ebay mike
Retired, but still hoarding. (GOF)
Rain and rest days seem to have co-incided recently so track laying on the HVR has ground to an unwelcome halt. While looking for something else to get on with I have been ever mindful of the huge amount of R1 curves that have no future here. Someone responded to one of my posts regarding surplus track and suggested it could always be straightened. I thought 'in for a penny..........' and invested in a rail bender which arrived a few days ago. To make things more manageable I mounted it on a wooden frame. I decided to experimentally tackle the Aristocraft track to see if it was really feasible particularly as it could be disassembled easily by removing the hex screws from the joiners and the 4 screws holding the sleeper web in place. After a few 'runs' through the bender (changing the roller position just a little each time rather than all in one go) I ended up with two straight rails of 326mm and 301mm. Cutting across the webbing between each sleeper on the inner rail side only produced an acceptable base which allowed the original retaining screws to be replaced on the newly reshaped outer rail. Another piece of track was similarly treated and a second 'outer' rail was fed through to now floppy inner rail chairs. The mounting screw holes also aligned with this new piece of rail and once tightened gave a modicum of rigidity. The two left over 'inner' rails found a home in the second piece of webbing, albeit somewhat shorter. Removal of one end sleeper produced something that looked about right. Web screws and holes only matched at one end but then I had the idea of combining both new pieces of track to give a slightly 'over two foot' piece but using original rail joiners ( fishplates) and hex screws to make it rigid. Having looked down the length of the rails it looked damn near perfect to me so I thought I'd try a few more bits in case it was just a fluke. To my surprise and satisfaction they all turned out the same. I already appear to have sufficient track for my own needs so I am trying to gauge if there would be any interest before I tackle any more. I am not trying to bypass the new auction feature, just saving myself work if no-one will want any. Photos below. Comments would be welcomed.
