Track Progress

[drjohn]

Hi John - hadn't seen that site - yes we do get odd minor trembles from time to time, but moreso in the south.

And Chris, I brought a load of anthracite beans with me from Malaysia, and a UK buddy who lives part time on the island is sending me a "balikbayn box". An interesting concept that keeps Filipinos supplied with goods from overseas. No weight limit, just the size, and remarkably cheap to send. So he's putting a load more anthracite beans in with some other hard to come by stuff.

There are coal fired power stations in the Philippines, but I would imagine the coal is a bit like the bithuminous rubbish I got from the Malaysian power station.

DJ

[drjohn]

Pre-requisite for visiting engine drivers with or without their loco -

1) Must like seafoods - Fish prawns, crabs etc interspersed with chicken and pork - we don't eat cow!

2) Mustn't be afraid of passive smoking.

3) No fear of dying from a curable condition as medical facilities here are primitive and the nearest hospital is a ferry and bus ride of several hours, and that's if there's no wind blowing as the ferries get cancelled!

4) Happy with hot sun and cold showers - no baths or hot water here. (bring your own sunscreen if you need it).

5) Must like elevenses at 9.30 am ( I get up between 5.00 and 5.30 am to beat the heat of the day, so it's really just an early lunch)



6) Entry permit - 5 or 10 kilos of anthracite beans!! ;D ;D ;D

All welcome!

DJ

And lunch today was a lump of tuna caught this morning and grilled on the charcoal barbecue (we make our own charcoal too!)

[drjohn]

Bit of advice required from someone who knows.

I intend making 1" square hardwood sleepers slotted 1/2" for 1" X 3/8" bar for the rail with a steel sleeper welded across every 6 feet to keep the gauge stable.

Any advice on sleeper spacing? I was thinking of 6" but looking at it, I wonder if I can get away with 8" spacing and save about 400 sleepers?

Any thoughts would be welcome.

DJ

[redmog]

Smelling Like a Kipper.

'2) Mustn't be afraid of passive smoking.'

Sorry John, I can't fulfill this criteria.
I got moaned at yesterday for smelling like a kipper.
On returning home, I wasn't allowed in the living room
because of my smell.
It was my own fault for raising steam with the aid of old creosoted fence panel.
Works well, but a bit naughty.
Frowned upon in some clubs.
Loads of smoke; sticky tubes and the like.
Chris

[drjohn]

Little celebration to mark the event of the piers for the track being finished ... actually, it's for the wedding of my niece today, but the piers were atually finished too, so it'll only be another 10 days till we have the track bed completed.



DJ

[Tel]

I'm really enjoying this thread DJ, not least for the backgrounds, which give a bit of insight into your Palace, and your dinners. The crabs, fish, pig and ciggies are all to my liking, but that pissy looking liquid in the glass, that purports to be beer??? Also that 50° 'eat would be a bit of a worry, it'd never been above a balmy 44° 'ere.

[drjohn]

Nov 10, 2009 20:22:44 GMT Tel said:

I'm really enjoying this thread DJ, not least for the backgrounds, which give a bit of insight into your Palace, and your dinners. The crabs, fish, pig and ciggies are all to my liking, but that pissy looking liquid in the glass, that purports to be beer??? Also that 50° 'eat would be a bit of a worry, it'd never been above a balmy 44° 'ere.

Such praise is praise indeed when coming from Tel.

So when you venture up here Tel, as well as the mandatory anthracite beans, you'll have to bring your own 4X or Fosters Australian piss lager too! ;D ;D Don't worry too much about the 50° as we do have aircon for Ozzy wimps - us snow hardened Scots are more used to coping!

DJ

I'm halfway through cutting the 1062 sleepers which I'm going to space at 8", but here is a serious question I'd very much like an answer to as soon as possible:-

I'm using 1" X 3/8" steel bar for rails, and because of the sharpish edge, I intend to overgauge by 1/16" on the straights and by 1/8" on the corners so the wheels are not continually running on the radius between the flange and the tread - suggestions are needed ASAP as I will start grooving the sleepers tomorrow.


Sleeper cutting





P.S. The only warning I will give is that I've never yet met a long-nosed whitey who came to this little corner of heaven on earth and not wanted to stay forever!

[drjohn]

I also mentioned about my driving trolley with the negative braking system.

