Wow,

,just another thing I love about model railroading.

I am working on the design

I am working on the design and drawings for the C&O Bridge at Hawks Nest West Virginia, as it turns out I can fit it in at 80% scale size.  I have been looking at parts and many of the CVMW parts will work when scaled to 80% HO.  In the process of doing the design and drawings in cad I was looking at some parts that CVMW does not list separately from there bridge kit and I contacted them and they were more then willing to sell me whatever I need.

They were extremely helpful and friendly and I can't say enough positive things about them and there products.

Now if only I could talk the into building a link and pin bridge like Hawk's Nest Bridge or Sewell Bridge.....

-Doug Meyer

N scale ties coming

Central Valley?

Is this company a descendent of the old Central Valley that made those great metal trucks and freight car kits in the old days? I spent a lot of my childhood allowance and earnings on them  :> )  ....DaveB

Same good experience with CVMW

Years ago a friend of mine and I contacted CVMW and bought a sample of their then new turnouts kit.
We not only got one, but two and lots of other samles of their products for free!
Fantastic service.

Some years later I bought a bunch of turnout ties to make turnout the Joe Fugate way.
Which I have not come around to do, due to diffrent reasons.
Very good service and communicatons also then.
Highly recommend them!

I'm in the process of using

I'm in the process of using CVT ties and making  my own turnouts using the ties.  While  the new ties have plastic nubs that can be used to hold the rail, I used Pilobond in a dental irrigator.  Put glue on the bottom of the rail then ran the "Irrigator" along the tie strip, waited a bit and the laid the rail and ran a block of wood over it to really press it down.  Turned out to be very easy.  The layout's only 5x9 so its  virtually all curves. 

I am planning to build the

I am planning to build the C&O Hawks Nest Bridge,  And I am looking to use as much material from kits and such as I can.  So I am interested in what parts used in the CVMW bridge kits would be of use but I can't find any drawings online any place.  Does anyone know where i can find drawings of the single and or double track truss bridge kits?  I am mostly interested in the girders and such.  I need to be able to determine dimensions for the parts so I can figure out what parts would be usable.

Not I looked at CVMW's website but could not find any drawings.

-Doug M

Well I found the instructions

Well I found the instructions for the 150 foot truss bridge on there website but not the 200 foot double track.

-Doug M

I think Central Valley should tap into............

..........2 rail O scale, especially with turnouts.  Atlas code 148 (way to big rail IMHO) are 55 bucks.  Two other companies make turnouts that are around 75 bucks.  That is why I used the Fast Track system for my layout but a lot of folks avoid it because of confidence and lack of ability or desire to solder and cut and lay ties.  The CV system avoids that and builds into track that is even better looking than handlaid.  I realize it's a much smaller market but I think they could clean up if they produced it. 

Peter

CVM track

Does anyone have any experience using the track ties and turnouts instead of flex track?

I know Joe's methods work when you solder some ties, but what about using only glue? Did it hold up?

Thanks.

John

What's the Hold Up

I've done some with only glue, and it worked fine.  The last CV turnout I built had rail attached with flexible CA (Poly Zap or Microbond).  It has been in service for several years with no trouble.  I got the idea from Chris Palomarez who used to participate in this forum here and there.  I think he was using the flexible CA on the plain tie strip too, and reporting good results.

Experience

Yes and I loved every minute. I ordered some sample ties direct and ordered a #6 turnout kit. I received the sample ties and kit and a heck of a lot of addition free turnouts and the parts to build them with, one of each size.

I used the CVT HO ties and ME code 70 weathered  rail. I have 90' of mainline and about 100' of sidings and spurs.My staging yard (not figured in the total) is old Atlas (1976) code 100 flex. I used a combo of MEH and Barge cement and a mini brush to apply. The gauge is correct, the flow looks great to me and after I figured out I needed more light on the track it was easy to do. I started laying track 12/2014 and finished up 2/16. When I figured the costs, I felt is was less expensive to order the ties and rail and lay it myself. Was the sayings great, no maybe a $.50 per foot but the satisfaction was awesome. I would highly recommend the purchase of the CVT ties. I have had 1 turn of maybe 12" pop since I laid the track. When I reviewed why, I missed placing the glue on a few of the ties and it was directly under a heat vent it  in 1/2016.My layout room is set at 66 in the winter months and 72 in summer, I live in sometimes very humid Wisconsin.

Tom

Thanks

Thanks for the feedback. Very encouraging!

