Rich
Member
Posts: 8
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Post by Rich on Jul 20, 2004 10:56:43 GMT
Hi there All,
Has anyone out there used Blackgates rail spikes?
I'm just looking at making some track up, and though I'd end up screwing the rails to sleepers, but now I see that Blackgates have railspikes for sale (at about a penny a time). I'm assuming that they are akin to nails, and my gut feeling is that nails holding rails down would easily work loose, but that is just a guess, and I would be keen to hear from anyone who has actually used them to see what they think.
The other issue is that I am considering keeping my track semi-portable, and so it may suffer from more flexing that permanetely laid track might.
Yours,
Rich.
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Post by Phil Sutton on Jul 20, 2004 19:04:56 GMT
We use track spikes on our raised track at Burton MES,and generaly needs very little fettling,a major session at the start of the running season and a quick visual check before each running session.
i couldn't say how a semi - permenant track would survive,but the spikes do take some getting out,except if the sleepers have gone rotten!
Phil
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Rich
Member
Posts: 8
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Post by Rich on Jul 21, 2004 16:08:41 GMT
Cheers Phil, this sounds promising.
Do you know, by any chance, what wood the sleepers are made from (so that I can keep to the same combination of fixings and what they're fixed into)?
Yours,
Rich.
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Post by Phil Sutton on Jul 21, 2004 19:11:18 GMT
Hi Rich.Will find out tomorrow night what the sleepers are made from(meeting night)some sort of hardwood I think.On the ground level track(5"& 71/4")we have used steel strip track with welded steel spacers,screwed to plastic sleepers.This has only been laid this year,so we are waiting to see how it holds up to the vageries of the British weather.
Phil
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Post by Deleted on Jul 22, 2004 10:11:33 GMT
Hi
I used umpteem thousand rail spikes into ordinary wood that had been soaked in Creosote for the railway round my garden including the points and a double slip.
None of them has ever shifted.
Doug Hewson sells spikes and they may be cheaper than Blackgates as he sells them by weight.
Regards
Clif
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Post by Phil Sutton on Jul 23, 2004 19:58:05 GMT
Rich,further to last e-mail,sleepers are mainly mahogany,with some yarrow (?) and keroin.As you may know thes are exotic hardwoods,and maybe expesive to buy new,the mahogany came from some reclaimed bank counters.
Phil
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SteveW
Elder Statesman
Posts: 1,456
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Post by SteveW on Jul 25, 2004 13:01:58 GMT
Re What wood for sleepers.
At Cheltenham our expert did a lot of research on this one and came up with larch heart wood. Over the years the club has tried various woods from the exotic down.
We are now restoring the track with alloy rails on tanalises larch using the plastic chairs from PNP Railway bits. It look very good and rides very well. The whole lot being screwed together using SS screws.
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Post by Phil Sutton on Jul 25, 2004 16:13:12 GMT
For yarrow read Jarah.
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Post by Tel on Jul 25, 2004 19:58:05 GMT
You beat me to it. Jarrah is a good quality hardwood, used extensively for t&g flooring over here, pretty easy to get hold of.  |
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