One Task Fixed

201607_track_fix1

Posted on June 4th were a few tasks to push forward and improve the Wheeling Freight Terminal operations. I was able to cross one of those off of the list recently as track was repaired and back in service.

Three years ago, the layout was moved from one home to another here in El Paso. During the move, a rail was caught and it pulled away from the ties. I dug up the Fast Tracks PC board ties from the stash and prepped the damaged area. I decided to remove the plastic ties back to a rail joiner as it was just a few inches. The ends of the PC board ties were tinned and the underside of the rail was cleaned as best as I could with a jeweler’s file. Yellow glue was applied to several of the blank tie areas and the PC board ties were slipped into place. A combination of pressure on the rail with pliers and the hot iron on the rail made quick work of the soldering job. An NMRA track gauge was used to double check the work. One or two spots were tight, so the soldering iron was employed to heat up the spots and make the adjustments. Plastic ties were trimmed to fit the remaining gaps between the PC board companions. The total time for this job was less than 60 minutes, including prep.

201607_track_fix2
This track had not seen any service for the operating sessions. It has a sixteen car capacity and it will end up with eleven sure spots at the far end. I need to move forward on several freight car builds in order to make the most use of this new spur.

201607_plan
The HO scale Wheeling Freight Terminal. Overall layout size is 10 x 16 feet.

The track under discussion is marked on the lower part of this track plan. The rail issue was near the track switch. As you can see, it is the longest track at the freight house and ran along a covered dock. We shall see how the operating crews use this new addition.

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4 comments on “One Task Fixed

  1. Colin 't Hart on said:

    I like your track plan schematic — what are the overall dimensions?

    • Eric Hansmann on said:

      Oops, thanks for pointing that out, Colin! The overall size is 10 x 16 feet. I just added a caption to the layout plan. Thanks for stopping by! – Eric

  2. David Emery on said:

    Don Ball uses a edge banding/laminate iron to heat track and activate glue: https://www.amazon.com/WoodRiver-Veneer-Edge-Banding-Iron/dp/B00406ZTRY

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