Track Painting - The Quick Way!

Progress with the challenge layout has been a bit slow of late, with the good weather and holidays. And to make matters worse, we seem to have sold our house, and are frantically searching for a new one. This challenge was going to be tight enough without the disruption of moving house!

 

Anyway, the good weather did make good conditions for outdoor spray painting! This is the fast technique for painting track ... as you can see from the picture above I used red oxide, grey (both Halfords primer) and black (the dregs of whatever cans were in the garage). And lots of newspaper and masking tape.

The red oxide goes first, from the sides as well as above, followed by a light dusting of grey and black, mainly from above. Then a bit more red, and so on, until it looks OK. Finally while wet an off-cut of MDF wiped along the rail head cleans the track, it may need a good clean with a fibreglass stick too. All in less than 20 minutes, half of which was spent masking up the bits I didn't want painted!

 

Even close-up it looks OK, though I'm planning a wash of dirty brown and perhaps picking the wooden sleepers out in grey, before ballasting. Mind you it all depends on how much time I have!

Track and Wires

It has taken over three weeks, but finally I have finished the trackwork. Well, almost - I should add the nice plastic fishplates KB Scale supply with the sleepers! Also the section over the bridge is not yet fixed as I need to complete the bridge and walling first.

I'm pleased with how it looks, although at about a week per foot of track it has been pretty tedious! At the ends the track is hidden inside structures, a few copperclad sleepers add strength and I have ensured there is no chance of a train leaving the board! Track feed wires are visible here too, but every rail section in the scenic area has a feed wire soldered to the bottom of the rail.

I have also fitted a control panel using the method I've applied to a few layouts now. The panel is an offcut of 2mm Aluminium from the guillotine waste bin at work, onto this is stuck a print-out of the schematic (Word is OK for drawing this), then a sheet of clear plastic (Wills kits bubble packaging in this case!). The toggle switches bolt through and hold the layers together, then the whole lot is screwed in place behind the facia.

The position of the panel allowed me to incorporate the manual point actuators - these are the two dowels visible in the panel. Behind the scenes these slide through a block of wood, and are screwed to the plastic lever of slide switches. The point operating wire is also attached to the slide switch, then goes to the point via a tube as seen in the last post. The slide switch is then used for feeding the vee of the point and provides the latching mechanism. I'm rather chuffed with this idea - operating the wooden dowels in the panel is nicer than operating the slide switches directly, and they have a nice "clunk" action.

Also visible in the photo above is the main terminal block for the wiring. I used to use tag strips, and would prefer to but these terminal blocks are much cheaper! As well as joining wires together they act as a point to route and test wires.

A wider view of the under-board wiring. The power comes in from the controller via a socket bottom right, the panel is centre right. Wiring is colour coded for ease of understanding, and despite being a simple layout the need to feed each rail length and switch point frogs makes it surprisingly complex:

- Red is main track power (controller fed direct)

- Blue is the common return to the controller

- Black is for switched point-frogs and any rails joining to them

- Yellow is for the three isolating sections. 

And yes, it did all work first time! Sketching it out in advance, and drawing the layout and labelling feed wires on the underside of the layout helped. Incidentally the yellow wires are the only ones a DCC user could skip, along with the three switches. But then you'd have more wiring in each loco. Who says DCC is two wires?

A pair of points

I'm finally nearing completion of the track-laying, so here is the story of the most tricky part - the points of course! I'm very glad I only have two to build for this layout, I'm sure I'd get better with practice but point building is very tedious to me, especially using the spiked construction of the KB Scale track representing the sectional industrial track.

 

The rails were cut and shaped onto plans of the points. Without soldered construction and with so few sleepers the crossing vee (frog) area of the point would be very weak. I decided to assemble this onto a small, thin sheet of brass, justified as these type of industrial points often had steel plate under the crossing. Track spikes help with the assembly here.

