Model railway track

[burnthebox]

HI GUYS, ANYONE ON HERE AT THE DUN LAOGHAIRE SHOW & WHO REMEMBERS DISPLAY NO. 5, WHICH HAD ON IT'S DISPLAY A LENGHT OF TRACK ( OO GAUGE ) VERY REALISTIC, WHICH CONNECTED TO OTHER OO GAUGE (HORNBY ) BUT ALL THE SLEEPERS APPEAR TO BE MUCH BETTER SEPARATED THAN THE SLEEPERS ON THE HORNBY TRACK,(FEWER IN NUMBER ) MAYBE IT WAS A DIFFERENT TYPE OF TRACK, BUT WHICH ONE, PECO, HORNBY, ??? THANKS ALL,

[Railway Lyons]

Hi burnthebox,

 

I think I remember the one you are talking about.

There is track made by Exactoscale (and im sure some other companies) that has sleeper spacing that does look more realistic.

This could be what was used.

 

Exactoscale track is supplied with the sleepers of your choice, concrete or wooden, and rail of choice, Bullhead or Flat, among others.

All you have to do is pass the rail through the chairs on your sleepers and there you go.

However, this track is slightly more expensive but in my opinion well worth the improvement in looks.

 

Hope this helped.

[burnthebox]

Hi Railway Lyons & many thanks, that sounds just like the type of track I'm looking for, someone else mentioned it to me when I was at the show,I never heard of Exactoscale, do they have a web site, also excuse my lack of knowledge, but what is Bullhead & Flat, as I don't have a layout as yet, I have plenty of time to get that track,

[Railway Lyons]

Hi burnthebox,

 

http://www.exactoscale.co.uk/4mmtrack.html

The above link will take you to all the 4mm products they have.

 

As for Bullhead v Flat rail:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rail_profile

 

No need to apologise for not knowing something.

We are all here to help each other.

I'm in the hobby 20 years and still learn new things all the time.

 

Hopefully when you do get round to building your layout we will see pictures of your progress.

[RedRich]

There are many different companies producing rtr track In 00 EM and P4. C&L, P4 Track Company (Exactoscale) SMP. There are several different ways to build your own track using components from the above mentioned companies and Peco. Some of the P4 Track Co bases have chairs and you thread on the rail as has been mentioned before. Other track bases and panel lengths for LMS GWR etc are available and you thread separate chairs 4 bolt 3 bolt 2 bolt depending on what railway you are modelling on to the rail and with the use of gauges and pips on the track panel you glue the chairs on with Butanone. There are also ply sleepers available from suppliers and some people use these attached the same as above or sleepers are produced with holes for rivets to be fitted and the rail is soldered to the rivets. You can then cut chairs in half and fit them cosmetically. There are also fish plates available. Flat bottom rail soldered to copper clad sleepers is also a popular choice among modellers.

 

P4 Track Company (Exactoscale) are being taken over by C&L Finescale at the moment and their products will be introduced to that companies website when time allows. If you want any more info don't be afraid to ask.

 

Rich,

[burnthebox]

Hi guys, & many thanks, any chance I could get my paws on some of this Exactoscale / C&L Finescale Etc. as I'm totally confused with the options available, I know now what Flat & Bullhead means, that's progress I suppose, I'm planning to run english & Irish on my layout,

Paul

[RedRich]

Hi guys, & many thanks, any chance I could get my paws on some of this Exactoscale / C&L Finescale Etc. as I'm totally confused with the options available, I know now what Flat & Bullhead means, that's progress I suppose, I'm planning to run english & Irish on my layout,

Paul

 

The kind of track that P4 Track Co and C&L produce varies. P4 Track Co produce as has been said before the track bases some with sleepers and chairs moulded you thread on the rail. Other sleepers in the range need to have chairs added and are available in plastic representing wooden sleepers, plastic panels representing Dow Mac concrete sleepers with pandrol clips fitted you thread on the flat bottom rail and ply sleepers which you again fit your chosen chairs to and thread on the rail. They also make point kits representing the different sizes A, B, C, D etc.

