The Atlantic and Southern Build Thread Continued, Part 3

[ACL1504]

Looks very cool uncle Tommie.  Keep up the good work my friend!

Cousin Brucie,

Good to see you my friend. Thanks for the compliment and the work will continue.

Tom

[ACL1504]

Nice work on building the crossing Tom.  You make it look real easy...of course the templates help, but still, to me it's a complicated affair that would have me huddled in a corner whimpering 

Mark,

Thank you kind sir, much appreciated. The aluminum template made all the difference. The template is free now if you want to try and come out of the corner.


Tom

[ACL1504]

Very nice Tom - I've always thought that hand laid track when done right is the most impressive aspect our hobby - and this is impressive.

Doug

Doug,

Thank you, I appreciate the compliment. After building the 30 degree crossing, I can now better understand why some prefer the hand laid track method. For me though, to old to change now.


Tom 

[ACL1504]

I used  Weldwood Contact Cement for gluing the rail to the ties.

I placed two large weights on the track to hold it overnight while the glue dried. The next morning I cut off the tie carrier, cut the rails to the proper length and added rail joiners.





More in a few.

[ACL1504]

The crossing is made up of 20 individually cut and soldered pieces of rail.

[ACL1504]

The crossing was again test fit on the cork. The old cork was removed. New cork was glued in place to match the angle of the crossing rail to the turnout.



I removed the old cork to the upper left of the crossing. I had to remove just over 5.5 feet of old cork in order to maintain my 52 inch radius. The angle is about an inch off the old cork but the 5.5 feet gives me the length to bring it back in line.

[PRR Modeler]

Looks great Tom.

[S&S RR]

Very nice work my friend. 

[Oldguy]

As with just about everything that you do, it is a work of art.

[ReadingBob]

Another challenge solved!  Looks great.   

I enjoy laying track by hand although I wouldn't attempt it on a layout the size of yours unless I was 30 years younger and didn't need to worry about working for a living.     There are pros and cons but that might be a topic worthy of it's own thread.

[Janbouli]

Looking great Tom. Are there aspects of modeling you are not too comfortable about?

[jimmillho]

Looks great Tom.

I have hand laid a lot of track in my younger days, but I am like Bob, never again.

Jim

[ACL1504]

Looks great Tom.

Curt,

Thank you, see ya Saturday.

Tom

[ACL1504]

Very nice work my friend.

John,

Thank you kind sir, appreciate you stopping by.

Tom

[ACL1504]

As with just about everything that you do, it is a work of art.

Bob,

Thank you for the kind words; however, my wiring is anything but works of art.


Tom