 

The point blades have wire droppers soldered to both the hinge end and the tie-bar end, these will form the pivot and the attachment to the tie bar. The "proper" construction with tiny brass tabs under the blades riveted to tie bars is well beyond me, so I have a cheat method. Once ready, and not forgetting to add feed wire droppers, the rails were then transferred to the plastic sleepers on the layout.

 

The rails were carefully spiked in place checking the gauge. Slots had been cut under the tie bar for the wire droppers, and holes through the sleeper and foam-board at the hinge point, so the blades could be dropped in place. The tie-bars are made from 40" plastic (they will be cut down) through which the droppers pass, although these are largely cosmetic they do help keep the blade spacing. At present I have yet to fit the check rails.

 

The real action is underneath. The real tie bar is a strip of PCB (sliding on a piece of black plastic), through which the droppers pass, then small pieces of PCB are soldered to each dropper to act as "nuts". The droppers are therefore free to rotate relative to the tie bar as it moves sideways. The same method of PCB soldered to the wire is used to hold the pivot wire in place too. Note that the blades are electrically isolated from each other and a wire feed will be attached to the bottom of the hinge wire.

 

The points are operated by wire-in-tube, a steel wire through the tie-bar passes through a plastic (PTFE?) tube which is held in place by lots of hot-glue and pieces of foam board so it cannot move sideways. A Z-bend in the wire by the tie bar acts as a spring for any slack. The other end is attached to a slide-switch, which not only will switch the electrics for the point vee, but also acts as the latch to hold the point over. Actuation is by dowels to the side of the layout, attached to the slide switches with a screw, more on this when I get to the wiring.

This isn't precision engineering but so far the points seem to work, which is the point ... if you excuse the pun. That said, they've not been tested by a loco yet! Time to finish the last bits of track and connect up the wires.

Spikes

First here's an explanation for the limited progress for the last couple of weeks! The view from our Hotel room in Crete. It's rather bright because there was a funny yellow ball in the sky...

 

Since I've been back I've been concentrating on building the track for the layout - after all it won't be much of a model railway without rails! The track at Thakeham was pre-fabricated industrial track with steel sleepers, essentially 2' gauge train set track. The KB Scale Hudson track sleepers are ideal for this, albeit with a different profile but good enough for me. However looking at the photos it seems the track was laid on top of wooden sleepers, so I am using wooden coffee stirrers underneath the plastic "steel" sleepers.

 

The approach is then to spike the rails (Peco IL-115 code 82 flat-bottom) to the sleepers using KB scale spikes. Although the sleepers have the holes pre-drilled, the coffee stirrers don't, so a drill in a pin vice was used, tedious but easy enough so far. Then I discovered the spikes didn't fit! The head   is too deep, meaning it didn't clear the head of the rail, and if it did it pushes into the web moving the rail out of gauge, and making the second spike impossible to fit. They fitted if turned about 80 degrees, but then they did't grip the rail well either... After some experimentation the answer was the big pair of side cutters seen above!

 

This close-up shows an unmodified track spike (left) with one that has had the head cut down (right), only about 1mm needs removing but it has made fitting them much easier, and the track stays in gauge. Also visible are the pencil marks used to locate the plastic sleepers as the wooden sleepers obscure the printed template. With plain track now sorted, and I have to say looking quite good from this close, it is time to move on to the points!

Solving a short

Having the Lister reassembled and working I have run it over every part of the layout to test out the trackwork. I really must make the off-stage track, as without it there is no way from the front sidings to the back sidings! That aside it all seems to work ... except that on the short-radius point that is the kick-back to the workshop the loco causes a short circuit and stops.

It seems that although the gap between the point blade and the stock (fixed) rail is correct for the back-to-back measurement of the wheels, i.e. the same as the check rails, it is close enough for the back of the wheel to touch, causing a short circuit as the blade was connected to the vee and so the opposite rail. I can't make the blade move over any further - it isn't long enough, and the switch that controls it doesn't have sufficient movement. So that means isolating the point blade from the opposite rail, and linking it to the adjacent stock rail.

