Trackwork Progress

Spiking Pliers

In searching for a suitable set of pliers for inserting spikes I first brought a pair of Burfitt spike insertion pliers and later a pair of Xuron pliers to replace them, but in the end i used a set of fine Tweezernose pliers from Xuron which are now my preferred tool for the job. From my experience i can say the follwing on the other pliers

Burfitt spike insertion pliers turned out to be unsuitable for the Small (1/4") spikes I was initially using and certainly couldn't be used with Micro (3/16") spikes. They are however suitable for use with Medium (3/8") and Large (1/2") spikes

Xuron spike insertion pliers are perfect for the Small (1/4") spikes and useable for the Medium (3/8") spikes but are not suitable for Micro (3/16") spikes.

Spikes

After laying the first track with Small (1/4") spikes and having to cut the excess spike head off I decided to try the Micro (3/16") spikes from micro engineering. I knew i could get these from Walthers in the US but that but that could take months and after searching for Australians supplier I ended up going with Brunel hobbies who are a supplier for Walthers. 

Comparison of the 1/4 spike i began with on the right and the 3/16 spike on the left that i have been using since

Having never used or seen these small spikes i was unsure as to whether they would really be strong enough to do the job or if i would even have the patience to work with such small spikes, but I took a gamble and brought all 4 packets they had in stock totaling 4000 spikes. 

The first think i noticed is that some of the bags contained a lot of failed pressings of the spikes which had no head or a deformed head. This aside the Micro Spikes had a more realistic appearance than the Small spikes and did not require any trimming. While i had chosen to pre-drill when using the Small spikes to make it easier, it wasn't necessary, while the Micro Spikes did require drilling when inserting through pine ties into mdf. I expect it would have been possible to insert micro spikes carefully into pine ties on a cork bed, but as you can see below even when pre-drilling i ended up with a fair number of bent spikes.

My preferred tools, cordless Dremel, fine needle nose pliers, rail cutters and micro engineering 3/16 spikes

Drilling and Spiking

Initially I was using my corded Dremel to drill the holes but found balancing the weight of the Dremel whilst repeatedly drilling 0.4mm holes was annoying and ended up in several broken drills. Finally on the weekend i decided to make a change and buy a cordless Dremel which is much lighter and smaller and a pleasure to use and since switching to the cordless I have managed to avoid breaking any further drill bits. My experience so far has left me wondering why i never brought one sooner.

Predrilling holes with a 0.4mm drill bit

After trying a range of pliers I have found the Xuron Tweezernose pliers to be my tool of choice. Inserting spikes is not without its mishaps and trying to find a 0.4mm hole can be challenging leading to many bent spikes.

Spike insertion with the fine needle nose pliers

Failed spikes

So far I have only been laying straight tracks which is kind of a relief and for the most part I have relied on eyeballing the alignment, but occasionally use a ruler to double check. Usually I start by establishing the correct position of both rails on the previously laid sleepers and then begin by spiking and aligning one rail first initially spiking every 20cm or so and then when the basic alignment is ok I have continued to spike several sections, correcting the alignment as i go and then infilling any gaps. With one side established I have moved to the second side and with the use of several track gauges I begin to spike the alignment of the second rail.

Sometimes alignment may need to be adjusted and if its major then the spikes have to come out, but if its a minor adjustment then i use a small screw driver at the base of the spike and a pin hammer to lightly tap to achieve the adjustment and close the spike heads back down on either side of the rail as necessary. Some times an additional spike may need to be added to secure the rail.

After eyeballing and running the track gauge along I also run a wagon along to check the gauge does not cause any issues.

Track gauge, pin hammer and screwdriver used for realignment

One man rail gang hard at work

Progress

So after many hours and over 2200 spikes I have completed the 4 yard tracks on the first section of the layout and I'm very pleased with the result. 

Progress

Last rails going down on the main line

Finally all 4 tracks have been laid and spiked with only some additional ballasting remaining

Next steps

1. Complete the small section of the mill shunt below the mainline
2. Complete below board wiring
3. Form the platform and landscape south of the mainline
4. Complete ballasting of the track and graveling of the yard surface
5. Distress sleepers and weather track
6. Complete the station building
7. Build the goods shed
8. Detail the yard
9. Next section

Pemberton Yard Proposed Layout Plan

Below is a screen shot of the general plan i am following at present for the Pemberton Yard. Each rectangle represents a separate module, with the red rectangle representing the module currently being worked on. The original sketches had planned to capture most of the yard on the top three modules, however after examining what this mean for minimum radius it was soon realized this wouldn't be achievable if i was to keep the centre section to scale. This had had a role on effecton the rest of the layout, which left me wondering how I would achieve the key components I had panned which include part of the Pemberton Mill, two bridges on the mainline, a timber tramway line and a fiddle yard.

With my move to Perth I know have even less room which may yet see me alter my plans to work on sections at a time to create a larger exhibition layout. In the mean time my focus continues on the centre section of the Pemberton yard which has been laid out to scale and now has all four yard tracks laid with only the small section of the shunt remaining.

Planned Layout for original room

1942 Map of the NE side of the Pemberton Yard

Trackwork recommences on Pemberton Yard

After finding out my position had been abolished I was faced with a move to Perth and the loss of a dedicated train room. Understandably disappointed, it seemed my Pemberton layout would be facing storage for some time. However having no where for my rolling stock to sit I decided i could find room for the centre section of the Pemberton yard.

After retrieving it from storage today i set up on a temporary table as the middle section had no legs being supported by the two sections eitherside and set about laying the first rails.

I have delayed laying rails for some time as i was unsure as to whether i would glue or spike or a combination. I had been leaning towards spiking, but my initial trials with hand spiking had been less than satisfactory. I debated obtaining a kadee spiker, but the price of obtaining a new one, the rare appearance of second hand ones online and the lack of information on whether it would be worth it caused further delay. (If you do have one or experience with one please get in contact.). Anyhow decided it had waited long enough and with only spikes and a pair of pliers available i decided to give hand spiking another try and with some patience i managed a safisfactory result and the first rails where finally laid.

How i went about it

I had previously laid the sleepers based on measurements I took on variety of sleeper spacings in the Manjimup yard. And have made a variety of spacers to help guide me while laying sleepers. Whilst I originally planned to lay down cork first, for ease as i wanted the top of the sleepers be flush with the surface i had created a trench and glued them directly onto mdf.

I used several brass rail gauges i brought from DCC Concepts to set the gauge during the operation. They fit snuggly on the rail and their weight helped hold it in place.

With the sleepers laid directly onto mdf, it made it difficult to push the spikes in and i ended up with my share of bent ones, so i did just enough to pin the track. I then went back and predrilled the rest which whilst tedious, made spiking easier.

I should mention i had brought some spiking pliers from an australian hobby firm but i dont recommend them and wish i had got the micro mark ones. Im sure they would be fine with a large spike but were too sloppy for the small ones.

The spikes i used were the small ones from micromark but they had a very large head. I found that if I cut the head off (yes thats right i cut the head off each individual spike) leaving just a small lip, they looked more realistic.

For the time being I have settled for spiking every 4th sleeper.