tooter goes big time...


There's 90 feet of rail laid so I did another track test...

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The railroad has gotten a lot safer and less scary now that there's plenty of track at the bottom of the hill. You can slow down really easy. :)
 
Do you think a guy would get a volume discount on track products? For example if I wanted 1500' of track (rails, plates n ties) would I get a better price then $16000??
 
CbarM said:
Do you think a guy would get a volume discount on track products? For example if I wanted 1500' of track (rails, plates n ties) would I get a better price then $16000??
Click to expand...

You can always ask... :)

Aluminium rail is cheaper than steel rails because no one in the US makes them. The ones I got were manufactured in Switzerland.

You can cut your own ties out of treated lumber although you'll need plastic rail plates to protect the aluminium rails from corroding. That can make things cheaper using wood and you supplying the cutting labor.

You also can bend your own curves with alumium rail, so that can save the rolling costs for steel curves.

You can get the rails undrilled, and drill them yourself. I've cut and drilled a few pieces to make things fit and the drilling is somewhat tedious so I was glad I had paid extra for them to pre-drill the ends of all the rail sections.

The real trick is to find a rail supplier who is as close to where you live as possible because the shipping is expensive. 240 feet of steel rails complete with plastic ties, pregauged railplates, connector plates, and hardware ran $3,100 (no freight, I hauled everything home myself)...
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The wye was $900 (including sales tax)...
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The flat car ran $1000 complete with cast iron trucks and couplers, including shipping...
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The little hand powered pull cart isn't finished yet but I already have almost all of the parts to complete building the project. So it'll come in at under 1K...
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Greg
 
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OK well thanks for the info! I probably wont be doing anything like that for a couple years yet, still havnt got the acreage I want to settle on, but if things go as planned then in about 2 or 3 year I will have it. I will check around and see who supplies that sorta stuff, and I imagine drilling aluminum rail shouldnt be to much of a problem as opposed to steel.
 
Absolutely. Drilling and bending aluminium would both be a snap. :)

Going aluminium or steel took a lot of thought because there are so many advantages to aluminium. But I ended up going for steel because I like the authentic look and feel as well as the sound the wheels make when they roll over them. It would great to have the acreage for a proper layout. But since I only have 1/4 acre I do my best to enjoy what I have. :)
 
Yep I hear ya there...I only have 5 acres now, but after I flip this place and one more, then I am hoping to slide right on into 640 acres...how many feet of track would I need to go around that?? haha j/k...have to pack lunch AND supper to go that train ride...
 
Wow... 640 acres. That's great. Now you're talking real railroad. :)
Times of economic adversity are also the times with the best opportunities.

I've been working on the tracks at the bottom of the hill...

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This 30 feet will be the longest section of straight rail.

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WOW!!! Lookin mighty fine there!! I told the guys at work that if I win the lotto then I will hire their track crew and maybe buy one a their GP38-2 switchers and a 60' boxcar to house my layout, and a flatcar to haul hay to the horses at the other end...maybe even a covered hopper to park on a spur at the other end to unload a couple pails a grain everyday too!!!!
 
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Good plan...might wanna think about a beer spur through the fence to the neighbours yard eh!!
 
Thanks, wheeler... I didn't think that it would be this much fun. :)
There still isn't any propulsion or braking on the cart yet, so I just push it up hill and ride it down...

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Been working on the drive system...

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The lever is just roughed in for a general location and lacks a fixed fulcrum point. The spring on the tension arm is also not installed yet.
 
I'm using standard 1 1/2 inch scale sprung cast aluminium couplers. They have a locking link pin just like the real ones. When you pull it up, the spring loaded coupler pops open. They also have two opposed springs inside the arm which absorb the shock of starting and stopping with loaded cars.

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They fit in standard coupler pockets which are 1x2 inch steel channel stock.
 
Looking Good!
Where's the anticlimbers, you know... in case you need them.
So when are we going to see a Tooter Trestle???
 
I hereby appoint myself the rivet counter and chief critic for your new endeavor, Greg.

1. You need to get the MOW crew out to spray the vegetation growing up in the roadbed.

2. That S-curve could cause you some problems when you are backing a long consist through it. I suggest a ROW re-alignment.

While you're at it, lift that barge and tote that bale.
 
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