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Replacing track base


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25 years ago I built a 30'x30' 4 track railway around my garden. It's about 2 feet above ground....wooden posts support 'T' pieces and then 2"x1" pieces screwed to either side of the T pieces. Trackbase was Marine ply and covered in mastic and then roofing felt.

Over time I got heavily invloved in boating and so the railway was left to mother nature. Sadly a lot of the marine ply has rotted but the Peco N/S track appear to be in good shape.. I fitted box shape covers over most of the track to keep out the weather but these have suffered badly and had to throw them out recently. The station is 6 tracks wide with 2 platforms of around 8' in length and is covered with PVC glazing as used in house extensions...this has survived superbly.

My Question is......Does anyone know of an easy way to lift the track and slide in a new base without the huge task of lifting all the track. A shame to see this go to waste and would love to see the trains run again. My knees are not what they used to be!

I am in Farnborough, Hants and if anyone wants to help rebuild and use the railway for his pleasure I'd be glad of the assistance!

Thanks

Tony

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Hello Tony - thank you for choosing to join us.

I'm sure there's a way that the base could be replaced easily enough but it might actually be made easier if the track was removed first. However, I can sense that you're not too keen on that idea. Sadly I'm a bit too distant to be able to offer any practical help in order to revive your railway, as much as I would enjoy doing so. I'm still okay on my knees - it's the eyesight that holds me back.

I'm sorry to hear that a lot of the marine ply base has rotted (hope the boat's okay?) but I suppose that after such a long time something like that could be expected if not regularly maintained. How is the track secured to the plywood and is it ballasted? Is the railway OO gauge and do you have any photos of how it used to be?

I love to see layouts that are in need of a little TLC - not just outdoors but also those designed for indoor use too. I have this desire to spend time on them and get them up and running again. There's one on a well-known auction site at the moment, a somewhat large sectional indoor layout that's been partly completed but they always seem to be at the opposite end of the country making transportation difficult - not to mention the fact that I have no storage facilities anyway.

Hopefully, there'll be someone among us who resides a bit closer to you and may be able to help - fingers crossed!

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Much to far away for me too Tony, I'd love to help if I was closer.

Sounds like you're wanting to perform something like the magicians trick of pulling out the tablecloth of a fully set table!

I certainly can't think of a way of replacing the base without removing the track first.

Good luck with it!

Ian.

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You hit the nail on the head Ian...If only I could do that!!...although with this nice weather I am tempted to bite the bullet...it's really what to replace the baseboards with that will last. The track is secured with small brass pins which work well. I am trying to upload some photos but think the files might be too big! Will keep trying...Thanks for the replies anyway...thanks both for your messages...now off to jolly Heathrow to earn a crust for the next dcc loco!

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The gallery photo's look excellent Tony, including those of your indoor set up. Perhaps, if you have the time available, you might consider starting a thread in the indoor layout section for that one and of course, the outdoor section for the garden running.

For what it's worth, if you do decide to replace the boards I'd go with plywood again for the outdoors. That's the option I'd choose if I were starting over. It gives an almost perfectly level foundation for the track and, correctly protected, it 'should' last many years. I'm not entirely sure how sheets of plywood are manufactured other than it's a series of layers bonded together, but I have some old offcuts of standard exterior grade plywood in the garden that have had no additional protection and have been exposed to the elements for almost 2 years - they're still in excellent condition. On the other hand, I have some smaller offcuts of exterior grade plywood in which the layers have totally separated. It was all purchased from the same outlet. The grade is clearly no indication of it's quality.

I look at the photos of Ian's Kirkfield & Warmthorpe Railway under construction (in the gallery section) where Ian thins the felt adhesive with white spirit and applies a wash to the plywood sections before going on to fixing the felt itself with an undiluted coating and it just looks like it will last almost forever.

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