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I have what amounts to a silly question.  I am handlaying my track and am wondering how do you guys get those dead straight stretches of track?....I am using 3 to 4 track gauges and still after I have done 2 or 3 feet I take a looksee and there is just a wee bit of wiggle in the rails.  Needless to say I have had to go back and tweek it in some spots, others are not bad but I am absolutely missing something here...possibly some I.Q. points...  So fellow handlayers whats your secret? I am using tie plates and 4 spikes per tie so getting it right the first time would be very helpful and save on a bunch of swearing.  Thanks in advance for the help.....

 

 

 

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Tweaking as is necessary to keep at least both rails in parallel and in gauge is about all I worry about achieving.  36" steel rule, 1 rail at a time, gauges in place - I think that I just used a bit of wood lathing between the rails at times.

 

Perfection is not actually necessary; if the cars and power roll and work, then that's generally enough "tweaking".  Swearing is optional however combined with drinking is contributory to progress.

I had the same question a few years ago and the answer I received was to use a piece of aluminum, !" by 1/8" by 6'.  It is available at almost any hardware store.  Make sure the piece you buy is straight.  Position the aluminum straitedge with 1" brads.  Spike one side of the rail every 8th tie.  Remove the straight edge and spike the other side.  Then go back and fill in between the spiked ties.  Works for me.

Regards,

Ed

Depending on the size rail being spiked you can inadvertently introduce irregularity from the side forces of setting the spikes in place. I once handlaid a bunch of code 70 in HO and there was precious little truly straight track after spiking.

 

Also consider Ed Ruetlings approach...he is practically famous for his photo of some back alley industrial trackage he handlaid which looks positively decrepid, and wonderful for it's undulating irregularity.

 

A straight edge is a reasonable tool Chris...as others have noted, but ones eyesite is the best tool for sighting down the track for it's straightness value.

 

Good Luck with it.

 

Bob

Ed I like the idea, I am going to have to try it and see what happens. 

 

Bob I remember that work by Ed R. It was a beautiful mess of track, the entire scene was great.  I am going to try the straight edge and Ed's suggestion above.

 

Ken that sounds great, I would love to see a photo when you have a chance.

 

Thanks for all the input everyone, it helps and I appreciate it.   

Matt now that would be very cool to model.  There isn't a straight line in sight..

 

Ken thank you for the picture.  I like the roller gauge, that is a great idea.  I am using 3 point gauges & NMRA gauges.  I think I am going to go and fab up a gauge out of aluminum flat stock similar to what you have there, I like the notched end for the correct space from the edge of the tie.

Another help is to use T-pins from the local "Office Despot" to hold the first rail in the line you desire. First spike that rail many ties apart to establish the direction, give it the eyeball test, tweak the installed spikes as needed then come back and spike every 4th tie or whatever you desire as your personal standard.

 

Roller or 3-poiont gages can be a big help to hold the second rail in gage ahead of the area you are spiking. I don't know anyone who sells O-scale rollers commercially but I made some for use by friends on the A&O track gang. One difficulty with roller gages is that they should be custom made with grooves to match the width of the rail head you use, and also gaged to match the standard practices of the layout owner when he employs other gages such as the NMRA. I've observed that some hand-layers run the NMRA as a hard minimum go/no go gage and spike the track close to the tight side of tolerances. Others might try to run the middle of the tolerance. Both are technically correct but two gages that conform to different uses can produce frustration, just as "a man with two watches can never tell the time!"

 

All the best.

Bob

 

PS: If I can figure out how to include images from my Smugmug account just as I used to do very easily, I'll add some photos to what I described. So far, for me, this new forum has been one step forward and three steps backward...

Last edited by riogrande491
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