Track Ties?

[Weekendnscale]

20* years ago I purchased a 500 pc.bag of brown Ties! Where can I buy another bag? Have no idea where they came from?
Thanks,
Mike

[jpwisc]

I don’t know if anyone who sells prestained ties. A little brown wash goes a long ways.
Here are some options:
https://www.handlaidtrack.com/wt-n-c

https://www.kapplerusa.com/y2k/p-n-ties.htm

http://www.proto87.com/product1940.html

[Dave V]

20* years ago I purchased a 500 pc.bag of brown Ties! Where can I buy another bag? Have no idea where they came from?
Thanks,
Mike

If you're talking N, I got a bag of pre-stained tied from Micro Engineering back in the day.  Can't speak to whether they're still available.

[Mark5]

20* years ago I purchased a 500 pc.bag of brown Ties! Where can I buy another bag? Have no idea where they came from?
Thanks,
Mike

Probably Railcraft (that's where I got my ties back when I handlaid my track). Railcraft somehow evolved into Micro-Engineering I think.

Damn, they don't sell ties anymore ... 

http://microengineering.com/products_ties.htm

Mark

[TLOC]

Fast Tracks via their Mt. Albert division sells 1000 unfinished ties for N for $20 USD.

TomO

[Weekendnscale]

Yes they were micro engineering ties! I remember the bag label.... Now....
Just ordered a bag of 1000.
Thanks,
Mike

[jagged ben]

Clover House has a couple stained tie offerings.

http://cloverhouse.com/Store/index.php?cPath=35_82

[nkalanaga]

The Clover House stained ties I bought years ago were nice ties, but the stain is varied, and mostly light, perfect for well-used ties.  If you want new ties, for well maintained mainline, staining your own is your best bet.

Kappler Mill & Lumber also sells N scale ties.  http://www.kapplerusa.com/y2k/kp-main.htm
I like the note on their home page, worth reading even if you decide not to buy from them.

[MetroRedLine]

Around what year did wooden ties get replaced by PC board ties?

[nkalanaga]

They never did, at least in N scale.  The early users of code 40 rail tried gluing the rail to wooden ties, and found that it didn't stay in gauge very well.  So, they switched to PC ties back in the 70s, but even then they only used a PC tie every 3/4 to 1 inch, with wooden ties in between.  Very few. if any, modelers use only PC ties on "normal" track.  I did, under a custom crossing, because by the time I soldered all the parts down, there wasn't any place left toput a wooden tie, but that was an odd case.

Even the smallest spikes available in the late 60s and early 70s were too big for use with code 40 and pizza cutter flanges.

[Mark5]

They never did, at least in N scale.  The early users of code 40 rail tried gluing the rail to wooden ties, and found that it didn't stay in gauge very well. 

In the 70s I glued my rail (Pliobond) to wooden ties and had no such problems (it was the best running track I ever had). For turnouts however, I decided to make ties from PC board that I had to cut myself - it was just too much for me to try to get all those rails in place with a hot iron at once!

Mark

[DKS]

They never did, at least in N scale.

If you're referring to Clover House, they did indeed sell PC board ties, at least for a while. I bought some.

I was also one of the "very few if any" who used all PC board ties for handlaid track, as opposed to using them every few ties. I also peeled off the copper cladding except in little squares around the rails to simulate tie plates.



But I've always been different...

 

[Mark5]

Even the smallest spikes available in the late 60s and early 70s were too big for use with code 40 and pizza cutter flanges.

That's true. Though the early Railcraft spikes had much thinner heads that the last MicroEngineering "small" spikes did. For this reason in the 80s I was experimenting with code 55 and spikes for my next layout.

Mark

[nkalanaga]

David:  Yes, Clover House sold PC ties, and I used them on all of my narrow gauge track, as well as handlaid standard gauge turnouts.  Sorry for any confusion!  Your track does look good, especially the "tie plates".  Matching the color of wood and PC ties is almost impossible, unless the track is painted after laying.

The "never did" was actually an answer to MetroRedLine's question "When did PC ties replace wood ties", though I can see how it could have gotten mixed in with the Clover House posts.

I think the problem with Pliobond was probably twofold, and not really the fault of the glue.  I suspect that it didn't hold well if one used lower quality wood for the ties, and humidity changes would have put a lot of stress on glued track.  I never used Pliobond, but did use Seal-All, which one can still buy at hardware stores.  It held pretty well in Pasco, where the humidity stayed fairly low most of the year, but track brought to Kentucky when we moved fell apart the first year.

[DKS]

David:  Yes, Clover House sold PC ties, and I used them on all of my narrow gauge track, as well as handlaid standard gauge turnouts.  Sorry for any confusion!  Your track does look good, especially the "tie plates".  Matching the color of wood and PC ties is almost impossible, unless the track is painted after laying.

The "never did" was actually an answer to MetroRedLine's question "When did PC ties replace wood ties", though I can see how it could have gotten mixed in with the Clover House posts.

I think the problem with Pliobond was probably twofold, and not really the fault of the glue.  I suspect that it didn't hold well if one used lower quality wood for the ties, and humidity changes would have put a lot of stress on glued track.  I never used Pliobond, but did use Seal-All, which one can still buy at hardware stores.  It held pretty well in Pasco, where the humidity stayed fairly low most of the year, but track brought to Kentucky when we moved fell apart the first year.

Thanks for the clarification. I gave the Pliobond technique a try back in the mid-70s, and it worked surprisingly well. One trick to help ensure success is to sand the ties after laying them to make them true, and to create a good clean surface for bonding. But there are so many better methods today.

BTW, that's Z Scale track in the photo...