Model Railroading is NOT fun

[DKS]

This is one of the primary reasons I use no wood or wood-based products for layout construction any more, and haven't since the early 90s. Not something you can do about now, unfortunately, but for future projects.

Meanwhile... (whispers) gaps...

I know about your obsession with smooth, continuous rail, because I had it too. For my WR&N IV, I yanked the rail out of Micro Engineering turnouts and threaded continuous rail through as many of them as I could. It was a royal PITA, but in the end it was flawless. I'm not sure I'd do it again, though.

You should be able to fix the problems you have, and rescue the layouts. I know for certain you have the skills. If it was me, I'd take the opportunity to simulate real-life repairs. Think different rail heights with comp bars... different size and spaced ties... there isn't much you could do with the model that hasn't been done in the real world.

[Cajonpassfan]

What a bummer, I've had days like that also where I was ready to put it all in the dumpster. Instead I just close the door to the trainroom and go do something different for a while...

For what it's worth for future reference, I built a large 14 track staging yard (Barstow) in an uninsulated garage, and there are wide temperature and humidity swings there. In the summer, it sometimes feels worse that the real Barstow, and that's bad

The yard is built on 5/8" plywood and 1x3 framing, so obviously, I was very concerned about contraction/expansion. To minimize any issues, I painted the wood base and framing, top, sides and bottom, with a thick coat of inexpensive household latex paint before laying track.  In five summers and winters, I've had zero problems.

An important part of the solution is the use of flexible glue like rubber cement on the track, and yes, I do have gaps. I would think that using inflexible cement like superglue on any length of dissimilar materials is asking for trouble. The contact cement allows the track to move slightly, especially on curves. (It also has the secondary advantage of allowing for removal or realignment; just slide a thin metal blade under the track and it pops right up).

Anyway, my two cents...
Otto K.

[brokemoto]

I live in the Capital of Your Nation, where the humidity is legendary (those of you who live in parts of Florida, Louisiana and the Gulf Coast of Tejas will understand).  GF keeps the air condition on all the time.  When we are away from the house, we do set up the thermostat a bit (to eighty F/twenty-seven C), but she does not want it turned off totally.  In the  winter, the heat is usually at sixty five or sixty eight F/eighteen or twenty C.  That suits both of us.  I do not have a humidifier on the furnace.  The furnace is ancient, but as long as it still functions, the home warranty will not pay anything to replace it.  It still works.

Despite this, expansion/contraction problems have been rare on my pikes.  If the trackwork has suffered at all, it was from several moves.  It led to my finally breaking up the old four-by-eight with extension and building something else.  The bench work is wood:  plywood and whatever the lumber yard sells as one-by-fours.  I use a combination of Atlas flex and cork, Atlas sectional and cork, Kato UNITRACK and UNITRAM, B-mann E-Z TRAK, PECo turnouts and even one old Shinohara turnout. While there are some minor gaps in the sectional, due, I suspect, to manufacturing vagaries (this goes double for the B-mann), most of the gaps are in transition sections between track of different manufacture or where I joined sections of flex.  Much of this is due to my abilities in track laying.  My trackwork is still, and always has been, mediocre.  I can measure fifty times and either I nip off too much or not enough when it comes time to join sections.  It would be untrue to state that I  never have expansion/contraction problems, but, they are rare and when it does happen, the pilot trucks of one of my B-mann or MP steam locomotives will find it.

It escapes me totally why I have so few problems of this nature, given the legendary humidity, here.

[Tom L]

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Tom L

[peteski]

It escapes me totally why I have so few problems of this nature, given the legendary humidity, here.

I think it is because it's the lack of humidity which seems to be shown by the affected modelers. In all the examples I've seen, the track is buckled (not ripped apart).  Which means that the layout's base has contracted while the track did not.  That seems to be caused by the wood drying out.

If your environment stays relatively humid, that will prevent the wood from shrinking.  For example, I'm in New England (no humidifier) and currently my indoor humidity is 16%.  That is very low considering that in the summer it goes up to over 80%.

