Trackwork
West Haven Industrial Rwy. : Handlaid Turnouts
I've settled on Peco Code 83 flex for my track and hand laid turnouts using PC board ties and constructing over a template. I've made a few in code 100 successfully. I have no Code 83 rail on hand and am assuming I can simply strip the rail from the Peco Code 83 flex to hand lay the turnouts.
Anyone see any reason why that wouldn't work? Do I need to buy Code 83 rail separately?
GregW66
Mainline and staging return loop connected, Golden Spike installed!
I added a little gold paint onto a track spike and a commemorative note to mark the acheivement. While there is still plenty of work to put in sidings and switches, the mainline, staging yards, and returns are complete and trains can run continuously from Duluth to Two Harbors, then sneak around the "back way" to be ready once more.
DOMTAR Pulp and Paper Mill - Track Work
This thread will document the building and laying of track for the layout.
***Track Plan updated 15 Apr 20***
Transitioning to flextrack, much faster progress
I've gotten the hang of putting down ME c55 flextrack. Took me about 8 hours to get the first 15' of handlaid track down. It's taken me less than six hours to install about 24' of flex. You can see the spot in the middle of each section of track with 20 ga. feeders soldered to the bottom web of each rail. Code 55 is really too short to hide feeders attached to the sides well. Man, those ME rail joiners are a pain in the butt, tho.
Hand laid track process
Hi all,
After initial construction of my fist module I am starting to hand lay my track. You can see the lie of the track in the image below. I have a Fast Tracks Nn3 #5 jig and components to built plenty of track for my Russian narrow gauge TT logging line. See post on my track plan HERE.
First trains running on the Duluth & Iron Range Lakefront Division!
The track crew (me) has been hard at work putting down handlaid code 55 track. The crew has gotten from Two Harbors to Knife River in the past few days. I've used up my wood ties, and I have another hundred feet or so of mainline that will be laid with ME c55 flex track.
The real Lakefront Division was completed in 1886 as a requirement for the D&IR to satisfy the conditions of the land grant they received from the state. It ran for 26 scenic miles along the north shore of Lake Superior from Duluth to Two Harbors, MN.
Trackwork
Has anyone tried using CV ties as individual ties? I would like to have very wide spacing between the ties for an industrial yard. Even the CV branchline ties aren't spaced out very much. I was thinking of making skeleton track with hand spiked wooden ties and then filling in with CV ties. The wooden ties might need to be shimmed. Tie spacing in yards can be up 30" on center. Ties were spaced closer only under the rail joints.
ME track code 55!
Today I had a big surprise... ME is making code 55 HO track again! I was about to start hand laying code 55 track for the spur and team track on my modules project, but now all I have to do is space the ties to depict branch line tracks's spurs.
http://model-railroad-hobbyist.com/node/28481?page=6#comment-272075
Turnout problem
Ok, I'm open to advice. Here's the problem, and it's in the middle of the layout already "nailed down."
Building my first couple of modules
After a 25-year hiatus, I've been working on the first module for a while off and on over the last year. I used SCARM to see how the plan would work, because I'm handlaying the track and don't have any pieces of track to use as a mockup. After laying out the yard module in SCARM, I started building it out. Figured out where I would locate it in the house, then worked out a potential track plan.
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