Over the years I've paid attention to a number of model railroad issues. One of them straight and level track. Emphasis being on building switches that are straight, flat and level. Track that is straight and level to a fault. I have a picture to share with you taken by Harold aka "sd75mac". Taken somewhere West of Siberia on the old ATSF mainline Barstow to Needles, California. Shared with you with his permission. He is one of us and participates here so, I know he will be checking up on me. He also mentioned that he has pictures that show contrast for comparison sake. Perhaps we can talk him into sharing those here. Actually they are over at TrainFoamers.com under the title of West of Siberia. There you can find our discussion and his pictures. See attachment:
Very rarely is the prototype on straight and level. One of the main reasons that model railroaders push for it is running quality. The physics of trains do not scale like the size does. Where the weight and power of a real train can shrug off some minor variation in track condition (depending on the speed) a model cannot. Slight misalignment of switches and track can cause major headaches with constant derailments. Basically the margin for error isn't what it is on the real thing. One of the reasons I like flex track or handlaid track is that you can create some minor variation in the side-to-side of the track (like the little wave in the middle track in your photo). Grades are more difficult however, and while many modelers do have grades on their layout, they are usually steeper than prototype practices due to the compressed space. In addition, the effort required to make minor undulations that exist in a real mainline is probably too much for most modelers who would rather put the track down level except for major inclines - not to mention trains speeding up and slowing down as they rise/fall (although DCC with back EMF decoders has helped this).
Harron, Excellent explanation AND I would agree we need to be careful when we lay our model rails. To all tuned in here; The idea being why not put in a siding or a spur line with some track oddities? If you look at one of my station tracks and perhaps all three you will see track irregularities. These were unintentional. What happened is I used older, warped, sectional track. All due to budgetary restraints imposed by the HP governing bodies (namely me). In hopes of...ok I can go on here and entertain you and myself...but I'm broke! Anyway, the point being or getting back to the point. Our railroads can tolerate a certain amount of irregularities without serious repercussions (did I spell that right? re-per-cushions). Naw, I don't think I need special cushions to sit on just yet. Let's see some pictures of track irregularities from some of your layouts. I will try to bring mine forward out of RailImages.
I've used an aluminum straight edge for years. Even with that, my track is never a perfect tangent. Boxcab E50
Hey that looks like some of my track! Another bonus for using Homasote, you can sand some areas down to get the track to look like that. I've done it in quite a few places. And no, no operational problems. Here ya go Rick, one of the most "pronounced" places on the layout -Mike
Sure, here is an image of my yard. I think I have one archived of my upper "deck", although it will take some searching. But, you can see the wavy nature of track. Note that, just as in the case of the proto image your friend generated, telephoto lenses produce a foreshortening effect that accentuates irregularities in surfaces and edges that otherwise appear to be straight and planar. Overhead shots will not show such deformities, or if they do, it is substantial! That doesn't look half bad, but here is another view, with a different focus. Eeeewwww!
The stiff ME flex can be a great way to get this effect. You can bend it into a few circle shapes and then straighten it back out....but you won't get it perfect. Makes for a nice branch line effect.
Overton, I love what you've done with your track work. I don't know how many times (lost count) I've looked down a siding or small town spur and seen precisely what you've modeled. It's the the touch of realisim every model railroad needs. Pastoolio, I had to laugh as I have places where my mainline resembles yours. Nice touch and if you look long enough you will find the same thing happening on the 1x1 foot scale railroads. Nicely done! BoxcabE50, I have small levels, a snap chalk line, a number of metal angle and straight edges I use to line up track. I also use a type of homemade compass to mark the center line for curves. I insist (of myself) that the mainline be the best layed track I can master. I turned out to be one of those fallible human beings and there are spots in the track where you can see the train cars dance or wobble their way across certain sections. Those hy-cube cars rock and roll...just like the real ones. Flimsie reads, Slow order at milepost 28. Thanks for everyone's participation and the pictures shared. I can see this thread is dieing an early death. R.I.P. LOL .
The prototype photo looks like my best efforts on a VERY good day. Now, if I can get my ballast to look half that good.
Hi guys. Let me get in on this discussion. The Needles Sub (where I spend much time in cooler temps), has a mixture of wood and concrete ties. Where the pre-cast ties are used, the rails are straight and fairly level. If you notice in the photo above, the ties are wooden in this area. So if you are using flex w/concrete ties, straight would be preferred, wooden ties can use some ripple effect.
Ow! :tb-hissyfit: I can't get my swelled head into my hat!!!! Thanks, UP1996, and BarstowRick, I appreciate your thumbs-up.
Harron and COverton both made good points regarding long lenses exagerating rail undulations. Another thing to consider is era. Diesels are so much more flexible than steam locomotives that "perfect" roadbed is simply no longer necessary. This flexibility makes them less finicky from and adhesion standpoint and in extreme cases, staying on the track - so why spend the extra effort (prototype)? Old photos bear this out - I'm constantly surprised at some of the superb mainline maintenance back in steam days, especially on well financed roads. That said, I like the idea of minor vertical and horizontal deviation and will incorporate some into my next layout along the lines of pastoolio's example. I'm a steam guy however, so I won't be creating low joints - unfortunately HO steam suffers the same rigidity problems as the prototype! Matt
Here's my straight and level track through downtown. Of course, it's not straight and level at all. I would have expected the errors to be more exaggerated.
Here is some funky track work on the west yard ladder in Van Buren. It was laid to look that way and yes my 89' TOFC flats will track (no pun intended) through it.
One more, 1X1 foot scale track comparison. Harold, sent me another comparative type of picture that he thought we might find interesting. In the picture you can see the difference between concrete ties versus wood ties. No wavy or unaligned track and no real slop in the track, either. The photo depicts the most recent work done on the old ATSF, some where near Siberia, CA. Flash and Mopman, Wow! I do like all of what you've shared here. The work is amazing and about as prototypically correct as anything you will see on a 1x1 foot scale railroad. COverton, I do like the ballast job on your railroad. Top Notch! Someone call 911 he imploded. Clean-up in COverton's train room. Enjoy the fun. OOPS! Forgot the picture...sheez. You can click on the picture to enlarge it and as you look into the picture you can see the wood ties. Undulation: I've used many a telephoto lens and seldom has the lense distorted a picture to the point one or two rails looks undulating while the others look perfectly correct. Seems to me the mid field of the picture would reflect the same issue and it doesn't. Yes, it can but not in the original picture submitted here by Harold and I. So, with that said....how about some pictures of concrete versus wood ties on your layouts? Ahh, anyone? Hello anyone out there? Oh drat it... I must be on ignore again. LOL...haw haw...sheez! Hummm, should have started another thread. Oh well. Not to worry everything is cool, everything is cool, everything is cool. Someone smack that record player, it's doing it again, hey... it's stuck again. Who put that scratch in that old vinyl? "Is cool, is cool, is cool"...smack..."Every thing's coming up roses". LOL
Time to jump back in with pictures of club layouts or your home layouts. Looking for transitition from either wood ties to concrete ties in the same picture. At least this thread is fairly current. Unlike the decomposed ones I see jumping up here from time to time. Join in or sunday quarter back it's all about fun.
