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Track, pointwork and crossings.
Standard Code 80 and Fine Code 55 Peco Ngauge track and pointwork will allow for reasonably complex layouts to be easily assembled but in some situations points can be modified to allow specific formations to fit into limited space or to produce formations unavailable in the rail type you are using. These modifications range from simply shortening the lead in rails at the toe end of a point connection to allow for two points to be laid with the point operating bars closer together to provide the functionality of a double slip configuration, although this method takes more space than an `out of the box' Peco double slip. The Peco double slip is only available made with code 55 rail so close fitting two modified points is an easy option for those using code 80 rail. The more complex modifications would be nested points or custom configurations where a standard track component, say a scissors crossing has another line crossing the whole configuration or a scissors crossing with double slip incorporated into it to save space and/or increase length of the siding/loop/plaftorm road in the available space.
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Set One
Image 1-1: View from Up loop/sidings showing curved pointwork used on sidings and mainline connection, all track and pointwork has been painted with several different shades in an attempt to give an overall rusty appearace with patches or rust, oil, dirt & grime.
Image 1-2: View of `scissors crossing' constructed with 4 Peco code 80 medium radius points and one Peco code 80 short crossing. These are standard `out of the box' parts that have not been modified. Peco do produce a complete `scissors crossing' as a ready to lay item but I required a much wider spacing between the two outer tracks to allow for a siding in between them. (photo taken from above stop block on the siding)
Image 1-3: The points are all `electrofrog' (live metal crossing frog) with only the short crossing being `insulfrog' (insulated plastic crossing frog) There is also a catch point incorporated in the right hand running rail which is used to protect the mainline from runaway stock during shunting, a runaway wagon would be derailed here preventing the mainline from being fouled.
Image 1-4: View from above Mainline showing mix of curved and straight pointwork at East end of station. The trailing connection between Up & Down lines is made with one Left hand and one Right hand medium radius straight code 80 point with a facing curved point on the Down line leading onto the Down loop and the shed/goods yard situated to the photographers Left. (Photo taken from above the East end tunnel) The signal here was the first operated by rods & cranks below the baseboard, this worked well for a few weeks and finally the top of the post snapped off at the bearing pin hole. I have since reverted to metal signal posts for operational signals, the plasitc signal posts being used for fixed (non operational) signals.
Set Two
Image 2-1: Looking West from the shed yard, the points in the foreground have been modified, with sections of straight rail removed from each point to bring them closer together than possible with standard points. The left hand connection is the siding that ends just before the `scissors crossing' which can be seen in the distance. The Mainline curves into the station from the right of the picture. All pointwork is Medium or Long radius Peco code 80.
Image 2-2: Scissors Crossing and Double Slip shown seperate, unmodified, both are Peco code 55 `out of the box' track units (those shown here have had the rail sides and sleepers painted) They are both relatively long sections of track but take up a lot less space than the same formations made from standard pointwork. The overall length of the scissors crossing and double slip units can be greatly reduced by incorporating the double slip into the scissors crossing formation, with the double slip replacing one of the four standard points that make up the scissors formation.
Image 2-3: Incorporating a Double slip into one end of a Peco `out of the box' scissors crossing formation. This is not an easy track modification but is most usefull in limited space applications. Diagram shows point throw bar modifications, cutting path and position of new checkrails. These track components are only available in Code 55 (fine) rail section Not code 80 (standard), but they can be made to match up to code 80 rail for incorporation into a layout using standard rail with a bit of packing, fiddling and filing. The resulting difference in sleepering and added packing below the code 55 track can be hidden when laying the ballast.
Image 2-4: Real track at Hamworthy. This shows how the colour of the railtops has changed, both running rails and the 3rd rail carrying traction current have a coating of rust a few hours after the trains have stopped. On the day this photo was taken services were stopped by strike action and the last train had passed approximately 10 hours before I took the photo. -
R
eal track is not always shiny. If there is one thing that spoils the illusion of a model railway it is unpainted trackwork. By looking at real track or photographs of the location/area you are modelling, it is much easier to paint the track sides the right colours giving a more believable result with the track blending into the layout. On busy lines the rail tops will be shiny, but on sidings and lines with less frequent services the track colour is noticeably different. Before the first train of the day the track looks anything but shiny! (see photo above) The top and side faces of the rails are polished to a shine by the passage of the trains wheels, after each train passes the surface of the rail immediately begines to oxidise, this is a slow but sure process on steel. After a while (time dependant on atmospheric conditions) the rails look decidedly yellow, after a few hours the rust has grown quite noticeable.
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