Track Laying Made Easy

On The Belmont Agricultural Railway

There are apparently a lot of myths about gauge #1 (45 mm) track. I have used "floating" track for more than 4 years now. The system is designed to be simple and trouble free; the dimensions, tie spacing, etc., mimic Welsh 2' slate railway practice, especially the Festiniog Railway.

I use Llagas code 250 NS rail, which scales to 40-45 pound rail in 7/8" scale. Close enough for me to the Festiniog, which uses 50-pound rail. I use 6' lengths of rail, loose Stainless Steel rail joiners with a 1/16" - 3/32" gap between rail ends for expansion, with Llagas TPPs (which float in 1/8" holes drilled through ties for drainage) and 11/16" square x 4 " long red cedar ties cut from 1 1/2" sq. posts purchased from Home Depot which I quarter lengthwise. (Note: Llagas no longer offers the TPPs)

The photo below shows how I prepare the ties for the TPPs. First I drill a hole in the center of a tie, which is butted up against the back of the jig. Then I place the first hole over the headless nail seen on the left and push the tie against the back of the jig to locate the second hole.



On the right, from the rear, are a regular drilled tie, a thin tie with TPPs, new Llagas code 250 NS rail; same after 3 years out of doors, and the TPPs.

I do not use stringers except under the #6 turnouts, which I buy from Model Engineering. I modify them by replacing the plastic throw bars, which deteriorate in sunlight, with brass. Where the ties are exposed, as on bridges, I cut them half depth (5/16" x 11/16") and space them on 1 15/16" centers which corresponds to about 2' 3" and requires about 34 ties to lay 6' of track.

For ballast I use the "Mr. Granite" system by Limecrest™. This is a mixture of coarse ("Step 1") and fine ("Step 2") granite chippings and sand, usually used for building flagstone terraces. In exposed areas, I top dress with "Step 2" mixed 2 parts to 1 part mortar (sand) mix: a light water spray bonds everything together and anchors the ties nicely.

I live in Southeastern PA, USA a "frost zone" and the track work has come through three winters and most of a fourth, (one severe) and Hurricane Floyd which gave us 26" of rainfall during a 24 hours period with only a little scouring under a tree drip line! The track, after I wet down and tamp both the coarse and fine ballast remains level but tends to work laterally a bit, which is OK for light traffic, and looks very prototypical in along the line shots.

Two or three times a year I examine the line (135' point to point, 160' of track, 5 switches) and replace a few ties and TPPs. When I do this, I top dress the ballast with "Step 2" and spread about one pound per foot of track. I just completed this process and here is a summary of what it took me two hours to do:

  • One 3' section re-leveled in place and re-ballasted.

  • One 6' section lifted, 20 of 34 ties replaced, re-leveled, replaced and re-ballasted.

  • One 4' curved (10' radius) section lifted, 10 of 23 ties replaced and re-ballasted.

  • In isolated locations I replaced 5 ties and about 20 TPPs.

    I also learned the hard way not to use aluminum rail joiners with NS rail. They corrode in moist locations, like the northern tunnel approach. I replace all of the aluminum rail joiners with stainless steel joiners, which are holding up well.

    Overall, the line, the majority of which is at ground level, is now level, except where there is a deliberate grade, with a little side-to-side "wiggly ness." The TPPs look like a tie plate with four spike heads, which slide or snap onto the rail bottom and have a "plastic pin" which slips into a hole pre-drilled into the ties. By pressing down on an individual tie, I can slide it our from under the TPPs and the rails and replace it with a new one easily. I then re-tamp the ballast to hold the tie in place under the rails. I have found replacing a few new ties on a stretch where the ties have weathered provides a very nice visual contrast between the old and new ties.

    Jonathan Black