Advice Wanted: Source of rail and wide ties for hand-laying track

You are probably going to need switch ties, i.e., about 4" long, 16 scale feet.  Code 148 rail or better for heavy industrial rails.  Try Right-o-Way.

Just a thought.

Ed

Have you considered slicing  the center out of a strip of flex track.  Crane rails can be 20 +/- feet apart.  Maybe think of using "concrete" tie track.

I am thinking that you mean "long" ties.  Like 20 feet or so.   Not wide ties like 18" or so, right?

If this is a less serious effort you may want to give GarGraves a call.  They have an over width 5 rail track which is made with  3 rail track in the center with a pair of wide rails for a rolling gantry crane.  Bury it in gravel to hide the oversized ties and rail.

GG will make any of their track in 2 rail.  Even 2 rail crane track.

All one piece with long ties.

As a matter of fact, I starting today to cut up about 500 to 600 board feet of sugar pine to make ties.  Make more sawdust than anything else. 

Jay

Tom Tee posted:

Have you considered slicing  the center out of a strip of flex track.  Crane rails can be 20 +/- feet apart.  Maybe think of using "concrete" tie track.

I am thinking that you mean "long" ties.  Like 20 feet or so.   Not wide ties like 18" or so, right?

If this is a less serious effort you may want to give GarGraves a call.  They have an over width 5 rail track which is made with  3 rail track in the center with a pair of wide rails for a rolling gantry crane.  Bury it in gravel to hide the oversized ties and rail.

GG will make any of their track in 2 rail.  Even 2 rail crane track.

All one piece with long ties.

Tom,

That is a really good idea - very much worth considering.  Thank you!     It would save a great deal of time. 

Instead of burying the ties in gravel, I would put a sheet of styrene over them to simulate a metal industrial floor.  I'll check the width of that track to see how well it fits inside the mill building.

George

George,  GarGraves will make one of those crane multi rail track beds in 2 rail for about the same money.   Or maybe find a three rail version and remove the center rail.  Never did that. just supposin'.

May be easier to straight edge trowel plaster over the installed track  with small strips of plastic next to the insides of the rails.  If you are going to use troweled plaster you may get away with  just troweling the plaster tight in against the middle rail and texture paint the entire plastered surface.  Apply a little oil on the inside of the outside rails and the thin strips of Plastic flange plugs to inhibit plaster from sticking for a easy clean up.  We have used grease or petroleum jelly instead of oil if that is handy for you.

 I took this picture off Altoona Modeleorks site. It is the floor of their car maintenance shop. The rails slip into the base. They state they offer custom work. Maybe worth a call if you have a plan in place for your mill.

Been cutting tie stock all week. Around 500 board feet. Should be enough for 300 to 350 bags of ties. Hopefully enough to last a while. Burned up the motor on my old Craftsman 12". One more clean-up cut and I'll be ready to rip some actual ties. Three tie strips per slat (what in the photo.  Should be around 265,000 ties.  That ought to last a while.

I'm whipped for today. No more self installed splints this time.

Lou was right, sure makes a lot of sawdust.....and me
with no orchard to dump it in.

Jay

So 350-ish bags of ties and 400(?) bags of ground cover?