Cheers

John

more CVT ties

As I noted above I used a combo of MEH and Barge cement purchased from my local ACE Hardware. I soldered 2 pieces of rail together and then applied the combo of cement to the rail  and then applied to the ties. It seems to be a great bond.

Tom

Interesting Tom, I also found

Interesting Tom, I also found that 2 rails soldered together was and easy length to work with.  On my small layout that usually meant I would have around a foot at either end to fill in.  I found that leaving the room at either end allowed me to put gaps there easily to isolate the track (I'm DCC but still like lots of blocks for trouble shooting).  I would use map pins to mark the starting and end point of the rail and then where the PC tie was that supplied power.  I would also mark the drop location on the track with a maker.  I could then use the dental irrigator filled with Philobond and run a line of glue on the bottom of the rail (upside down rail could be on any flat surface) skipping the spot where the PC tie would be, then run a line of glue along the CVT ties again skipping the PC tie.  Wait a bit then put the rail down and use a wood block to apply a lot of pressure.  Glue over the PC tie made soldering later to the rail almost impossible!  My layout prior to this one was back in the early 60's as a teenager and then I used TruScale ties/roadbed and spiked the rail to it. This was even easier.  The curved tip on the dental irrigator was a perfect fit for running down the CVT ties and rail!     

Central Valley

Yes, it is the same company, but with a different owner.

Central Valley Model Works was established in 1948 by George Hook. During WWII, Hook, who was a graduate of CalTech, was the assistant project engineer on Lockheed’s P2V Neptune patrol bomber. CVMW’s first product was a valve gear kit for Varney’s Dockside switcher. A series of HO kits for truss-rod freight cars and a group of (then) state-of-the-art trucks soon followed. In 1978 Hook retired and sold CVMW to Jack Parker, a veteran tool maker and long-time acquaintance. Parker got his start in the hobby industry in 1938 when he landed a job at A.C. Gilbert. He joined Revell after the war and in the early 1950’s created the tooling for the ubiquitous Revell enginehouse. Parker passed away in 2010 and Central Valley is now owned and operated by his son Jeffry Parker.  

Richard-

that sounds to me like the beginnings of an MRH article.......you should write one.

Based on Joe's technique I went full-tilt and had 5 done.  A few years passed and I needed a few more so went with barge-only.  Ended up adding a few PC ties at the ends of the turnouts to keep thinks even with their adjoining track.  Personally I just trust the solder-PC tie method more- it's so much easier to heat and correct IMO.  The heat around the solder joint can also heat the Barge nearby, so it all adjusts to the move, I think. 

Photos

Does anyone have any photos they would be willing to share of their CVM trackwork that's on an actual layout. The CVM website has a few pictures but it's hard to get an overall impression compared to say Micro Engineering track. 

Thanks.

John

Thanks for sharing!

I'll be giving them my business for sure.  I've been looking for some decent girder bridges and their punch plate bridge kit looks like a railroad bridge nearby that I've been wanting to model!

All my installs have been in staging so far ...

All my CVT turnouts have been in staging so far, but I'm expecting to install some in scenicked areas soon. They make gorgeous turnouts - I would not hesitate to use them with MicroEngineering track - they should fit right in and I think they perform better than ME turnouts (unless you tune them up before installing).

Here's some photos of my "Poor Man jig" built turnouts using CVT ties at the workbench, ready to install. Remember, these use a few strategically placed PC ties with tie plate detail added so the PC ties blend in with all the plastic ties and tie plate detail. You can click these images to enlarge them for closer study.

Central Valley vs Micro Engineering Track

John,

The Track on the left is CV tie strips with ME code 83 rail, on the right is the the ME Code 70 flex and turnouts.

Side View (CV at the back, ME at the front)

Here is CV track ballasted with Arizona Rock and Mineral ballast:

Alas I don't have a sample of ME track ballasted.  Hope this helps.

Andrew

Thanks

Thanks for the pics. That's exactly what I was looking for.

it looks great!

John

Variety

Central Valley is also the only source I know of for plastic tie strips with the ties of different sizes and spacing. Look at the difference between the "branchline" and "mainline" strips. You can get the same general effect by stretching and trimming commercial flex track, but this is a good shortcut.

Graham

On the Layout

The #8 crossover was built from CVT kits, while the rest of this track, including the other turnout, is Micro Engineering.  I took this photo just after airbrushing the first coat of paint onto the track prior to weathering the ties.

Here's the same location after weathering and ballasting.