As you can see from the photo, the point is such a tight radius and so short that this isn't an easy task without weakening it. I decided the best place to cut the rail was over a sleeper, so both sides of the cut were supported, and the only way to do this in-situ was with a slitting disc in the mini-drill. That has left a larger gap than I'd have liked, it doesn't seem to cause a problem but I am filling it with epoxy to rail height. The curved rail and blade were then only fixed by a small amount of solder at one end, so a piece of wire was soldered in to connect it electrically and physically to the stock rail, also further epoxy glue is being used to support it.

The result is not pretty but it does work, no more shorts. I guess there is a chance of the 4-wheel loco stalling over the big isolating gap, but it seems OK at the moment. You can see I have only done this fix to the straight route, as this is the point it shorted every time, the curved route does get the occasional short but seems better for some reason. I'm hoping paint on the back of the blade might help (electrical switching is done separately), but in any case while the straight route will be in constant use for shunting, the kick-back siding is likely to be rarely used - it is more for scenic effect! The other two point are of larger radius and don't seem to have this problem at all.

Track and wires

As I mentioned last time the points are controlled via wire-in-tube from slide switches mounted in the front corner of the board. Because of the cramped space and the short runs to the points this was fiddly to set up. Once the tubes had been stuck in place with a hot glue gun the points could be stuck down with Bostik.

The rest of the track was reasonably easy to lay, the copper-clad PCB strips cut to suitable lengths with side-cutters and stuck down with Bostik, the rail pre-cut and curved before being soldered in place using the KBScale roller-gauges. I used PECO rail joiners (fishplates) on the standard code 80 rail including insulating ones where the points face each other, as the track will be buried this won't get seen. Metal fishplates were soldered to ensure conductivity - it has never been a problem for me but once the track is buried that's it! Finally gap the copper clad sleepers and check with a multimeter.

As you can see the wiring is in place too (apart from connecting up the socket). Grey for the rear rail, blue for the front, and black for the switched rails (frogs or vees). There is also an isolating section at the end of the front-right siding, as it looks a good place to park a loco if I ever want to. Not very likely but it would be hard to add it later ...

Wires go to the most convenient place to attach to the track, and will all be hidden by buildings at the end of the layout or buried under the farmyard surface. They meet in a terminal block that will also be inside a building. The wires and point control tubes are all stuck in place with a hot glue gun: quick, easy and strong.

This close-up shows how the point control switches have been screwed in place with miniature screws, and how the operating wire is attached through a hole in the switch. Also seen is the wiring for switching the point frog (vee) rails, note that the switched feed for the first point also feeds the switch for the second. At the side of the opening (finger hole!) is the microswitch for the isolating section, I had run out of space for a proper switch.

Preparing the box

Although for various reasons I was unable to start work on this project before Christmas, I did do some planning and thinking as to how I would build a layout in a box file. As you will have seen Christmas did bring lots of goodies, but before embarking on the loco and stock I thought it best to start by laying some track. The last few weeks have been quite productive, with the three points built, but for now back to the, erm, baseboard!

I decided against laying a board within the box file, as it would rob precious depth, potentially resulting in more difficulties with the buildings. I will be raising the ground level up to rail height anyway which should strengthen the bottom of the file, but the track is to be laid straight on the bottom, which like the lid and spine is made from stiff card. However the "front" and ends of the file are in fact 5mm chipboard.

First the rivets holding the sprung paper-clip were drilled out to remove it. Two openings were then cut into the left hand end of the box (one for the entry line, one for the low-relief workshop which will have a line run into it), by drilling big holes at the top corners and opening out with a power jigsaw. Another opening was made to allow access to switches at the front corner, and a hole drilled to take a 6-pin DIN socket, my standard power connection.

The rules specifically allow the front to be folded down to improve the view, which is a good idea as otherwise the view would be rather restricted to the "helicopter" position. However I thought removing the whole panel would weaken the box significantly, so I have cut away a large section with plenty at each end, and 5mm at the bottom, to maintain the strength. This section will be re-attached so that it hinges down. I have sealed the cut edges with a couple of coats of thinned PVA glue, and will paint them black for neatness in due course.

