Know Your Stuff

I’m building a contemporary-themed UK layout, featuring tracks riding on a mix of concrete and steel sleepers. On the real railway, I’ve noticed the continued use of wood sleepers on recently laid turnouts and crossings, but it’s the use of timber for short sections between concrete and steel sleeper track that is intriguing. Is this a something that I need to replicate in miniature?

Martin O’neil, Hereford

George says: This is a good question and is something I’ve been pondering myself for a while.

Before recently moving away from Derbyshire, one of my favourite daily walks involved crossing the Hope Valley line on a footpath. Immediately adjacent to the timber walkway, the rails move from being borne on concrete sleepers to steel sleepers.

Interestingly, as they do so, there’s a short transitional zone of a handful of timber sleepers. While I’m not sure if this is a universal feature (can readers offer any insight on this subject?), but it’s definitely something that I’ve also noticed at other locations.

I’d assumed that the use of a timber ‘bridge’ section helps to smooth out any change in the vibration or load characteristics of the different sleeper materials; timber being a much more absorbent material than concrete, despite the use of rubber pads between the rails and chairs on the latter material.

Regardless of the reasons why, I’m a firm believer in the notion of ‘if you see it, model it’ and it’s a relatively easy facet to replicate, particularly in ‘OO’, thanks to Peco’s range of Code 75 flexible track.

The trickiest part involves sliding sections of the plastic sleepers carefully on and off the metal rails, without damaging the delicate plastic chairs. If these retainers do end up being damaged, the affected sleepers should be discarded (use them for lineside ‘scrap’ or wagon loads) as we need to ensure that the rails are fully supported – and that the integrity of the ‘gauge’ is maintained – especially on curved sections of track.

Each of Peco’s Code 75 track systems are wholly compatible with each other, so there’s no discrepancy between sleeper height. However, the job becomes a little more taxing if different brands of track are employed, with a likely need for shims, while sleepers’ chairs may not grip the profile of other rails as snugly.

I’ve chosen to maintain continuous lengths of rail across the sleeper transition on my diorama as a way of ensuring a smooth progression as well as mimicking the real thing more accurately.

It’s also worth considering the fact that the addition of extra rail joints, especially over very short sections of track, increases the risk of poor conductivity and ride quality.

Although not immediately obvious, this length of track features a mix of concrete, timber and steel sleepers.

I began with the steel sleeper track, removing the unwanted section of sleepers by simply cutting through the plastic webbing and sliding the sleepers along the rails until they drop off the ends.

Cut and slide the required number of wood sleepers away from the rails in the same manner, before carefully threading them along to meet the steel sleepers. Check that the delicate chairs are not damaged.

Three types of Peco Code75 flexible track were employed, each with flat-bottomed rail. The various plastic sleepers are all of a common depth, so they’re fully compatible with each other.

Above: Once the ballast and scenics have been added, the mix of sleeper types adds interesting variety – and realism – to this scene.

Repeat the process, this time with the desired quantity of concrete sleepers being transferred to this length of rail. Again, take care not to damage the plastic rail chairs. Also check that the sleepers are spaced consistently.

After fixing the track to the baseboard, the rails and sleepers can be weathered with aerosol paints before ballasting. Picking out the sleepers, in appropriate shades, by hand adds the finishing touch.