The brakes default to "on" and have to be actively moved to off. The reason being that the track is not level and if I want to get off for a beer or to get rid of a beer, it's important that the train doesn't run off into the wide blue yonder.






DJ

[drjohn]

It's actually really quite warm out there today - well over 50, but the guys still manage a smile (or is it a grimmace) as they come round "washing area wiggle".






Mind you, I spoil them - they get almost £2.50 a day for a 12 hour day 7 days a week!

DJ

[drjohn]

I'll ask this again as it probably got lost in the pictures -

I'm not expecting anyone to get out of their armchair and read LBSC's books, all I want is an answer from someone who got their fingernails dirty and did it in the past --

I'm using 1" X 3/8" steel bar for rails, and because of the sharpish edge, I intend to overgauge by 1/16" on the straights and by 1/8" on the corners so the wheels are not continually running on the radius between the flange and the tread - suggestions are needed ASAP as I will start grooving the sleepers tomorrow.

Cheers

DJ

[Tel]

Bit hard to answer that, as all the track making I've done has been with black mild steel - the hot rolled stuff that has almost what used to be known as a 'pencil edge' both sides.


over gauging might help, but it might be at the expense of re-tyring your wheels when the rails have bedded in a bit.

Now this might seem a bit silly, given the amount of track you have to make, but have you thought of getting aholt of a corner rounding end mill, making a simple jig, and shoving the lengths through that? A lot of work, I know, but you would only have to do one corner on each piece.

[drjohn]

Hadn't thought of that Tel, but I did think about running an angle grinder along the steel to take the sharpness off the edge on the wheel side.

It's black steel I'm using, not BMS.

But then again, my understanding of wheel technology is that the radius between the flange and the wheel kept the wheels in a position whereby the flanges don't actually touch the rails - maybe I'm wrong.

DJ

[ilvaporista]

The black stuff I bought and used for rail does not have a sharp edge.

So far there have been no issues and the edge has worn a bit round. No apparant damage to cast iron wheels, but I only run up and down.

Have a look at Mechmate Rail grinding skate for an idea how to take the corners off with an angle grinder

This should take you to a video
www.youtube.com/watch?v=j0RN_C-iosU

If not on You Tube just type Mechmate Rail Grinding. I am sure someone with dirty fingernails can knock up a similar gadget, maybe even have the angle grinder fixed and run the rail stock past the disc.

Keep up the great posts on progress. It cheers me up looking at warm weather when we have just had our first real snow on our part of the Alps. Still it's difficult to ski in 50 degrees...

[drjohn]

Thanks for that Adrian - I'll post a pic tomorrow of the cross section of the steel I've got as the bodega is now locked up for the night and it's serious beer time!

I don't have the spaceman's helmet, but maybe i can get some of my lackies just to run round with a file! Lol! ;D ;D

DJ

[ilvaporista]

At £2.50 per day you could just set the bars up on a wall and get the navvies to break the edge with a file. The files will probably cost more than the labour ;D

[peterseager]

I don't think I would worry about gauge widening. If, and I repeat if, the edges are going to damage the wheels won't it happen anyway? The extra clearance may even encourage hunting and make the damage worse.

Our club track has uses MS bar and it is not a problem. The only advantage with a club track may be is that more locos run on it and the edge gets rounded but no individual loco suffers.

My vote goes for just breaking the sharpness of the edge with an angle grinder.

Peter

[drjohn]

Thanks all for the advice - no point in asking if I don't take it, so I'll stick to 5" on the straights and overgauge 1/16" on the corners and run a file down the wheelside edge as I lay the track.

DJ

Sleepers now being grooved





The finished sleepers will be soaked in a mixture of coal tar and paraffin with the addition of a pokey termite killer (creosote doesn't seem to have any effect on the tenacious termites here.)

[Tel]

How long are those sleepers DJ? 6 1/2" to 7" ? another inch or so of length would be better. I know, I know, shuudup Terry, they're already cut.

[drjohn]

7" Tel. Hardwood, but they're only really to keep the steel off the concrete (which is only 6" wide - economical Scotsman!!) The main gauging will be done with welded steel sleepers every 3 feet or so.

DJ

[Tel]

If your 'treatment' is effective you might get away with 'em, but I'd be worried about that short bit splitting off the end when they get wet - wet wood can generate a lot of pressure