Roadbed & Track Construction

Roadbed and right of way

I'm using Aristocraft stainless steel (SS) rail. I'm running DCC track power.

Since my track gets walked on and watered often, brass or nickle silver just did not make sense, they oxidized way too quickly, and I wanted the "stiffest" track I could get, because I would be using track "floating" in ballast.

SS rail never needs cleaning here in San Diego.

Initially I just laid track down where I wanted it. As the track plan came together, I mounded up the cedar wood chips to level out the rails. Bit by bit, I cleared out the wood chips under the rail and poured ballast down. This way, I could do it bit by bit, and never took up the rail. Therefore my layout could always be run. I've had experiences when the layout is torn up for a while and you can't run trains, you can lose interest because the "fun" part is too far off.

Doing it this way made it difficult to dig a trench under the track, so I decided to just pour the ballast on the ground. Since I use a "pea" gravel that just fits between the ties, it's coarse enough to build up without falling. (this pea gravel has fairly rough edges and stays in place well, in other parts of the country, you would use much sharper-edged crushed stone).

Even though the ballast is way over scale size, the look is pleasing, and a BIG plus is that I can have sprinklers water the roadbed daily with no washouts. If you used the common chicken grit, that would not be possible unless you glued or cemented it in place.

Other portions of the railroad are on concrete, so I will use concrete screws on the track that is on the edge of the patio.

Track on walls

On the rear retaining wall, I want to be able to walk on the rail, so I had the wall poured with a wedge-shaped piece of synthetic wood embedded in it, the wedge shape is so it cannot work out of the concrete.

I have used small brass brads to secure the track as often as I need to make an arrow-straight run.

The brass corrodes a bit, and stays pretty well in the wood.

Ballast

OK, first, not every method works for everybody!

Ballast as decoration:

If you are affixing your track to wood or concrete (and I mean affixin, not just an underlayment), then you can use any type of ballast you choose, and use something scale size. 

Ballast as roadbed:

"free floating" track, where the ballast holds the track like prototype railroads.

Keeping ballast from washing away:

• portland cement mixed with ballast - my observation is that once you get enough cement in with fine ballast, you don't have any drainage.
• Stabilizer (psyllim seed that get's sticky with water) http://www.stabilizersolutions.com/
• MulchGard (polymer activated by water) http://mulchgard.com/
• glue (contact cement, titebond, white glue) Jim Carter has used the non-water-based contact cement, many people do a 50-50 mix of glue and water. None of these seem to handle UV well, and will break down over time.
• Polysand - this is a polymer based sand, often used to seal between patio pavers
• my solution: coarse ballast!

Tunnels

Just some misc ramblings...

People have found some sectional plastic drain units, usually used for leach lines. They are U shaped with the opening down. They are reinforced, i.e. strong enough, and are made so you can curve them a bit.

Others have used the concrete chimney liners. They are rectangular, and are very well sized for a tunnel.

Track Spacing

6-1/4" is fine and close to prototype on straight, parallel sections.
On curves you might use 7-1/2 inches, or more. I would suggest checking the overhang on the longest cars you will run and set accordingly. The longest cars with the most overhang right now seem to be the USAT streamliners

Weathering

Who says stainless steel does not rust?

Ha ha, I sprinkled fertilizer on the grass, and the extra iron helped rust the sides of the rails. Boy, that looks good!