It will now be obvious why I could not have any part of the points protrude below the baseboard! Here the wire-in-tube that will operate them can be seen, snaking back to the miniature slide switches mounted to some offcuts of wood. The switches will be operated through the opening, and as well as switching the track power to the frog/vee of the point, their positive action will hold the point blades in position.

Three Points

This is the result of my efforts over the last couple of weeks then - three hand-built points. Other than some cosmetic quarry track in 009 (that was never intended to work, or tested to see if it would), this is my first effort at building my own track. I used the Roy Link (KBScale) templates but since I was going to be hiding the track, and I didn't want to protrude pins or moving parts through the baseboard, I decided on the traditional approach of soldering to copper-clad sleepers.

As I have said before I am not worried what the track looks like - it will all be buried or in-set. So the sleepers were spaced for convenience rather than appearance! As I had it to hand I used code 80 (N or 009) rail rather than the code 82 KBScale recommend - as that has a slightly wider head and foot it would probably look better, and the track gauges were a little slack on the code 80. You may also be able to see some "cheats" I have used - the blades are pivoted in fish-plates in a manner similar to some PECO points, I have fitted bent-wire "springs" to the tie bar to hold it and the blades in place (they don't really give an over-centre effect). There are thin wire jumpers to ensure electrical continuity to the blades from the frog, which will have a switched feed.

It has been relatively painless, using a slitting disc in a mini-drill to shape the rails, and I also now have a tub of flux - the first time I have used it, and it does make soldering much easier! However I did take my time, and spent plenty of it "fettling" - grinding rail away, checking gauge, pushing my one wagon through ... so far all seems to work!

Chicken or egg?

So when starting in a new scale/gauge, should I start with the exciting new loco kit, the pile of wagons, or the track? Hmmm...

As you can see I started with track! This is only a small project so there was no point in setting up a test track, just crack on with the layout. However that meant starting with a point - or two! Now this is the first time I have made my own track, apart from some "scenic" 009 quarry track many years ago (including stub points), but as that was never wired for operation it doesn't really count!

For various reasons I am not using the KBScale approach for spiked track, but I am using the track templates, here are a pair of "Type 2" radius wye points under construction. The templates have been stuck to a piece of board, and copper-clad sleepers tacked on with a dab of PVA. Later the points will be removed and transferred to the layout. I have been shaping the rails with my mini-drill, and at the bottom of the photo the Vee rails are being soldered up, pinned to another template on a wooden board with dress-making pins.

What worries me most is getting the blades to pivot properly, and work well, while being robust. The KBScale method looks fiddly to set up at the tie-bar/blade end, and I can't put pivots or rods through the baseboard. I've been looking at PECO points with the fishplate pivots, and blades fixed to the tie-bar, and thinking ...

Cutting PCB

For my next project I intend to make the track using copper-clad sleepers. Since the sleepers will be hidden I don't really care what they look like or what size they are. However my stocks of copper-clad strip have depleted, and it is not the sort of thing you can pick up in a local model shop! It can be bought by mail order but generally comes in packs of 20' (not as one length of course!), which works out quite expensive when you consider I probably need about a quarter of that.

I managed a trip to Squires last month (the wife needed something from Bognor so I took the opportunity!) and amongst a pile of bits and bobs I got a sheet of copper-clad board for about £1.50, thinking I could cut it into strips. However it proved resistant to all known knife blades - this is tough stuff! Then it struck me - rather overkill but perhaps the power jigsaw could be used? But how to cut a small, brittle board with something as large and crude as a jigsaw?

The photo shows how. The copper-clad was screwed face-down to a piece of board (more of that PVC plastic I got for free in this case), which could be held on the bench, and support the board during cutting. In the end I put the screws into the bench too! I managed to cut a dozen strips - not very straight or even, and a bit rough, but fine for my needs - plus the last bit can be cut into larger slabs for board and cassette ends. Sledgehammer and nut? Probably! But it worked.