds etc).. It gives me a reason to use old weathered buildings etc. that wouldn't have been around in the diesel era. Just an idea.
Depending on the track, I use old track to line shelf after shelf of train display cases for the trains on display to sit on! [ February 27, 2006, 03:01 PM: Message edited by: M2-1201 ]
<font color="336633">I have done that in the past as well, but i found it works better with the smaller rail.
