Part 7… part 2

Curved crossover

click on any image for large version….

Well that didn’t take too long. I re-read where I left of on the trackwork construction and realized it was exactly one year ago today I posted the 3D drawing for this section, and figured I would have it done in two days. Talk about getting distracted.

Anyway, I built part 7 this weekend and it turned out well. You might notice I did this section a bit different than all the other pieces, I have decided to use all PC board ties. Initially I was going to laser cut wood ties to complete the trackwork, but after giving it some thought I figured it would be easier to simply use all PC boards. Using all PC board ties will ensure extremely strong trackwork, it will be quite durable, which I am looking for as I intend on moving this layout around a lot. The downside is I have to go back and add in all the missing ties in the previous sections of trackwork. I will likely do that as I mount the sections to the layout permanently.

Also a bit different with this section is where I am gapping the PC board ties. To help keep the gaps less noticeable on the finished trackwork I moved them closer to the edge of the rail. Since all the ties will be PC boards and have gaps I wanted to ensure an obvious line wasn’t right down the middle of all the ties. On a typical turnout a few ties with gaps goes un-noticed, but every tie gapped might stand out a bit.

The gaps are very hard to spot on the non-turnout portions of this trackwork. They are two gaps per tie, beside each rail.

Curved crossover in place (right side of dog).

I also built some sections of curved and straight track, again with all PC board ties. This is a section of 90′ radius (12.5″ in HO) curved track that is adjacent to the freight house. Represented here by a dog.

Unpawsed version of same location.

When primed and painted the all PC board tie track looks great!

In the coming months we will (finally) be releasing fixtures to build straight and curved lengths of track along with double gapped PC board crossties in all scales and gauges in a large variety of radii. Keep an eye on the Fast Tracks site if you are interested.

Well that didn’t take too long, only a year. This is the second to last complicated piece of trackwork for the terminal, the next piece is a pair of curved turnouts leading into the wye. After that there is only a single turnout at the wye and all the remaining straight and curved sections.

I will probably plug away at the straight lengths of track for the next while as it is a very relaxing process. I need quite a few feet of straight track for the yard.

You might have noticed that between Part 6 and Part 7 a layout showed up. Initially I was going to link all the trackwork construction posts together, but since this layout is much more than just trackwork I decided to add links through the entire build process. To keep watching the progress, just clink on the “Next Section” links at the bottom of the pages. This will take you up to the most current construction post in the blog.

on to Next Section

-T.

About the Author:

I'm your host, Tim Warris, a product developer in Port Dover, Ontario. Since March of 2007 I have been documenting the construction of the former CNJ Bronx Terminal in HO scale. For my day job, I design track building tools for Fast Tracks, a small company I own and operate. Fast Tracks makes it fast and easy to hand lay your own trackwork. Stop by our website to learn more!

Posted by: Tim | 04-27-2008 | 09:04 PM
Posted in: Latest Posts | Track Construction | Comments (8)

Part 7

Sneak Peek.

This curved #3 crossover is one of the less complex pieces to build, but oddly it was quite difficult to design and get all the geometry right.

I initially drew the trackplan for the terminal using MicroStation and the geometry was not quite accurate in this area. I had not noticed it until I tried to re-draw it as a 3D model and getting it all to work with the trackwork that is already built was a bit of a challenge.

Fortunately I was able to get it all to work and I am ready to start construction of this piece. The weather for the weekend is questionable, so I may be able to get it done in the next couple of days. Pictures to follow.

-Tim

UPDATE

Yes, its been several months since I worked on the HO version and there are a few reasons for that. One is I started dabbling with an N scale version, which is working out well. The main reason though, like most modelers, summer showed up and filled up my available time with summery duties. The completion of the building for Fast Tracks also was quite a distraction. I expect that some time in September I should be able to get back to another section of trackwork.

UPDATE #2

Well, its been exactly a year to the day since I started the post on Part 7. After a few distractions (building a barn, painting complete interior of said barn, moving Fast Tracks in said barn, repairing landscaping on 2 acres after barn raising, collapsing in exaustion after completing barn, cleaning Fast Tracks out of layout room, building a modeling shop, building a modeling bench, building a basement work shop, building two Free-mo modules, building benchwork for the Bronx Terminal, taking the Terminal to two train shows, hosting an open house and finally, finishing Part 7 of the trackwork) I was finally able to return to track building.

On to Next Section

-T.

Posted by: Tim | 04-27-2007 | 09:04 PM
Posted in: Latest Posts | Track Construction | Comments (4)