Railroad Ties

There is an advertiser in CTT that sells ties. Check there if nothing else but have you considered making your own? Nothing much simpler than setting us a jig and cutting a few feet of bass wood! Then get some double sided tape, stick them down, get a rag/brush and some stain and go to town! Good Sunday afternoon project. Gee thanks, now i have to go buy some wood! I was going to leave mine the way it was untill.........

Good luck!

Bruce, I used 3/4" by 1/4" pine window screen molding. I was able to cut a lot of ties out of one strip. The molding is the correct width and height to match the metal ties attached to the track. I painted my ties black and used wood glue to secure them to the track bed. Here is how they turn out:





Rick

Rick, that's very nice looking tubular track work!

Dennis

Wardie Jay. They advertised in OGR at one time. In run 249 on page 14 is an article as part of the Smoke Signals department.

Located in Gap, Pa. the number is 717-687-6007. Jim Lyle's Toy Trains.

The 1/4" thick strips will work for O gauge track, 1/8" thick ties are needed for O27 gauge track. I have O27 gauge track in O42 and O54 radius and I make my extra ties from 1/8" Masonite.

quote:

Originally posted by Mike D:
The 1/4" thick strips will work for O gauge track, 1/8" thick ties are needed for O27 gauge track. I have O27 gauge track in O42 and O54 radius and I make my extra ties from 1/8" Masonite.

I was considering doing adding more ties to my O27 track, do you have any good way to make a lot of ties in a short period of time?

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I was considering doing adding more ties to my O27 track, do you have any good way to make a lot of ties in a short period of time?

No. It takes a little effort. I made the first set by cutting a sheet of Masonite into small squares then I cut the squares into strips and to length on my miter saw. I think I made about 150, including setup time and sanding, in about 45 minutes. Next time I will cut strips with my table saw and cut them to length with the miter saw. This should speed things up.

I cut mine from pine on a table saw .I made a new plate for the blade so there wasn't as much gap and set the rip fence to 1/4 .Once everything is set up and going you can really zing them off.


David

quote:

Once everything is set up and going you can really zing them off.

Try to not zing off your fingers!

I made most of the ties (scale) for under my rail using a band saw with 3 fences that I cobbled together for height, width, and length. A little time investment but all the scrap wood in the shop stopped being scrap and became ties.

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Originally posted by mwb:

quote:

Once everything is set up and going you can really zing them off.

Try to not zing off your fingers!

I made most of the ties (scale) for under my rail using a band saw with 3 fences that I cobbled together for height, width, and length. A little time investment but all the scrap wood in the shop stopped being scrap and became ties.

Man makes a good point .Those of you out there that don't know about shop safety or the proper way to use that new saw you just bought, may want to invest in a wood working or metal working class at your local community college .I need my digits .I can't play the piano or banjo without them and it'd be a shame if after buying that new "Does it all in one thingy" to make stuff for your layout everybody now calls you nine fingers

Here's a simple test to see if you qualify:

When using a table saw if you don't know what a "Push Stick" is ???

You need a shop class

David

Lol. Glad you guys appreciate shop safety. I was raised with tools so I can use them to get the job done. I may just try my hand at making my own ties.

quote:

Lol. Glad you guys appreciate shop safety. I was raised with tools so I can use them to get the job done. I may just try my hand at making my own ties.

If you have the tools and the time, go for it. A 4X8 sheet of 1/8" Masonite/hardboard is less than $9 and will provide hundreds of ties. Another option, which is more expensive but far less work is to buy Basswood strips. The closest size to matching the stamped steel ties that come on the track is 1/8" X 1/2". MicroMark has 10 packs in 24" lengths for $16.00, that will yield 100+ ties, to give an example of cost difference. For those using O-gauge track, the price goes up about $6.00 for the same quantity in the 1/4" thick size.

I get this craft foam from Hobby Lobby. It'easy to cut with a utility knife. It comes in brown for O27 track or black for "O" so you don't have to paint it.

Another approach is rubber or neoprene ties slightly deeper than the steel ties, so that the track rests on rubber or neoprene and the steel ties do not contact the base, providing sound isolation. Moondog used to market such ties. Now the best way seems to be to buy sheet stock of Neoprene (for example, on eBay) and cut ties from the sheets with a sharp knife. I am not certain whether or not 1/4" sheet is thick enough to isolate the steel ties from the base, will measure.

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Originally posted by dkdkrd:

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if you don't know what a "Push Stick" is ???

Da, comrade!

"Pushistik" in Russian means "Fluffy One".

Lucas Gudinov

In English it means the guy who still has all his fingers

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Originally posted by Ranger Rick:
Bruce, I used 3/4" by 1/4" pine window screen molding. I was able to cut a lot of ties out of one strip. The molding is the correct width and height to match the metal ties attached to the track. I painted my ties black and used wood glue to secure them to the track bed. Here is how they turn out:





Rick

Boy does that look good, it's exactly what I am lookig for, thanks for the pictures. What did you use for the rails? That looks good also.

Thanks to Dennis and johnnybil57 concerning the track work. It was an attempt to make the O-31 track that I had since the 50's as realistic as possible. I do think "weathering" the rails helps this allusion. There are many methods for painting the rails and I probably chose the cheapest way possible. I painted the rails with inexpensive acrylic paints from Michaels (such as Americana and Ceramcoat brands). The Americana color is Light Cinnamon which is the color you see in the pictures. I am also using Brown Iron Oxide using the Ceramcoat brand. Any of the acrylic black paints work for the middle rail. I used a small stiff paint brush to apply the paint.

Rick

Here is a link to how I did my ties on O27 track. Hope this is useful to someone.
http://cs.trains.com/TRCCS/forums/t/196968.aspx

TrainManMike, where did you get the wood at?

I bought a mix of balsa and basswood spars at my LHS. The balsa spars were .50 and the basswoood was .75.

I also found this place online and they seem to have good prices. Cheaper than what I paid.

There are a bunch of other places that sell it too. I just Googled "buy balsa wood".

http://www.nationalbalsa.com/S...earch=1%2F8x1%2F2x48

Whatever you do, DO NOT color your ties with RIT black dye. It contains salt, which will rust Lionel tubular track. I know.

I just use coffee stirs.



Cheap, easy to cut, and once the track is ballested you can't tell the thickness. I cut 'em with a utility knife, spray painted brown, and slid under the rails. I might have used white glue to keep them in place before the ballest.

Making your own railroad ties is far more rewarding than purchasing premade ones. I used 1/4 x 1/8 basswood, cut to length and then painted black. The 1/8" thickness is a perfect fit between the tubular track and cork roadbed.

quote:

Originally posted by bag09:
Can anyone tell me where I can purchase RR ties for my layout. I am using regular tubular track and want to add the extra wood ties. Thanks for any help that you can provide.

Bruce

3R Plastics Not wood, but if you're looking for simple...

And, Mike, you did a great job!

I just use the approximate tie size in Basswood and cut them to length. To paint them black, I mix up a "cocktail" of black and burnt umber cheap acrylic paints from the local craft store. I use an empty 2 liter bottle and pour the paint and a little bit of water (to thin it out) and then put all the ties in the bottle. After that I shake vigorously for a couple mins and then let it sit for a day. After that you let em dry and your good to go.