CLICKETY-CLACK .................

[hankbonaire]

If I leave a small gap between the rail joints, will I get a REALISTIC clickety-clack sound as the wheels pass over them.
Track will be laid directly on 3/4 plywood .............. no cork or ballast.
Continuity will be with Massoth rail joiners plus the usual bus and feeders at every joint.
Haven't ridden a train for a long time but I always loved that dah-dah-dah- dah sound.

 

[Gavin Sowry]

Yes. My Taita Gorge Railway is located some 25 metres from a mainline electric railway, often, I'd hear a bit of clickity clack (which I shouldn't, because the real railway is now fully CWR) and look up towards the line to see no train...... fooled by my own railway. Metal wheels are a prerequisite for good sound effects.

 

[Gizzy]

Agree with Gavin, metal wheels and gaps in the track....

 

[playmofire]

If you can insert a credit card between each rail join that should work, that's the thin edge of course.

 

[hankbonaire]

Yes. My Taita Gorge Railway is located some 25 metres from a mainline electric railway, often, I'd hear a bit of clickity clack (which I shouldn't, because the real railway is now fully CWR) and look up towards the line to see no train...... fooled by my own railway. Metal wheels are a prerequisite for good sound effects.

Thank you Gavin ............ all I have is plastic ........... no metal.

 

[hankbonaire]

Agree with Gavin, metal wheels and gaps in the track....

Thank you Gizzy ........... I am not swapping plastic to all metal.

 

[hankbonaire]

If you can insert a credit card between each rail join that should work, that's the thin edge of course.

Thank you Playmo, is that the leading edge with the little triangle ?? ......... mine are all chewed up from overuse.

 

[playmofire]

Thank you Playmo, is that the leading edge with the little triangle ?? ......... mine are all chewed up from overuse.

Just put the card in vertically between the track pieces.

 

[dunnyrail]

Plastic wheels will never give a good de dum de dum sound. Metal wheels also will give much happier running with track power being less inclined to collect gunge and spread it over the track, sometimes plastic wheels adding some if their own gunge which rail gaps are likely to create micro bits of plastic.

Yes metal wheels are expensive, but you do not have to change all over at once. I got a box full at a society meet and that pushed me in the right direction further adding to my metal wheels as I could afford them. My complete fleet is now metal wheeled, a process that took probably nigh in a decade. Now I only need to buy a set if I get a new wagon without them, but if buying second hand it pays to wait for metal wheeled examples that rarely cost much more.

 

[Gizzy]

Thank you Gizzy ........... I am not swapping plastic to all metal.

Worth the cost and effort as per Dunny's post.

Also took me a while, but now my whole fleet is thus fitted....

 

[Rhinochugger]

Continuity will be with Massoth rail joiners plus the usual bus and feeders at every joint.

 

[hankbonaire]

Just put the card in vertically between the track pieces.

Just put the card in vertically between the track pieces.

 

[hankbonaire]

Thank you Playmo ................. I'm onit.
My ATM card is 3 plies all over ............ samo-samo.

 

[hankbonaire]

Plastic wheels will never give a good de dum de dum sound. Metal wheels also will give much happier running with track power being less inclined to collect gunge and spread it over the track, sometimes plastic wheels adding some if their own gunge which rail gaps are likely to create micro bits of plastic.

Yes metal wheels are expensive, but you do not have to change all over at once. I got a box full at a society meet and that pushed me in the right direction further adding to my metal wheels as I could afford them. My complete fleet is now metal wheeled, a process that took probably nigh in a decade. Now I only need to buy a set if I get a new wagon without them, but if buying second hand it pays to wait for metal wheeled examples that rarely cost much more.

Thank you Dunny ........... I will gradually introduce metal wheels.
If you have sound like a large diesel engine, will the clickety-clack be audible with engine noise ???.................. EDIT: .........ABOVE engine noise ??

 

[Rhinochugger]

Thank you Gizzy ........... I am not swapping plastic to all metal.

Save some money by doing away with the bus and jumpers - the Massoth connectors will provide sufficient continuity then you can have one metal wheelset per wagon. You can hear plastic wheelsets going over the joints indoors, but I doubt you'll hear it outdoors

 

[hankbonaire]

Save some money by doing away with the bus and jumpers - the Massoth connectors will provide sufficient continuity then you can have one metal wheelset per wagon. You can hear plastic wheelsets going over the joints indoors, but I doubt you'll hear it outdoors

Thank you Rhino ............ I don't think I can stretch 250 feet of track without some bus and jumpers.

 

[Gavin Sowry]

Thank you Rhino ............ I don't think I can stretch 250 feet of track without some bus and jumpers.

Taita Gorge is basically an oval, wired for track power with traditional isolating sections, and rails are joined with ordinary rail joiners. Other than that, I have just one set of jumper wires (which I don't really need any more since I eliminated a return loop)........ this has been down for 24 years, outdoors, and it still works

 

[dunnyrail]

I have all sound locomotives and I can hear joint de dum de dum noises, however my sound settings tend to be quite low and this can make a big difference. All my DCC and My Loco Sound systems have the ability to adjust sound levels.

As for your jumpers and bus sections, my line when track powered was all clamped but broke into sections for ease of fault finding, but I had few problems. Each section was switched and had power feed at each end next to isolating rail joints. Thus most isolating joints would have a feed almost next to each other. I had no problems with power drop and my line is a dog bone type over a length of garden 80 feet thus the main line is over 300 feet long.

 

[Nodrog1826]

Thank you Rhino ............ I don't think I can stretch 250 feet of track without some bus and jumpers.

Mine has a jumpers in various locations, areas where it is easier to do station, and out on the line which is roughly 300 ft ,where I thought necessary.
But having said that it's also fish plated a la prototype fashion at every joint, (Plates, tapped rail, and screwed together.) and copper greased.
I do use rail clamps on the pointwork, for ease of lifting for maintenance.

Still get the very occasional continuity issues, mainly in the loose screw dept on occasions.

I have also left a gap at each joint, a thin screwdriver blade tip, between the rail joints, not so much for the Clickety Clack, but for rail expansion in warmer weather.

Warmer weather, now there's an idea.

 

[hankbonaire]

I have all sound locomotives and I can hear joint de dum de dum noises, however my sound settings tend to be quite low and this can make a big difference. All my DCC and My Loco Sound systems have the ability to adjust sound levels.

As for your jumpers and bus sections, my line when track powered was all clamped but broke into sections for ease of fault finding, but I had few problems. Each section was switched and had power feed at each end next to isolating rail joints. Thus most isolating joints would have a feed almost next to each other. I had no problems with power drop and my line is a dog bone type over a length of garden 80 feet thus the main line is over 300 feet long.

Thank you Dunny .......... after Jan 11, I will have a track plan to post here for review. Until then I am building some tables (not connected) and waiting on the Caribbean mail to bring the Massoth joiners.