Templot Club Archive 2007-2020                             

topic: 3350American Timbering specs
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posted: 31 Oct 2018 15:13

from:

Stephen Freeman
 
Sandbach - United Kingdom

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Hi,
When you choose NMRA O scale standards, Templot does not adjust the timbering to the required format. i.e. it stays on UK settings, which are wrong for the USA. Timbers are I think 5mm wide in 7mm scale (or thereabouts) and the spacing is a lot closer.

One other thing, I was going to alter one in the shove timbers box, just as a one off but Templot crashed with a Fatal error 195, when I tried to alter the first timber.

posted: 31 Oct 2018 21:02

from:

Martin Wynne
 
West Of The Severn - United Kingdom

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Stephen Freeman wrote:
When you choose NMRA O scale standards, Templot does not adjust the timbering to the required format. i.e. it stays on UK settings, which are wrong for the USA.
Hi Stephen,

That's correct. Changing the gauge and scale does exactly that, and no more. It changes the model scale, the track gauge, the flangeway gap, the flangeway end gap, and the nominal double-track spacings.

The setting makes no reference to any prototype, which remains unchanged. If that is REA UK bullhead before changing the scale/gauge, it will be the same afterwards. For all Templot knows, some modellers may want to model UK bullhead using the NMRA O Scale standards.

If you want to model USA-style prototypes, you need to customize the template accordingly. Even if you want to model them in EM. For the timber customizing, don't use the shove timber functions, see:

  http://templot.com/companion/timber_spacings_overview.php

It would be utterly impossible for Templot to know all the prototype dimensions world-wide. Templot defaults to UK REA bullhead, with some options for GWR switches and BR UK 1950s flat-bottom switches. If that's not what you want, it is up to you to change it, and provide the prototype dimensions. Templot doesn't know them.

American ties (there is no distinction between sleepers and timbers) are typically 9" wide by 7" thick, but the spacing varies for different prototype companies and classes of line.

9" wide in NMRA O Scale (1:48) is 3/16" = 0.1875" = 4.76mm.

One other thing, I was going to alter one in the shove timbers box, just as a one off but Templot crashed with a Fatal error 195, when I tried to alter the first timber.
That's a serious memory error, which I haven't been able to reproduce. Can you remember the exact sequence of operations which caused it? Can you reproduce it? When you changed to NMRA O Scale, what gauge/scale were you changing from? How many templates were in the storage box at the time? How long had Templot been running since the last restart? Have you at any time accidentally tried to set a scale of zero (0mm/ft), because that will crash Templot to smithereens. It is supposed to be impossible, but the coincidence of setting NMRA O Scale occurs to me.

cheers,

Martin.

posted: 31 Oct 2018 21:29

from:

Rob Manchester
 
Manchester - United Kingdom

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Stephen,

The best book I have seen on US railroad track is this one - track book

There are several editions available. Biased towards HO scale but lots of solid info on all scales. It isn't as detailed though as BRT is for british track.

Rob


Last edited on 31 Oct 2018 21:29 by Rob Manchester
posted: 31 Oct 2018 22:06

from:

Martin Wynne
 
West Of The Severn - United Kingdom

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Rob Manchester wrote:
The best book I have seen on US railroad track is this one - track book
Hi Rob,

Yes, I have a later edition.

Carstens Publications Inc. closed down in 2014 and their titles were taken over by White River Productions:

 http://www.whiteriverproductions.com/

Although I can't see the Trackwork Handbook on their site, they have other titles by Paul Mallery, so it's possible they may do a reprint at some stage. The prices for used copies look a bit daft:

 http://www.amazon.co.uk/Trackwork-Handbook-Model-Railroads-Everything/dp/0911868909/

It would be worth ringing round UK model shops who deal in H0 models to see if they have any copies remaining in stock. I purchased my copy new from one such at an exhibition. Sorry, I can't remember where or when.

Martin.

posted: 31 Oct 2018 22:27

from:

Martin Wynne
 
West Of The Severn - United Kingdom

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p.s. prototype drawings of USA-style switches and turnouts are available on this link:

 http://www.idrgw.com/mowbooks/1966book/1966menutopic.htm

Also, a Google search for AREMA turnout drawings produces lots of images and links.

