In my last post there seemed to be some interest in the Fast Tracks jigs and assembly fixtures made popular by Tim Warris and company in Canada. I thought I’d share my experience and thoughts about building a layout with them.
To start with I lost my layout to a house fire back in 2009 so I was starting over from nothing. I was able to salvage some On30 rolling stock and locomotives and some buildings that were stored in cabinets and underneath things as they did not get too soaked. The layout, track, scenery and most electronics were soggy toast.
I wanted to have an O scale layout with O standard as well as On30 track and was limited to an area in my fiancé’s basement of about 19’ X 18’, hence my one 36” curve.
I purchased jigs in O standard (code 100 branchline) of 36”, 40”, 42” and 48” curves as well as straight and # 4.5 and # 6 turnouts. In On30, I purchased (code 70 branchline) #4, #5, #5wye, # 6, and # 6-3 way. Also a straight and curves of 22, 24, 26, 28, 30”. I mention all these as, had I to do it again, I would not have purchased so many different radii jigs. The turnout jigs (for me anyway) are a must as they allow a fine working turnout to be made over and over in about 45 minutes. Get the frog and point tools as well as they save a lot of time. I’m using code 100 and code 70 as I am modeling an old, back woodsy outfit. Also, I think the smaller rail makes the tighter curves I have look broader.
As to the curved track I would still get a jig for 36” (O) and 22” (On30) as this is tight a radius is critical to have consistent. For the second radius in O I would get 44” the other 2 in On30, 26 and 30, saving the cost of 2 jigs.
Here’s why:
As I started laying the O standard track, I used to make an easement for a 40” curve, for example, by using the 48” jig to attach about 4 ties, then the 42” for the next 2 and then down to 40” and then back at the other end. I then found using Tim’s sweepsticks and a couple of track gauges after soldering only the inside rail of the curve to the PC board ties in the jig gives you much more flexibility for easements and variable radii curves, much more natural looking and a lot faster. Except for the accuracy needed for minimum radii you could get away with using just a straight jig. Here’s quick video of using sweepsticks to make easements.
Track and roadbed alignment: what I’ve learned.
My sub roadbed is what used to be called ½ inch plywood with homasote on top. I use cork roadbed but do not like the commercial stuff as it’s too thick. I buy rolls of 1/16th inch cork at Michaels, Ace or wherever I can get it on sale and cut it into strips 1 ¼” wide, half the total width needed (10 scale feet) with my power miter saw.
Here’s where it gets interesting.
The basic premise of the Fast Track system is soldering NS rail to PC board “ties” for alignment and strength. The PC ties are spaced at the same spacing on all their jigs and tie racks of the same type, i.e. Mainline, Branchline and Siding (in O). I use Branchline which works out to 5 wooden ties between every PC tie. In theory one loads up the “tie rack” with wooden ties, leaving out every 5th tie for the PC tie, then presses some masking tape to the tops of the ties. You then pull the whole strip out and place it on the cork you’ve laid down on the homasote and then set the rail and PC ties down onto the wooden ties and glue or spike. Easy, right? Well for straight track it is because a straight line drawn with ruler is always straight and everything will line up fine. The only straight track I have is in my small 4 track yard at one end of the run with the turntable, fuel and water facilities and enginehouse. The rest of the layout has curves. The problem comes because of the basic premise of the rail and PC ties being assembled first. No matter how carefully you measure and mark it is nearly impossible to get the wooden ties lined up with the PC ties and the edge of the cork roadbed and everything centered under the rail, all at the same time. The masking tape is not that flexible and it also blocks your view of any centerline you have. I’ve tried thin masking tape, plastic electrical tape and nothing seems to help. As you bend the strip of ties to follow the curve, the ties lose their spacing to the PC ties. Using slow setting glue for the wooden ties allows some time to monkey around getting everything lined up, but it’s very time consuming.
I now do it this way. Assemble your rail and PC ties exactly how you want the curves to lay and place this on the homasote. I then use a little wooden jig to slide the marking pen between the rails for a center line. Remove the rail and using water based Weldwood Contact cement (no stink or getting high with this stuff!) spread a thin coat on the homasote and the cork. Once dry carefully apply one side following the centerline and then the other. Get it right because you only get one shot at it. I tip the cork so its edge follows the center line then lower it to final position. Once down, run a wallpaper edge roller over it. Done. Prior to laying the track I run a 6” long sanding block over it to get it smooth.
Put the rail with the PC ties down joining it to the last piece laid and use a clamp to hold it in place. I now place a wood tie centered with a little wooden jig between the PC ties and use CA to attach it to the cork. I spike these in place so I can remove the clamp. I can now run a train over the new track to see how everything works. Later I use the same spacing jig for the 2 ties needed to fill the gap. I spike every second tie with the smallest micro spikes I can find where they are visible. I use bigger spikes on the non visible side. Don’t worry about the different thickness of the wood ties and the PC ties as that will disappear with the ballasting.
For turnout control I use Caboose Industries HO scale high switchstands which I find exactly correct in O scale. To control frog polarity I attach a micro switch under the switchstand with an extension up through a hole that is activated by the sliding bar of the stand.
Painting the PC ties and rail. I pour some Polyscale roof brown or Tamiya medium brown into 3 small cups and add a little black to one and white to the other and mix the shades on the ties of assembled rail. On the rail I use Floquil rail brown (stinky) but have ordered Micro Luc rail brown in acrylic.
Ballast. I make my own using a 50lb sack of sand, different sized sieves and color it with my trusty sanded grout.
That’s about it. I have found the Fast Tracks system to be of the highest quality and easy to use. Like everything you learn tricks as you go along.
A few musts: You should use Micro Engineering rail as others will not fit the slot in the assembly jig properly. You must wash off the rail and PC ties with soapy water after or you will get a lovely green patina on the rail and ties and the paint won’t stick to the ties or rail. You must use a good quality solder and flux. I prefer my resistance soldering station as the tweezers heat both sides of the rail web quickly. Now if I could devise a way to hold two pieces of solder at the same time…………….!
Have fun and now go build something!!
Peter
