A friend told me about this trick that Mike Fifer did. He made a you tube of it. It worked. I think that Kato track made a misprint on there site. Its June or July of 2022 they will ship it out. I noticed that a lot of companys have dropped it out of there listings. I think Wathers is the only one showing and even then, they don't know when it will be here. Have three shots of how well it works. I have to solder the three pieces of track together and finish that one piece into place. Will do JB Weld putting it in place. Then ballast to hide cuts. Shots below, Laters all
I thought Fifer's trick was to cut down a larger track piece by: cutting a chunk out of the middle of the roadbed (don't cut the rails) sliding the two roadbed ends together on the rails trim the existing rails to length at the end The length of the chunk is how much you need to shorten the piece (less kerfs). This method allows the modified piece to still have continuous rails end-end. I've seen this used to make a 15R15 from a 15R30, as well as replacing multiple short straight pieces with one custom (less than 9.75") piece, for fewer rail joiners. You could likewise replace 2 11R15's with a custom 11R30 (cut from an 11R45).
I believe what Smokey is referring to was Fifer making Flex track... Which could also be used to make your own Unitrack custom flex radius curves.... I have a few 'custom flex radius curves' on THERR. .
Thanks a lot. That may come in real handy. Back when I was in my 20s I knew a guy that built models for architects. I believe it would be T gauge size. He had a little bitty table saw that would make those cuts real easy. And be nice for those that like making structures for there layouts. A tiny radial arm saw would be nice to. Thanks again. Rich
He has two methods on video. The procedure that you are referring to and a procedure for making flex track. I have used both on the Turtle Creek and have gone so far as to make flex track out of curved unitrack sections.
I used a curved piece of Kato to make the track align to the log dump. I did what Mike showed to make it curve tighter. I don't know what the radius is now but started with a piece of R240-45 and went from there. He has a lot of other videos that i have used too. In one, he shows how to clean the track and turnouts of Ballast washing them in water. I did that to save the track before starting the new track. It worked super great. I was able to keep all the Kato track i reused on this new layout. I have had the privilege of meeting Mike and Robin a few times including there home. Mike is one of a kind and they both run a very good store. I get about 95% of my Models and supply's from them. I wasn't trying to plug them, but i do really love them. He has lots of videos and how-tos on building his layout,( he rebuilt his layout back in 2016 or 2017). He now has over 100 videos of the new one he built. That and his how-tos give anyone a idea how to do it and for beginners How to start the layout. More later, Smokey
In the words of Emily Litella, "Ohh... that's different. Never mind." Some of you will remember the old SNL Weekend Update editorial skits featuring Emily Litella (Gilda Radner), e.g. "Violins on Television", the SST (Concorde), etc.
Have the track soldered together and moved it to the layout to finish the laying down in place. The photo shows the final fit but looks a bit off. Its just i haven't finished gluing it down. I am at the point of mixing up some JB Weld and really getting it back to a smooth finish and then i can ballast it. I have plenty of the Kato ballast on hand. Don't know why but Kato track don't like solder, Had a bit of a issue with doing that to hold things good and tight. Not sure why.Its down good so i am not worried about it now. A couple of shots below. Laters
And ready for ballast. I let cars run down the hill and it lets them roll all the way back to the end of the track. Thats close enough for me. Let things dry and maybe tomorrow i can ballast it
Only a bit done. I got the dump pipe for the sawdust and wood scraps installed. Most of the new crane done. Some walk paths done and some of the porch posts and chimneys done. Don't have a bunch of energy so not much done. One shot below.
its been a rough week. My last Cichlid fish died on me so i had the tank to clean up and all the stuff that goes with it. My buddy was a terror in the tank. He pretty much killed every other fish i had in it. I guess it lived up to his name. Jack Dempsey's can bee that way. They can be worse than a Oscar! Anyway i finally got the crane on the log dump. Almost finished so i have a couple of minor things to do and i will be ready for the logging camp. A couple of shots below, Laters
I'm just getting caught up on your thread. What log cars are you running? Are they metal? Years ago I built a bunch of white metal Quality Craft and Detail Associates log buggies, if I remember correctly. If the coupler holes are off center just a little the car would have problems.
They are metal and really not to many issues. Wood logs add more weight. I can't remember who made them or where i bought them. I bought them around 2009 or so. I was buying lots of kits back around that time. I started building around 2013 or 14, i can't remember. Most of the kits came from Republic Locomotive. At one time i had around 10 of there kits. I have retired two maybe for later use. And a few JV models and KMP for a couple too. I bought one plastic kit and everyone else is wood. I also scratch built a few trestles along with other things i could build myself. As for the wheels on them, I found that from sitting in a hot storage shed the wheelsets warped and caused the wheels to come off the truck frames. I heated them and as i could get the frames back to correct specs. Some i just had to replace. Don't know why but just replacing the wheel sets with new fixed most of the issues i had. I had no issue with shoving and pulling them with the NW-2 i have. I have found the logs that was set on the cars. They run really good.
Sounds like I will have to watch what I get when I start more into N. I have a set of HO Ticky Train Group flats but not put together. If I get back to HO. Thanks guys for the warning.
Her is another site i bought buildings https://www.rslaserkits.com/N-Structures_c_39-5.html Republic Locomotive Works Main Page For me i didn't care so much about cost as to the looks and quality of the model. They have some damage but can be fixed if you are careful. They are pretty hard to bust up. I started building when i was in Tucson, Az. I did a lot more in Killeen, Texas. I was having major issues with the trackplan. I moved here in Wichita falls, Texas. Now a whole new layout. Take the good and replace the bad in the track plan. Thats where i am now. If this one won't fix things i am not sure what would.
The 25' log buggies look very similar to the ones I bought. I wonder if they are from the same molds. Years ago some of the local hobby shops would have a fishbowl or a box of odds and ends for $1.00. Thats how I got most of my fleet of 30+. $12.00 for three is money well spent for the amount of enjoyment build them. My layout will be running again soon. I'll dig out the cars and shoot some pictures.
OleSmokey, I don't believe I've purchased any RS Laser kits. I have a bunch of Republic kits. I haven't built any yet. The layout I'm building now is transition era. I'm going to build Fanny Schwan's and possibly another Republic kit yet to be determined. This current layout is to get my skill level up before the logging layout. The rest I'm saving for the next layout which will be a logging layout.
it took a bit for me to get the first kit right. I started with the fire houses and watertower. I got my hands wet and then the rest of them got easier as i went. I love how realistic they look compared to plastic. I bought lots of tools even before i started the buildings. That helped a lot. I had to buy even more as i went. I painted most of the main pieces with a air-brush and shaky hands for the other pieces. This week i will be working on the logging camp. I am doing a layout of buildings like one of the logging camps that Cass used. Mower Lumber built these up back in the 1920's. Some of the railroads switched over to using trucks to bring down the logs to log cars. I didn't want to get that new with the layout. 1940's is the area i went with. Good luck with your layout and i will be looking towards your build
This is a JV models logging camp kit. I don't have all the cars on the layout as there isn't room. None are really needed to model my logging camp. It suffered some damage taking the cars from the old layout. Everything is fixed. Once i have everything glued down i can fix the roofs bent by my fingers. Shot below.