Martin.

posted: 31 Oct 2018 23:39

from:

Jim Guthrie
 
United Kingdom

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I used PDFs from this web page as a guide to US track standards. I was modellign an industrial switching layout so the details were fine, and I expect they could be applied to a wide range of railroads.

http://www.up.com/customers/ind-dev/operations/specs/track/index.htm

Jim.

posted: 31 Oct 2018 23:42

from:

Rob Manchester
 
Manchester - United Kingdom

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Hi Martin,
Thanks for the US railroad link suggestions. Some very good info there. I have always used Peco or Micro Engineering track on US layouts but will be doing some proper track laying at some point.

Any suggestions for track spikes, either for direct use on the foot of the rail or through tie plates. Gauge will be HO. I know a number of US suppliers sell scale spikes but they are very small, was hoping to find something a bit easier to use. Ideally the spike should be pushed straight into the ties but the ply we british tend to favour for timbers tends to split quite easily. Timber ties from companies like Fast Tracks are usually pine. Suggestions gratefully received  :)

Rob


posted: 1 Nov 2018 08:18

from:

Stephen Freeman
 
Sandbach - United Kingdom

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Hi
Can't help on the HO stuff at the moment. I know within reason what I need to achieve. I'll elaborate, having found a boxfile of ho US templates, I thought that perhaps converting to O NMRA would carry over the timbering but no. As for the error code, I cannot really help as I had been doing quite a lot of things prior to it happening. The.machine has 16Gb of RAM so it must be the program somehow.
I will have another go today, all else fails I do have a non-Templot solution available to me.

I have now located another boxfile for HO  and have successfully converted the template I need to 0-NMRA, having remembered to engage brain and select the "match original" option.
Last edited on 1 Nov 2018 10:56 by Stephen Freeman
posted: 1 Nov 2018 11:26

from:

Martin Wynne
 
West Of The Severn - United Kingdom

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Stephen Freeman wrote:
I'll elaborate, having found a boxfile of ho US templates, I thought that perhaps converting to O NMRA would carry over the timbering but no.
Hi Stephen,

Yes it will, but why didn't you elaborate in the first place? :?

It just wastes my time if folks ask questions without giving me all the information. I thought your question was about the amount of prototype data associated with each setting in the gauge list, not how to change from one gauge setting to another.

To retain customized prototype information when changing gauge/scale:

1. for background templates, click the convert group button.

2. to change the control template, click the match original option and then click OK.

2_010609_500000000.png2_010609_500000000.png


There is a sample .box file of USA-style turnouts available for downloading from:

 topic 1335

It's an old file, and may need changing to match a specific prototype.

cheers,

Martin.

posted: 1 Nov 2018 19:09

from:

Phil O
 
Plymouth - United Kingdom

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Rob Manchester wrote:
Hi Martin,
Thanks for the US railroad link suggestions. Some very good info there. I have always used Peco or Micro Engineering track on US layouts but will be doing some proper track laying at some point.

Any suggestions for track spikes, either for direct use on the foot of the rail or through tie plates. Gauge will be HO. I know a number of US suppliers sell scale spikes but they are very small, was hoping to find something a bit easier to use. Ideally the spike should be pushed straight into the ties but the ply we british tend to favour for timbers tends to split quite easily. Timber ties from companies like Fast Tracks are usually pine. Suggestions gratefully received  :)

Rob


Hi Rob

Have you tried cutting the head off of a track pin/spike with side cutters and mounting the pin in a pin vice, cut end outwards and pre-drilling the tie, to stop it splitting.

Phil



posted: 1 Nov 2018 19:34

from:

Rob Manchester
 
Manchester - United Kingdom

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Hi Phil,
Thanks for the suggestion. It may work but ,for example using standard tie plates, with 4 spikes per timber to rail joint there are an awful lot of spikes in a yard of track :( It may work better for rail that is directly spiked to the timbers, I will try it when I get some space on the bench.

Rob


posted: 6 Dec 2018 22:48

from:

Stephen Freeman
 
Sandbach - United Kingdom

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HiSomething of an understatement methinks. I prefer to pre-drill and cut all the excess off afterwards. Obechi wood is available in the size needed (0 Gauge US) and seems to be less liable to split.
Rob Manchester wrote:
Hi Phil,
Thanks for the suggestion. It may work but ,for example using standard tie plates, with 4 spikes per timber to rail joint there are an awful lot of spikes in a yard of track :( It may work better for rail that is directly spiked to the timbers, I will try it when I get some space on the bench.

Rob





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