 

C&L produce 1 meter lengths of bull head rail on thin sleepers to match their thin ply sleepers used for hand built track as well some new timber tracks bases for points laser cut all you do is add the rail and chairs. They also produce the switch blades and crossings ready built and machined for those who don't fancy any filling and soldering. With the use of gauges it's like putting a kit together but it depends on a bit of skill and how confident you feel. They also supply some of the other similar products in their range that P4 Track Co supply. I think it is universally agreed by most modellers that build their own track that P4 Track Co products are far superior.

 

All these items are available in 00 EM AND P4 gauges. 00 is naturally the 16.5

mm track as you would most commonly see used and is the same gauge as Peco Hornby etc. EM is 18.2mm to try and more correctly model the 4 foot 8 and a half inches of the British prototype. P4 18.83 is the exact gauge. Nothing is produced for Irish 21mm gauge which is 5 foot 3 inches in the correct gauge and needs to be hand built. If you use Peco track at 16.5mm gauge it equates to track that is 4 feet wide which is 15 inches under gauge for correctly modelled Irish track. If the sleeper spacing is your only interest then I would advise you to ignore any of the above and get one of the fold up brass sleeper spacing gauges from Peter Harvey, cut some of the webbing on the Peco track and even though it isn't in true gauge at least the sleepers are correctly spaced and it will save lot's of cash and sleepless nights.

 

Rich,

[burnthebox]

Hi & many thanks again guys, I said I was baffled until now, now I'm totally confused with all the options available, I'm not a perfectionist in any way, so where can I get my paws on some of this track / s.

 

PS who's Peter Harvey

[RedRich]

Hi & many thanks again guys, I said I was baffled until now, now I'm totally confused with all the options available, I'm not a perfectionist in any way, so where can I get my paws on some of this track / s.

 

PS who's Peter Harvey

 

http://www.phd-design-etchings.co.uk

 

You need to look in the model railways 4mm section of the website to find the sleeper spacing gauge. The thin sleeper 1 meter track lengths from C&L are not going to match Peco or Hornby points because they have thicker sleepers. The track from Peco and Hornby is all flat bottom rail and they don't produce bullhead rail. I would also be wary of having C&L track lengths delivered in the post in case of any damage to the track in transit.

 

The one draw back for me with Peco or Hornby sectional track as it is, is that the adjacent track centers look and are wrong. A double track level crossing from Hornby or Bachmann is a great example when you see the distance between both sets of rail centers. However if you decide on getting the sleeper spacing gauge do yourself a favor and use Peco flexi rail to try and lay it in a flowing fashion as it will look better. Try and get to the MRSI show on the Bank Holiday weekend if you can and talk to exhibitors, ask them questions and you will get more info and food for thought.

 

Rich,

Edited October 13, 2012 by RedRich

[burnthebox]

http://www.phd-design-etchings.co.uk

 

Try and get to the MRSI show on the Bank Holiday weekend if you can and talk to exhibitors, ask them questions and you will get more info and food for thought.

 

Rich,

 

Many thanks Rich, I never thought model rail track could be so ( to me anyway ) complicated, I will be at the show on the bank holiday, full of questions, & yes definitaily food for thought alright,

Paul

[RedRich]

Many thanks Rich, I never thought model rail track could be so ( to me anyway ) complicated, I will be at the show on the bank holiday, full of questions, & yes definitaily food for thought alright,

Paul

 

No problem, you're welcome. For what it's worth you are doing the right thing keeping you're options open and finding what works well for you. I have seen some fantastic 00 gauge layouts on here and at exhibitions, just have fun and enjoy it. I'm going to be modelling in 21mm this time around and it isn't a snobbish exercise, it's just something new that I fancied having a go at. Sure it will take a lot longer but I know I will enjoy it.

 

Rich,