Small HO Scale Layout Build - Ep. 5: Laying Track - The Grunge
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- čas přidán 3. 08. 2024
- It's not much of a railroad without track. In this episode, as we continue building the small HO Scale layout called "The Grunge," we talk all about adding track, including preparing the roadbed/subroadbed, the tools required, the type(s) of track we're using, and practical demonstration everything that's required for laying track: cutting, trimming, fitting, laying, and testing. There are also plenty of the hints and tips that I make use of when laying track. With six turnouts and six piece of flextrack, we have enough trackwork for a switching layout.
If you've ever wanted to build a small switching layout but didn't know where to start, this series is for you because it's all about how to build a small layout! There's a lot to think about when building a small layout, especially in a tight space, and we'll cover everything you need to know. This is the fifth episode in the series on building a small HO scale layout.
Chapters:
00:00 - Intro
01:05 - Roadbed? Subroadbed? What's it mean?
03:07 - Preparing to Attach the Subroadbed
03:48 - Painting and Assembly
06:47 - Flextrack, Ties, and Rail Joiners
08:42 - Tools of the Tracklaying Trade
08:58 - Laying Track: Getting Started
09:26 - Laying Track: Marking Track Locations
12:15 - Laying Track: Laying Turnouts
14:15 - Laying Track: Cutting & Fitting Track / Rotary Tool
17:15 - Laying Track: Laying Flextrack
20:05 - Laying Track: Connecting Crossovers
23:18 - Laying Track: Trimming Ties to Fill Gaps
25:25 - Testing the Track
26:05 - Wrap Up
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Track plan for "The Grunge" Layout: www.chessiemctd.com/the-grunge...
#modelrailroading #switchinglayout #trackwork #modelrailroad - Jak na to + styl
Your tutorials are easy to understand and follow. * subscribed *
Thank you! Glad you like them!
Very instructive video. I have assembled a layout board with the same measurements using Gatorfoam and will be naming my layout The Grange. Just a village at a wide spot on the mainline 20 miles from the big city. Will have a lumber yard, propane/lpg distributor, fertilizer distributor, team track and a small plastics factory. Rural but growing. Thanks for all your vids.
You can buy a extension Cord for Christmas trees that have a plug you step on to turn the off and on, if you plug the Dremel into that instead you can turn the Dremel on /off with you foot if you are using the flex extender it let's you hold the work and extension, great vid keep them up
Great idea! I'll give that a try.
Hello...
I decided to get back into the hobby and you help me a lot. I don't have much room so I' am using this track with little modifications. I have a 2' x12' from previews layout that I never finish.
Maybe this time I will Lord permits. Just wanted to say thank you.
Glad I could help! Keep me posted about your progress. 🙂
When adding that short piece of crossover track between two turnouts, remove an extra tie from one end so that you can slide the entire rail joiner onto the section of flex track, lay it in place then slide the rail joiners onto the turnout.
Thank you for that tip, which, in retrospect should have been so obvious! I usually try to remove a minimum of ties so the joiners don't slide too much, but in this case, that would be perfect. Thanks for watching!
Nicely done.
Club I used to be a member of used Homasote (spelling is very bad) for the road bed. It was cut and had an angle on it for the shoulder of the road. We needed more so I volunteered to cut a 4 X 8 piece of it up. Thankfully I had taken the table saw outside because the side yard looked like it had snowed gray snow. Took a couple of weeks to get rid of the "snow"... If you go to one of the "big box" stores, you can (sometimes) get the ceiling tiles that have been damaged for a pretty low cost. Tee-Hee-Hee... I never (that is really true) have any shorts on my road. I have a reversing loop and 2 "Y's" to turn engines around. Why don't I ever have shorts??? Because I don't have any electricity running in my rails. Yes, I use battery powered engines and if you didn't know it, you wouldn't see any difference in my engines. I also never have engines stop or get stuck as the rail doesn't have to be clean. I can even run on painted rail. The little excess tabs on the ends of the rail joiners get cut off when I cut them apart. Looks better...I have a friend that printed out his track plan like you did, and then used a "pounce wheel" to mark the center of the track, dusted the printout with black powder (messy, yes but very effective) and had the exact center lines for his cork road bed. Sprayed the dust with a hair spray. I use a chalk line to mark any straight lines I need on my sub-roadbed. Really like Atlas flex track. I use code 83... Found a metal cut off wheel at micro Mark and it doesn't seem to have the shattering problems that some of the other cutting wheels have. Yes, you should have waited to tack all of the track down. I start at one end and fasten the track in place as I go down the length of the road. Bu the way, did you forget to cut a slot under the turnouts for any switch motors you might want to install some time later??? I sand down the ties until the slide in and then I use a drop of real thin super glue to make them stay where I want them to stay. Track problem are a real pain in the A&#... (back side)...
I am VERY interested in dead rail. But I don’t feel like the technology is quite there yet. But I do believe it’s close and it’s going to be the next big thing in model railroading.
Looking good brother track is funny sometimes thank you for sharing your layout
Thanks for watching! We're getting there.
On cutting your ties to fill gaps, just cut off one plastic spike off each tie plate right side then side the nipped side under the first rail then under the second rail. This will then keep the spike showing on the isles side and hold it in place.
Or cut off all 4 then super glue them in place.
Excellent tip! Thanks!
Loving the videos, but you should buy a smaller hammer.😂
I see others have already addressed one of my questions (rail joiner fitting). My other question is in regards to using the track nails. If you're concerned about having realistic track and ties for photos, why drill unrealistic holes in ties and use nails? Why not just use push pins/thumb tacks in between the ties to tack things in place?
It's a good point. There's no reason you couldn't do as you describe, and it certainly wouldn't cause any problems on a porject the size of The Grunge.
Great video. I have had good luck with using a pounce wheel (from my wife's sewing room) and carbon paper to transfer the track plan from full size print outs to the table top. Just an idea for the next time.
If things were more complicated I might have needed to do that, but this one is pretty basic. The big layout is much tougher!
Great series so far. I am currently building my own shelf layout, and it is reassuring to see someone else with more layout building experience doing what I have done. I'm using Peco code83 track, and from experience do not recommend using different brands of track together. Different manufacturer's use very different standards for rail profile and tie size/spacing. For the most reliable/trouble free track I'd always recommend using just one brand for all your track!
I’ve always used the combination of Atlas track and Peco turnouts. Even with the differences in their profiles, I’ve never had any issues. You are right though, sometimes the differences between brands can be quite noticeable.
I like [P e c o] turnouts, have them in [N scale] ; I want to build an (18"x6') switching track plan
I've always been a fan of Peco turnouts myself. With 18" x 6' in N scale, you could easily build something like The Grunge and even expand it.
This is a great video series and I'm considering building something like this. Did you ever say what the height of the your layout is above the floor?
Thanks
The Grunge sits on top of 36 inch high bookshelves, and the benchwork box is about 4 inches high. If you sit in a rolling chair, the height is nearly eye level.
What type of camera and editing software do you use?... The videos and the quality are excellent
I use only the most expensive pro-grade equipment and software:
- iPhone 11 and the FilmicPro App
- Corel VisualStudio Ultimate (
22:30 Surprised you didn't do what CAROL is saying below !! Joiners go fully onto rails so as to not be sticking out.. New short track piece is laid down between existing tracks (in this case 2 turnouts) and then joiners are slid back out half way, onto existing rails.. This prevents the clumsy bending upward you are doing....
No question that would have been easier. I was trying to err on the side of removing as few ties as possible, but in the end I didn't really save much by not doing it the way Carol suggested.
Progress is quick...but seems to have stalled....
There’s water in the fuel line. 😉