# Hand laid track??



## williep99 (Sep 19, 2008)

I'm mid-point in building the first of my 3 deck truss bridges and was wondering about hand laying the track. I heard that the hand laid tracks appearance is better than the standard plastic tie/track overlay. I have 2 questions though.

First - Does hand laid track have some longevity? Living in Colorado we have some extremes and I worry that the spikes will loosen up quickly. The bridges are built from cedar. Albeit the good stuff I found laying in a dusty corner of my local lumberyard.

Second - Each bridge is approx. 35" in length with 3 attached together on concrete pilings. I would probably lay the track individually on each and clamp them together where the bridges join. Is track expansion and contraction a concern? I don't see them sliding through the spikes smoothly but I could be wrong. If it would help I could place an expansion section on each end.

Thanks, Bill


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## armorsmith (Jun 1, 2008)

Will, 

I can't speak on your first question, but the second one is definately YES. Scan back in this forum, there is a thread dealing specifically with track expansion. 

Bob C.


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## RimfireJim (Mar 25, 2009)

I knew one guy in the San Diego area that hand laid rail on wooden ties, and he said that if he had it to do over again, he wouldn't. Yes, it did look better than plastic ties, but not THAT much better at typical viewing distances. It was a LOT of work, and even worse, the wooden ties (redwood or cedar, I don't remember which) didn't last very long even in a relatively dry climate and with good, sandy soil drainage.


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## williep99 (Sep 19, 2008)

Track on the ground and along the trestles will always be sectional track. I was only looking at spiking track on the bridges themselves. For the expansion of the sectional track I understand the whole package is going to move, thus the use of the expansion joints is a benefit. But when spiked track is used, does it slide under the spikes off the bridge ends (somewhat descriptive) so an expansion joint takes up the slack, or does it lift and twist and and force the spikes out? My length for one bridge is 9' and the other is 12'. 

Thanks, Bill


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## livesteam53 (Jan 4, 2008)

I have always like the look of hand laid track.

So a few years I did a few bridges over the years not to many problems. Some of the spikes did pop up but a quick fix is to stick a drop of glue on them and reset them. 

I am in Las Vegas and in direct sun light which this bridge temp range from 20 - 118 degrees though out the year. I don't think you'll have a problem on your bridges. 

This one is on a curve is 12' of rail with very little movement. My longest straight bridge is 6' and never had a problem.


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## pinewoods (Jan 20, 2009)

Don't use stainless steel spikes, use plain steel. I have done some both ways and have had to redo all of that with the stainless steel spikes. My track has been outside in Pennsylvania for over five years on a gravel roadbed. The stainless spikes worked their way out of the ties every season, the steel rusted a bit but holds tight. Rail is code 250 aluminum on redwood ties.


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## StanleyAmes (Jan 3, 2008)

All of our wood and metal bridges have hand laid stainless steel track. Each tie also has tie plates to improve the looks. 
. 
We use Redwood on most bridges for the ties but a few bridges use mohogney. When we use spikes they are always stainless. 

We solder brass strips (tie plates) to the bottom of the rail about every foot or so and screw these plates to the ties. The tie plates and rails are also glued to the ties using Goo. 

When we use spikes we pre drill them with a hole deeper then the spike and use a little instant glue. Using this method we have never had a spike pop up. 

The difference in look is striking and holds up very well. 

Stan Ames


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## Brendan (Jan 12, 2008)

I've used both plastic sleepers and wooden. My wooden sleepers are pressure treated pine that I ripped down to size. I then give them a coat of enamel paint to match the plastic sleepers. I can't tell the difference. 
Make sure the pine is completely dry before ripping them. A really good source of information is the Saskatoon Railway Modellers web site. I also use the baseboard method and both plastic and wooden sleepers hold up well in the conditions we have here. And wood is really cheap.


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## williep99 (Sep 19, 2008)

OK, I'm going to give it a shot. Especially after 4 hours behing the planer, miter saw, and table saw today. I have enough wood cut to complete all the bridges. Stanley, any chance on seeing a picture of the tie plate? I think I understand what you mean but I'm not quite sure.

Thanks, Bill


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## Don Howard (Jan 2, 2008)

Are your wooden deck truss bridges following the Howe technology, or some other?
Sources for your plans?


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## williep99 (Sep 19, 2008)

Don,

I'm building a deck truss bridge. While the plans don't specifically state they are Howe, I'm fairly sure they are. I bought the plans from brewerplans.com

Bill


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## xo18thfa (Jan 2, 2008)

Hand laid on a bridge is the only way to go. Tie strips don't look right. It's worth the effort.

Mr Brewer's plans are first rate. He's a super nice guy.


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## StanleyAmes (Jan 3, 2008)

Posted By williep99 on 15 Dec 2010 05:44 PM 
OK, I'm going to give it a shot. Especially after 4 hours behing the planer, miter saw, and table saw today. I have enough wood cut to complete all the bridges. Stanley, any chance on seeing a picture of the tie plate? I think I understand what you mean but I'm not quite sure.

Thanks, Bill

Bill

Following are two photos of a deck. Still needs gaurd rails and side timbers.

Stan

The first photo shows the overall deck for this bridge

 

The second photo shows detail of the tie plats. A small piece of brass strip is soldered to the bottom of the rail and screwed to the deck.


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## rpc7271 (Jan 2, 2008)

Tie plates: http://www.walthers.com/exec/productinfo/255-27101


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