Concrete Sleeper Track

I have recently laid some track with concrete sleepers using materials I purchased a couple of years ago from C&L Finescale in the UK.

Although intended for 4mm OO scale modelling, the size and spacing of the C&L sleepers are pretty close to Sn3.5 scale.  The sleeper spacing (pitch) is 10 mm and, although I normally space timber sleepers at 12 mm, the closer distance doesn't look wrong.

I purchased ready made track which included Peco Code 75 rail.  As I prefer weathered rail, I replaced the rail with Micro Engineering Code 70 rail.  Code 83 would also fit as the base of the rail is the same as Code 70.

C&L also sell the concrete sleepers on their own, which would be the way to go if you want the look of weathered rail.  

So far, I have completed just under 2 metres of track with the concrete sleepers.  The first section was time consuming, as it is on a very tight curve (600 mm radius) and I wanted to make sure the curvature was even to avoid any tight spots.  For this section, I glued the sleepers, which come joined in groups of 8, to the MDF roadbed using PVA glue.  I 3D-printed a guide strip which fitted inside the simulated Pandrol clips, to maintain even curvature.  Even though I pre-bent the rail to the required radius, I was quite difficult to slide the rail into the sleepers and I found the maximum workable length was about 20 sleepers at a time.  So, I had to cut the rail into shorter lengths for this bit.

Once I got into the straight track, it became much easier.  One technique which worked was to slide both rails into one group of 8 sleepers, then clamp the completed end of the track section onto my workbench with a scrap of plywood on top of the rails.  Then, I could easily slide the remaining groups of sleepers onto the 2 rails.

At this stage, the straight track isn't glued down, but I intended to apply dabs of PVA glue every few sleepers to hold it in position until ballasting.

It is essential remove any burs from the rail ends before assembling the track.  Also, it is necessary to cut the small joining pieces between the sleepers on one side for curved track.  Unlike normal flexible track, there are no gaps in the sleeper moulding.

One slight annoyance is the tops of the sleepers have raised lettering moulded in which says "COSTAINS", which is a UK manufacturer of real concrete sleepers.  As my layout is close to eye level, the lettering is not obvious, but it could be filed or sanded off if necessary.

C&L Finescale also make timber sleepered track with suitable sleeper size and spacing.  However, it is only available with bullhead rail (not flatbottom) so it is not usable for WA modelling.

More track work at Pemberton Yard

For the full article see http://pembertonrailway.blogspot.com.au/2015/10/trackwork-progress.html

Trackwork recommences at Pemberton

After finding out my position had been abolished I was faced with a move to Perth and the loss of a dedicated train room. Understandably disappointed, it seemed my Pemberton layout would be facing storage for some time. However having no where for my rolling stock to sit I decided i could find room for the centre section of the Pemberton yard.

After retrieving it from storage today i set up on a temporary table as the middle section had no legs being supported by the two sections eitherside and set about laying the first rails.

I have delayed laying rails for some time as i was unsure as to whether i would glue or spike or a combination. I had been leaning towards spiking, but my initial trials with hand spiking had been less than satisfactory. I debated obtaining a kadee spiker, but the price of obtaining a new one, the rare appearance of second hand ones online and the lack of information on whether it would be worth it caused further delay. (If you do have one or experience with one please get in contact with me). Anyhow decided it had waited long enough and with only spikes and a pair of pliers available i decided to give hand spiking another try and with some patience i managed a safisfactory result and the first rails where finally laid.

How i went about it

I had previously laid the sleepers based on measurements I took on variety of sleeper spacings in the Manjimup yard. And have made a variety of spacers to help guide me while laying sleepers. Whilst I originally planned to lay down cork first, for ease as i wanted the top of the sleepers be flush with the surface i had created a trench and glued them directly onto mdf.

I used several brass rail gauges i brought from DCC Concepts to set the gauge during the operation. They fit snuggly on the rail and their weight helped hold it in place.

With the sleepers laid directly onto mdf, it made it difficult to push the spikes in and i ended up with my share of bent ones, so i did just enough to pin the track. I then went back and predrilled the rest which whilst tedious, made spiking easier.

I should mention i had brought some spiking pliers from an australian hobby firm but i dont recommend them and wish i had got the micro mark ones. Im sure they would be fine with a large spike but were too sloppy for the small ones.

The spikes i used were the small ones from micromark but they had a very large head. I found that if I cut the head off (yes thats right i cut the head off each individual spike) leaving just a small lip, they looked more realistic. 

For the time being I have settled for spiking every 4th sleeper

3D-Printed Sn3½ Flexible Track

As an experiment, I recently tried 3D printing some sleepers for correct-scale Sn3½ track, using a similar principle to commercial flexible track.  I used the Makerbot Replicator printer which we currently have at home on loan, using a chocolate brown filament so the basic colour is about right.

It seems to work fairly well, although it would be a bit time-consuming printing sleepers for a basement-size layout.  For a modest layout, though, it appears to be a feasible proposition.  

The photos show the track with Code 70 rail (weathered, from MicroEngineering) but code 83 would fit too as the dimensions of the base of the rail are the same.  The tops of the sleepers have a textured finished from the printing process rather than the fake woodgrain on commercial track.

3D printed track with handlaid track in the background.
Note: I don't recommend use of unsupported MDF as trackbed
as it will inevitably sag - this is just a temporary arrangement.

The longest length which will fit in the printer is 18 sleepers @ 12 mm spacing which equates to 216 mm of track, so about 4 lengths would be required for a yard of track.  Printing each length takes just under one hour.  It may well be possible to print several lengths at one time side-by-side which wouldn't save much time but would save on trips back and forth to the printer.

Computer rendering of the sleepers.

As for cost, the cost of the plastic material works out to about $6 per yard, plus the cost of the rail of course (not including any costs for the 3D printer itself).  As a comparison, the NorthEastern scale lumber which I have used in the past for handlaid track costs about the same.

I also 3D-printed a jig to make it easier to insert the rail by keeping the sleepers parallel to each other so the rail slides in relatively easily.  So far, I have made about 1.5 metres of track.  

The 3D design could be changed to print straight track or fixed curves of any desired radius rather than having "flexible" track.  For example, if laying parallel tracks in a yard it could be easier to lay lengths of straight track to avoid the inevitable "wobbles" with flexible track.