Code 40 rail

[brill27mcb]

I mean, if anyone is really going down this path... or if Bob decides to take action on Code 46 rail...

Here's the place that makes most model railroad rail:

https://tdv-profile.com/the-company/

Too bad if that's the case - I was expecting the British source would turn out to be a colorful (colourful?) Englishman in a cap and leather apron working away inside a brick Victorian shop building with century-old equipment.

Rich K.

[pedro]

Per Scott @ N Scale Supply, ME has told him they are expecting code 40 rail this summer, with flex track to follow a month or two later.

[Chris333]

Summer. But I'm feelin the itch now!   

[robert3985]

This is what I need the rail for, code 40 Nn3 tie strips:



And I also made a Nn3 #4 turnout tie strip. And Nn3 bridge track tie strips. Just need some rail.

I'd just get the weathered rail and scrape/buff-off the weathering where you need to solder it.  It's not a big deal because it comes off pretty easily.  That way, you can get your Nn3 projects finished instead of waiting around for the unweathered stuff.

Cheerio!
Bob Gilmore

[nkalanaga]

Bob:  I've done that to solder weathered flextrak.  Like you said, the weathering comes off easily.

[nkalanaga]

From the TDV website:

"The standard rolled products comply with the relevant standards (EURONORM, DIN, etc.). With regard to special profiles, our experience enables us to help our customers in their constant search for ever more restrictive tolerances. Therefore, for some profiles we guarantee a dispersion of 1/100th of a mm over a length of 10 km."

Anybody for 10 kms of code 40 rail?  I wonder if it would all fit on one reel?

[robert3985]

Never saw a roll of rails , what is the diameter of a roll like that ?

@trainforfun - A roll, or maybe a coil, of UK NS Code40 rail is about 8 3/4" in diameter.

Note that it isn't "bent" to that diameter, and springs to a much larger curve radius when unrolled.

Photo (1) - UK NS Code40 Rail:


Cheerio!
Bob Gilmore

[Tristan Ashcroft]

Going to jump in here. I'm starting a model railroad and presumed that weathered rail would save me time later having to weather it versus not. How do people feel about ME weathered rail?

I like it and it's my goto.  I don't know if the color is exactly right, but it beats shiny rail.  To my eye it's fine.  I've had unsatisfactory results with chemical blackener and I'm not thrilled with the option of painting rail or using a marker.  I'd buy weathered turnouts if they made them.

Happy track laying!

[robert3985]

Here's a photo of my hand-laid Code40 PCB branchline trackage under one of my superdetailed cabooses...

It's laid with a PCB tie every fifth tie, with Rail Craft unstained wooden ties (no longer available) in between, which are higher than the PCB ties.  The wood ties get sanded down so they're the same height as the PCB ties, which I do with a couple of grades of emery paper stapled to a little pine sanding block I've made so that the emery paper just barely kisses the tops of the copper cladding on the PCB ties.

I then stress the wood ties a little with an old file card..just a little.

Then, I solder one rail down to the PCB ties, check the curvature to make sure it's the way I want it, then, using a couple of three-point Rail Craft Code40 N-scale track gauges, I position and solder the second rail down.

After I check everything (gauge, electrical continuity, solder blobs) and the track looks near perfect and operates flawlessly, I shake up a rattle-can of Krylon Camo Black Ultra-Flat paint and spray both the ties and the sides of the rails so that they're just covered, not sopping wet.

Then, after that coat dries for about 10 minutes, I spray from directly overhead...relatively high...so that the tops of the ties are covered, and the sides of the ties, AND the sides of the rails have a bit of overspray on them.  I want the sides of the rails to be a bit darker than the tops of the ties.

Then, before the paint cures, I removed the paint from the railheads with my old Peco flexible track cleaning pad.

I let the paint dry for a couple of hours, then I go over random ties...not really very many ties...with various shades of grey, tan, and brown, implying the ties are not all the same color.

Then I ballast my track.

And lastly, I weather the ties and ballast mostly right down the middle with my airbrush, implying the reddish weed-killer than UP uses that builds up after a few years...and grimy black in some areas with either airbrush or paintbrush for oil stains, and/or brake dust on down grades.

Works well for me, and I don't have a need for weathered rail since it all gets painted anyway.  However, I'm definitely not against using weathered rail if unweathered isn't available.

I laid this section over 30 years ago, and now, due to having several 3D printers, I'll be printing my ties with tie-plate and spikehead details, and forgoing PCB ties on everything except my turnouts until I find a way to use 3D printed ties for said turnouts.

Photo (1) - Branchline Code40 trackage with Rail Craft Code55 mainline trackage in the background:


Cheerio!
Bob Gilmore

[Chris333]

Just to see I found a shop with it "listed" and bought $100 worth.  Probably get my refund tomorrow 

No refund yet -> fingers crossed.

[Simon D.]

The 2mmFS Association code 40 rail comes from this company in Sheffield, Wintwire* https://wintwire.co.uk/18-nickel-sliver-wire/.  According to various threads on RMWeb they also supply Peco and Micro Engineering, and probably others.  The last order cost about £11,000, and may be a lot higher now - perhaps this level of capital cost is problematic for ME? 


Coincidentally, the Association is currently TOS for flatbottom code 40 as the order for 66Kg (many millions of scale miles of rail!) to meet minimum order requirements has been delayed (I wonder if this has anything to do with the chaos around tariffs?).


British Finescale https://www.britishfinescale.com/product-p/code40-fbrail.htm also do flatbottom rail, but I think they organise supply through the 2mmFS people.


The Association used to do Code 30, which was actually flat wire, but apparently it not only distorted horizontally but also vertically, making it very difficult to use.


*Originally 'Winterbottom Wire Drawers'  Only in Yorkshire...

[Chris333]

No refund yet -> fingers crossed.

I never got any sort of e-mail about this order so I searched the shop I ordered it from:
https://forum.mrhmag.com/post/anyone-else-have-problems-ordering-from-boston-albany-hobbies-13584706

Looks like I'm screwed. I should ask Paypal for a refund before it's too late.

There are 2 different addresses listed on their site. This is one of those addresses:
https://www.google.com/maps/@42.7367033,-71.4719065,3a,39.4y,118.15h,91.36t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1sDSewh93Mct48KEJ8JGet8g!2e0!6shttps:%2F%2Fstreetviewpixels-pa.googleapis.com%2Fv1%2Fthumbnail%3Fcb_client%3Dmaps_sv.tactile%26w%3D900%26h%3D600%26pitch%3D-1.356381926417427%26panoid%3DDSewh93Mct48KEJ8JGet8g%26yaw%3D118.14563505762509!7i16384!8i8192?entry=ttu&g_ep=EgoyMDI1MDQwOC4wIKXMDSoASAFQAw%3D%3D

[peteski]

As far as I know, Boston & Albany hobby shop in Manchester NH is closed.  We just discussed this at the Greenberg show in Wilmington MA few weeks ago. He used be a vendor there but not for the last few shows. As I was told Dave Hobbs has moved to Hawaii. Not sure if he opened up a new shop there or not.

[Chris333]

Paypal says I have till Sept to get a refund. I sent the shop an email asking if they had it "in stock" and would they be sending it to me.

[Chris333]

I wrote him saying I heard you may be out of business. Do you have the code 40 rail "in stock" to ship to me.

His response was

No we are not out of business
Call me at