Getting Started with Hand Laid Track


Sudasana

Sudasana

New Member
Can anyone recommend a set of tools and materials to help me get started with hand laying track? I'm looking to start building a couple small dioramas in Japanese N scale (1:150) and would like to start practicing laying the track by hand. The track itself will be standard 9mm N scale track, hopefully either Code 55 or 65. I'm looking to start with straight sections or gentle curves, and eventually start building turnouts. I am starting very small so some inexpensive starter tools would be ideal. Any good books on the subject would be very much welcome as well.
 
A track gauge.
A couple 3 point gauges.
A good flat file.
A bastard jeweler's file
A good pair of needlenose pliers (that feel good in your hand)
A metal straight edge.
Soldering iron.
Rosin flux
Rail nippers or flush cutting pliers
Depending on how you do your linkages, small drill bits and a motor tool or drill.
A motor tool and a cutoff wheel.
 
Check out www.micromark.com for the tools Dave described if you don't already have them. They have a lot of neat small tools that are made for hand laying track. Don't overlook Harbor Freight either. Their stuff isn't the best quality, but sometimes you just need good enough.
 
If I was goijng to hand lay any significant amount of track, I'd seriously consider using the Fast Tracks system at http://www.handlaidtrack.com/ho.php. Your first cost will be higher for templates and jigs, but you will be able to lay better tracks faster and have better opration.
 
I like the looks of the Fast Tracks system, but the initial cost is a little daunting right now. I think for turnouts it's well worth it, especially since they need to be very well made in order to work reliably, but for straight track and even for curves I think I'd like to start by building them freehand.
 
Hi Taihoku,
Yes welcome to the forum you'll enjoy it here.

I have many years of experience hand laying track in HO and am currently using both code 70 & 55 on my layout, an Early 1900's theme. I have some various shots on the forum here too. I also build all my switches from just a paper template or even a drawing using at least a pair of three point guages if not two pair and they work fine. For straight track and especially laying curves at least three pair if not four of guages are needed to help hold the rail in position and allignmet.

Micro Engineering http://microengineering.com/, [A supply source I did have available through my distributor till the owner died so now I'm geting reistablished again], is the site you want to go to for most of your supply needs as they have both code 40 and 55 rail available as well as the spikes, ties and the apropriate three point track guages you'll need. If I can get restablished I can possibly offer you some better pricing on these items! I think you should be able to get by with guages for code 55 rail to handle code 40 too as I use my code 70 guages to also work with code 55 and don't really notice any difference. There's only a few thousands differences in the actual rail head width anyway.

The beauty of building your own switches/turnouts and handlaying your own track is that you have total flexability in the creation of the switch to suit your given situation just like on the real RR. Also, you can build not only your Standard style of switch but also a Stub switch if your lacking space.

The guy that showed me how to build switches had an N scale layout with all hand laid track in code 55 and 40 as well as switches and his trains ran great as do mine and you can't beat the realism.

You will need some, Fine Cut Jewelers files as well as some decent rail nippers and a decent Razor Saw as well as a good hand vise or small table vise to hold the rail easily when cutting it although nippers and files work pretty well in most cases. Micro Mark will probably have most of the latter things mentioned.

I can show you the tricks to build turnouts easily too using PC strips to solder the rail to in a few places before spiking it down.

As far as a soldering iron you only need one with a fairly light tip such as an ungar with inter interchangeable tips as you don't really need too much heat.

This should give you a good start to getting things together for yourself. Who knows, you might decide to build a layout too or even encorporate your diorama into a layout!

Let me know if I can help you more.

Ps: I was born on LI, Mineola quite some years back.
 
Say Taihoku,
I just noticed that in your initial post you mentioned code 65, the closest things that's available here is code 70 which Micro Engineering has. I might mention that their reail is very high quality and of the proper demensions too!

If your going to be working in N scale I would suggest using code 55 & 40 rather than going larger as the smaller rail will look a lot more proportional. Use the code 55 for the main line and code 40 for spur lines and industry sidings.
 
The definitive text on handlaid track is Trackwork Handbook For Model Railroads by the late Paul Mallery. I do not know if it is still in print, but the book is readily available used on Amazon.com. The book covers trackwork design, and construction using several techniques, as well as wiring for crossings, point actuation methods, and such. I have found it indispensable over the years. Try and get the third edition published by Carstens. Mr. Mallery's writing style has a bit of the Dutch Uncle, and thus is offputing for some; there is solid information in this book and it truly is a bridge from old-to-modern times. It does not address fixtures that are not homemade. This book contains all the information required to fabricate ANY kind of model railroad track. Good luck and have fun!
 
With such fine rail, and using fine tools, one thing I would strongly recommend if you are going to have dead frogs is a jeweler's file. They make very fine filamental breaks in the rails. Otherwise, without the saw you will have to measure the various rail elements with great precision and place them appropriately to derive the same nearly invisible gaps. A cut-off wheel is not what I would recommend for the job of cutting gaps. In the scale you mention, a fine gap derived with surgical precision using a cut-off disk would still be about 18" wide!

-Crandell
 
northman said:
I know you said the initial costs of the Fasttracks system is a bit high, but cannot speak more highly of it. I have built several HO turnouts and their running quality is just amazing.
Click to expand...

The fasttracks forums seem full of horror stories of people who tried to use the templates but just can't seem to build a working turnout. Are they just hopeless at the fine detail work required when building track?

I would like to support a small (and Canadian!) company, though.
 
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