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 Author | Topic: Rail Road Ties (Read 690 times) |
CurtisHustace
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|  | Rail Road Ties
« Thread Started on May 16, 2005, 5:55pm » | |
Ok, I need to pick your brains.
I am planning a new house. Around this house will run a 1500' to 2000' railroad. Now I am trying to figure out the best solution for ties for the least amount of money. I have looked at plastic ties, treated 2x4's cut to 14" lengths, 2x2's cut to 14" lengths.
I am looking for alternate solutions. Has anyone tried landscaping ties? Concrete? If concrete, how did you make them? Any experience with Groovey track? Is bar stock cheaper than rail?
Inquiring minds want to know.
Curtis Hustace
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mike
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| | Re: Rail Road Ties
« Reply #1 on May 18, 2005, 12:38pm » | |
Hi, I'm in the same boat as you. So far I think that I'm going with the groovy track the steel is available to me in town and it would be easier to locate; second hand stuff as well. As for the wood I have a friend that owns a lumber mill and I think that I'll go with pressure treated 2x4, but I'm still looking for cheaper materials. Keep me posted as to your progress. 
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CurtisHustace
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| | Re: Rail Road Ties
« Reply #2 on May 18, 2005, 9:53pm » | |
Quote:| Hi, I'm in the same boat as you. So far I think that I'm going with the groovy track the steel is available to me in town and it would be easier to locate; second hand stuff as well. As for the wood I have a friend that owns a lumber mill and I think that I'll go with pressure treated 2x4, but I'm still looking for cheaper materials. Keep me posted as to your progress. |
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Mike:
Thx for the response. I have been looking at all types of lumber, 2x2's, 2x4's, 4x4's, 4x4's cut into 2x2's (the cheapest.) Plastic ties I can get as cheaply as .99 cents for a 2x2 14" tie. I can make a tie out of treated 2x4x8 cut to 13.5" ties (giving you 7 ties/8' section) for around .52cents/tie. I also figured if I use a 2x2, I can get treated ballisters (used in hand rails) for .32 cents per 14" tie. Some of those aren't treated all that well though and although they are a cheaper solution, they are not ideal. I think I might go the cheap route to get things built and running. I figure they will last a few years if I keep them out of the water and drainage is good. As they rott, I will replace them with plastic ties over time.
I considered groovy track, but the price Im getting for bar stock is far more expensive than the simple aluminum rail. I prefer steel as the expansion rate is 1/10 of aluminum and adhesion is better, but Aluminum would be easy to handle and I am able to replace those ties easier than pounding them off if they were pressed into the tie.
Just some thoughts.
Thx.
Curtis
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Cement Ties
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Khyron6
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| | Re: Rail Road Ties
« Reply #4 on May 22, 2005, 5:36am » | |
Opps forgot to log in. Keep us informed of your progress please. 
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BOB LA COSTE
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| | Re: Rail Road Ties
« Reply #5 on May 24, 2005, 8:54pm » | |
HI GUYS
I DEAL WITH A SMALL LUMBER YARD LOCALY AND HE WAS ABLE TO GET ME 500 2X2 BY 8' FOR A $1.00 EACH. THEY WERE ALL TREATED BUT THEY WERE REJECTS BECOUSE THEY WERE ALL TWISTED. WHEN CUT TO 13.5" THE TWIST DID NOT MATTER. CHECKING LOWES AND HOME DEPOE I BELEIVE YOU CAN FIND THE SAME DEAL.
I FOUND I CAN BUY 1"#10 WASHER HEAD SCREWS FOR ABOUT $4.00 PER HUNDRED, IT TAKES ABOUT 140 SCREWS PER 12' TRACK SECTION. ANYBODY HAVE A BETTER WAYTO SCREW DOWN THE RAIL.
THE 500 2X2 WILL MAKE 3500 TIES. THE 3500 TIES WILL NEED 14000 SCREWS, MAN THATS A LOT OF SCREWING. I USE 35 TIES PER 12' TRACK SECTION
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DavidT
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| | Re: Rail Road Ties
« Reply #6 on May 31, 2005, 12:13am » | |
Old groovy track ties do not have to be pounded off! They will be loose enought to almost fall off. From track repair experiance at PNLS.
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GoldenSpike53
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| | Re: Rail Road Ties
« Reply #7 on Jun 3, 2005, 9:09am » | |
As to concrete ties...
...our club track put in a section coming up to our girder bridge using concrete ties. I asked the club VP about it, and he said they were not entirely satisfied with them and planned to replace them. He didn't really illucidate. If I get a chance, I'll ask him about specifics. They had bolts installed as they were set up, then a nut put on to hold the rail down. I've seen similar things in a couple of places with full size railroad, but it doesn't seem to have caught on that much. Hmmm, maybe there's a reason for that?
Dale Dennis
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Dale Jay Dennis
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pockets
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| | Re: Rail Road Ties
« Reply #8 on Sept 9, 2005, 12:45pm » | |
If I remember correctly, the late Bill Fitt's railroad used concrete ties. I don't have the issues, but, there was some "how to" data in Live Steam. I believe it was the late 70's or early 80's.
Wish I had the information, because I find myself in a similar situation.
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Sorepaws
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| | Re: Rail Road Ties
« Reply #9 on Sept 26, 2009, 8:36am » | |
Guday everyone
I live in sunny Queensland (Australia) on the Central Coast. I am planning to lay over 2000 feet of 5" gauge track in the near future on our 26 acre block. I will be building "Groovy Track" as this appears to have all the requirements I am looking for. The sleepers (ties) will be cut from 3 x 2 timber, grooved out with a specially designed and built saw and then soaked in creosote for 3 or 4 days. The "rail" will be 10mm x 20mm (3/8" x 3/4") hot rolled mild steel. The rails will be sunk into the timber to a depth of 1/2". The two slots (grooves) will be cut in one single pass. The rail is laid out on a bed of stone dust (aka. cracker dust) about 5" or 6" thick. It is very easy to lay and the curves are smooth and accurate as only one rail is laid down to begin and form the track. I would like to use a steel called "Austen 50" but its too expensive. This steel is very resistant to corrosion and is used for truck bodies. OK, its not scale rail but I dont care about looks. It is very practical and easy to assemble. If I ever need to reform the small radius on the inside edge of the rail, I can do this with a set of grinding wheels as seen on full size rail maintenance wagons. As I am building the track on my own, the track needs to be easy to build, easy to maintain and be very practical and efficient. Only the hardest purist will notice that the rail is not scale but all those who enjoy riding on the train wouldn't know or even care. The creosote is needed as our bushland is home to the dreaded white ant. These can be seen on many of the trees that grow on the block. It will be a long time befire a loco can run on the track but I will eventally post all the photos for you. The loco I am building is a 5" gauge Simplex but my heart is set on building a K1 Garrat 0-4-0 0-4-0. This was the very first Garrat ever built and it ran in Tasmania. A 5" K1 will be over 5' long, its a big loco.
Sorepaws
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