My friend's layout (in a climate controlled ground-level basement room) did have one slight track buckling event.  It occurred several years after the trackwork was completed (which at the time we thought was odd).  Maybe part of the equation id the aging of the wood?

[cne_craig]

Painting the woodwork will seal it from humidity fluctuations.  Choice of wood might also help a bit for example using poplar instead of pine.  Cost wise, poplar is close to pine and being a denser species is impacted less from humidity.  I use 1x2 and 1x3 primed and painted pine to make a base grid and top with high density foam.  Seems to work fine but my basement tends to stay dry year round so the fluctuations are less extreme.

Cheers
Craig

[up1950s]

Dremel both rail gaps before and after all turnouts , slack wire solder all gaps . Every 8 feet of running rail divide with a both rail gap , slack wired for continuity . How can you guys be such experts that you are and not expect ................?

[mark.hinds]

(text removed)

I have had one of those whole house humidifiers that you mount to the furnace in my ebay watch list forever. Maybe I'll buy it and stop filling up little gallons every day.

I have one of those installed on my furnace, and although it helps, it doesn't completely solve the problem.  My in-house humidity can get up to 65% humidity in summer and is currently 25% (15 degrees F outdoors).  FWIW. 

[JMaurer1]

So the lesson isn't "model railroading is NOT fun" but "model railroading in any scale other than N scale is not fun".

Cut 45 degree gaps in rail ( // )and then slide gap mostly closed. In the future you now have expansion gaps without the Dremmel cutoff wheel width and if things need to expand, the rail can slip past the other rail without buckling or breaking.

[MK]

True, but wouldn't that cause derailments with spikes jutting out in either direction when things shrink?

[Chris333]

I have .009" thick cut off wheels that I use for frog gaps:

[mmagliaro]

Chris,
I am truly sorry this has happened to your beautiful trackwork.
Don't be discouraged!  Your layout and trackwork are always magnificent.  We see it here on the forum all the time.

Take a breath.  You can fix this.
Those .009" gaps will do the trick if you put them every few feet.   You just need something to relieve the intense pressure on the rails that is resulting when the benchwork contracts.  Remember, track can tolerate *some* pressure when things contract. It's just that in your case, with all-soldered rail, there is absolutely nowhere for any of the pressure to be relieved, so it's getting really bad.

At this time of year, you are experiencing maximum contraction (hence your track damage).   So this is a good time to fix things.   If you repair the damaged areas and put in some gaps, you'll have the problem licked.  When summer comes, the gaps will open up a little, but it should still be fine.

[nkalanaga]

Peteski:  I'm with you on that one.  In the southern US especially, I'd imagine that most benchwork is built in the summer, as the humidity makes outdoor activities unpleasant.  So, the wood is at its maximum expansion when the track is laid.  In the winter, especially if the furnace is used regularly, the humidity goes down, the wood shrinks, and problems occur.

In areas where the humidity is low year round, or it stays warm enough not to need heat in the winter, there would be fewer problems, because the wood wouldn't change size as much. 

Unless you're in someplace with drastic temperature changes, I doubt that rail expansion/contraction would be much of a problem, since most modelers like to keep their railroad rooms human-comfortable.  Using the calculator linked to earlier, and brass rail, a 36 inch piece will change length by 1/32 inch with a 40 F temperature change.  My bedroom in our old house probably had that, since neither the heat nor the AC was good, but the humidity also went up in the summer, so the benchwork expanded along with the rail.  Most people wouldn't have a temperature range greater than that.

[OldEastRR]

So the lesson isn't "model railroading is NOT fun" but "model railroading in any scale other than N scale is not fun".

I'll drink to that!!!!
 I avoid the shrink/expand problem by having my layout in my living room. However as a stingy bachelor my room temps can range from upper 40s to high 80s season to season. No track problems, but I inadvertently left gaps randomly all along the track not on purpose. And my track is still held down by track spikes(no piece of track is glued down), and I've yet to solder all the joiners. This probably allows enough give to avoid rail benders.

[Chris333]

Just happened to this fellow:
http://blog.thevalleylocal.net/2018/01/trouble-at-goff-brook.html