Roadbed transition to yard


J

joed2323

Member
Why does the roadbed have to be transitioned down to the yard and spurs?

I ask now because i dont want to go crazy with my roadbed and put it on every track if its not suppose to? I thought the track is suppose to look elevated on the mainline for sure and i thought the yards are this way?

Why is the yard and spurs suppose to be lower, so cars dont go rolling out on the main, this is the only reason i can think of?
 
You're right in your assumption. Railroad yards are typically built on swampy or unwanted land so they actually "sink" also. The idea is to have the yard limits like a soup bowl so cars can't run away onto the mainline. The railroad I work for also has a rule that any yard lead switch has to be in the normal position so if a car did runaway and have speed to get up the elevation it would derail before actually making it to the mainline. The road bed on the main is elevated so that water runs off it, drainage basically. Hope this helps a bit


Sent from the past
 
Do they make a cork roadbed piece to make the change from mainline to yard? I haven't seen one. If not how would that grade change be made?
I'm starting my yard soon thats why I'm asking.

Thanks
 
In my yards I came off the mainline cork w/spacers under the track. I use Business cards folded to fill in the space. I came right off of the switch & attached a pc. of track long enough to make a slight transition. If you make it drop off to fast the cars will uncouple by themselves. After I start laying down the ballast in that area I fill in under the transition track w/some plaster & then paint the plaster flatblack after it dries. I use to use foam cut on my bandsaw, but it was hard to get the slant which is so slight, so, I started using old business cards or 3by5 index cards cut to fit the width of the ties. Don't attach the tracks until you run engines over it for a test to make sure it works.:)
 
There's lots of ways to make that transition. I used wood shims. DJ.

P1040207.jpg
 
Here is what I did to make my slight incline from my yard to the main. I used a cereal box and just cut the strips to fit properly and overlapped em n glued em together. It worked pretty good actually, but make your incline as long as possible to avoid "sudden change in elevation uncouplings" like mentioned above. Good luck!
 
I just let the track "hang in the air", then squeezed latex caulk under it. Once it cures, it supports quite well, I had to get creative because the transition was curved. I learned the hard way that you need something between the ties and caulk to keep it from oozing up too much. For that a piece of the yard's cork (very thin) worked well. On the straight ones I used a shim as mentioned previously.
 
Someplace I saw where cedar shingles were used as the transition grade, well living in the south its hard to find cedar shingles or any wooden shingles for that fact. What I did find at Home Depot is extra long carpenters shims, just as long as a shingle just narrower but just the right width for HO track. They work perfectly. I only have made one so far and don't have a picture of it yet. I will do that soon.
 
I have a 5 gal. bucket full of carpenters shims that I use for lots of things.
Approach to RR Crossings, Downgrades & upgrades in roads, slanted building sides. They have come in handy for quite a few years. There are a lot of diff. thicknesses.:D
 
I use HO cork for the mainline
N scale cork for sidings and yards.

Install the ho cork 6"-8" past the end of the switch. Start the n-scale cork at the end of the ho cork.
Use a belt sander with 110 or 220 grit paper and taper the HO cork from the end of the switch down to match the nscale.

Makes a real nice transitions.
 
I make a mould and fill it with drywall mud. It isn't pretty, and it does crack, but once it is dry, I can sand it to a nice smooth curve and surface finish. From there, slap down a roadbed if desired or just use DAP Alex Plus with Silicone to fasten the tracks to that ramp.
 
Since I cut my own roadbed out of insulated sheathing, I just taper my roughly with a rasp, and then sand smooth. My ties glue down on it well.
 
I'm just went through that drill with my layout construction. Ya establish the yard area and make sure its level so the couplers don't come apart. You bring your mainline up to the yard level so the transition isn't an excessive incline. Using shims under the mainline, you make adjustments until the top of the cork roadbed match the top of the yard material. Ensure there isn't an angle at the joint between the track supporting material but instead there is an easement type change in elevation.

This is how I check the transition. I lay the cork then track then two of the longest freight cars I have and check the coupler action as they move over the joint.

IMG_5376.png


I use the level to ensure there isn't excessive incline over the transition.

IMG_5391.png


This the yard throat of the yard with the yard lead cork in the foreground. The double track mainline will run on the right where the loose piece of flex track is laying. The yard extends about 35' curving around to the right where it comes together again and the yard lead on the distant end curves around to the left then follows the wall for about 35'.

IMG_5393.png
 
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