Prototypical "tie" spacing for O scale???

Try atlas o.

prohobby:

     When you say tie to tie spacing is 21", do you mean from center of tie to center of tie, or the space between ties?

Thanks,

John Knapp

Erie, not Eerie

 The specification is tie center to tie center.

What are the dimensions for Atlas O?  Tie width?  Tie spacing center to center?

    Here is a comparison of Prototype Track, Prototype in 1/48, Atlas O and ScaleTrax, using your figures, all in decimals and having measured a piece of Atlas O:

                                 Tie Size (Width)                 Tie To Tie Spacing

Prototype Track                  9"                                          21"

Above in 1/48                 .1875"                                     .43"

Atlas O                          .1875"                                      .43"

ScaleTrax                       .1875"                                      .56"

John Knapp

Erie, not Eerie

Tie space is dependent on service. 

Base on Pennsy MOW data:

2'-5 2/3" for Yards, Storage, and Commercial Storage.

2'-1 3/4" for Main Tracks on Branches with Light Traffic and in Running Side Tracks.

22 1/4"   for Main Running Tracks on Branches with Medium Freight and Passenger Traffic.

19 7/9"   for Main Running Tracks of Heavy Freight and Fast Passenger Traffic.

But for ALL the space at a joint is 20".

Also 16" for over Timber Trestle Bridges.

Pro Hobby

Atlas ties are scale in length and width but are deeper than scale.  The rail head height of Atlas track was designed to match Gargraves so the tie and rail height are quite a bit over scale.

ScaleTrax ties are scale in all three dimensions.  That makes transitioning from ScaleTrax sectional or flex track to hand laid track quite simple.  The Northwest Trunk Lines is built with ScaleTrax but has several hand laid switches, bridges, dual gauge segments and other sections that are hand laid with ScaleTrax and other rail.

This bridge has ScaleTrax code 193 rail hand laid on closely spaced scale ties.

This area transitions from ScaleTrax on the left to dual gauge hand laid with code 148 rail on the right.  The bottom right is code 100 On30 flex track.

Code 148 rail simulates contemporary 132 pound per yard rail and is about the lower limit in rail height for reliable operation with three rail wheels.  With code 125 the wheel flanges may hit the spikes as they pass over each tie.

Here are photos of track in Jim Thorpe for comparison

PRRrobh:

     The Railway Tie Association indicates that tie spacing (center to center) of 19.5" is the standard!

     That would be .406" in 1/48.

John Knapp

Erie, not Eerie

There's a "Railway Tie Association"??

There are standards for everything.  Prototype main line track using wood ties will have spacing between 19" and 20".  Branch line/light duty could be considerably wider.  There is an Army tech manual that covers most of the prototype specs regarding rail and clearances.  It's even free:

manual 1

manual 2

The best looking track for DISPLAY purposes is probably going to be Atlas O two rail flex.  This stuff has correct tie spacing, rail height, tie size (at least for wooden ties).  It may not handle equipment with deep flanges because the rail height is low (code 148) as opposed to the code 215 in the 3 rail version.

Well I do, but there are many that use either Atlas or ME (Micro Engineering). 

Atlas O two rail that's been weathered with Testors Rail Markers and sitting on sculpted styrofoam and Woodland scenics roadbed that was painted with the textured "granite" spray paint.

I think the Ross section track, especially when installed in the Ross Roadbed, is pretty close to prototypical.

(I'm sure some nitpicker will have issues with how my track looks.  Of course, to the nitpickers I ask, "Do you have a steam locomotive on your layout with a real fire in the boiler burning real coal or oil to heat real water to create live steam to power the wheels?  Are your diesels fueled with fossil fuels?  Oh, you don't?  Still using that electricity and electric motors?  That isn't true to the prototype, is it?") 

I use GarGraves and Ross,but.  The ties are way way OVER sized.

Addendum:

Also from Pennsy MOW data.

Ties have a profile of 7" X 9". 

And 125# rail is 6 1/2' high.

GarGrave and Ross ties measure about .25" X .33" which in 1:48 scale up about to 12" X 16".  So GarGrave and Ross ties are almost double sized.

I have hand laid all my track work (scale O) and for speed and ease, I separate my ties by the thickness of 1 tie. In other words I use a tie as a spacer. Looks good to me. And I don't need a michrometer!