How do I check track is level?

I would check as I went along, beginning by trying to level the ground where the track will go. Use as long a spirit level as you can; this may mean making a long spirit level by fastening your spirit level to a length of wood (make sure it's not a warped length). If you're laying your track on ballast in a trench, make sure the trench is level before you put the ballast in, and then make sure the ballast is level before you put the track on it. I think the rule is that it's easier to get it level from the start than lay the track and then try and get it level.
 
lay level on track .across and length
 
Why not use a laser level if you get a decent quality one it will be visible in daylight. Mind you I still managed to get over 1" out across 20metres. :bleh:
 
I got a small spirit level from a DIY Store years ago. It is about 2 inches or so square and has two levels on it to measure each plain. These must still be available. I wonder where it is now, has not resurfaced after the move. It used to live on a flat chassis made from 10mm Bearings and a See Through Plastic Chassis.
JonD
 
If you place the level in a piece of rolling stock you will not get an accurate reading. As far as side to side leveling, use a small torpedo level. Lay it across the rails every couple of feet along the track. To measure level along the length of the track a laser level or water level is your best bet. The water level is still the most accurate of any type of level. You can use a four foot level or as has been mentioned a smaller level taped to a long straight edge like a 2"x 4".
 
As Dan says, if you're wanting to check levels over a longer distance (eg between two sections of your layout at opposite ends of the garden) then a long piece of clear polythene tube filled with water will give you a good level. Here's the basic principle but for garden railways it's on a smaller scale.

http://youtu.be/yLzUNRsWU_c Rik
 
ge_rik said:
As Dan says, if you're wanting to check levels over a longer distance (eg between two sections of your layout at opposite ends of the garden) then a long piece of clear polythene tube filled with water will give you a good level. Here's the basic principle but for garden railways it's on a smaller scale.

http://youtu.be/yLzUNRsWU_c

Rik
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What a great idea! Bleedin' typical I only see it days after a major rebuild of the railway where I was using bits of wood and a level for the track bed.
 
Yes I more or less did all of that and then the ground I had laid the whole thing on subsided, and not evenly, some bits sank more than others
 
You're not in a former mining area are you Cyril?

I know - hat, coat .........
 
If you have 'made-up' the level at all. - added material. Then no matter how well you firm it, it will settle.. You either have to make it slightly high, and wait for it to settle. Or, accept there will be subsidence, and then correct as necessary.
Not an exact science I am afraid. Even full-size railways have to tweak things.. The problem for us, is an inch of settlement, in real measure, is the best part of two feet at scale.

The more time spent getting it right during construction, the better it will last, and the less adjustment later. BUT, it will need attention occasionally.

You are 'running a railway', not just operating the trains! You have to do it all. - All part of the fun, honest.
 
A bit more knowledge on the water level. They have been around since the pyramids were built. They are the simplest and least expensive form of leveling. They are the most accurate of all forms of leveling. They can be used by one person. They never need adjustment, unless air bubbles get into the water. Forty years as a carpenter and I had guys look at me like I had two heads when I pulled out my water level. They just couldn't grasp the principal. The principal is this, if the water level is wrong, the Earth is in deep doo-doo.
 
I suppose I could say that this is a scale model of the Fife Coast that would give me some justification for this mess, but no, I did it my way, which I now realise was the wrong way

First of all two shots of the basic layout area. Now of course, after the first pic I should have walked away for about two years, but did I heck as like. Down goes the track
33135348f59b4fa69189402448d39071.jpg


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And all too soon trains go up and down like a roller coaster, bent in the middle.

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Don't say you haven't been warned!!!!!!
 
If you are going to lay crossovers, which you will, it is essential that these are flat not only "along" and "across" but also along the line of the cross connecting track - with long vehicles (say, anything 600mm or longer), the risk is that the vehicle twists on the crossover and derails.

GH
 
Madman said:
... They just couldn't grasp the principal. ...
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Er... I should think not, they'd get arrested on principle!! :bigsmile: (Sorry, couldn't resist!)
 
If you are after a water level and don't happen to have clear PVC hose around (who does?) you can improvise using a length of ordinary garden hose in true Blue Peter style. Simply join (make sure it holds water!) the neck of a pair of orange squash, or similar, clear plastic bottles to each end of a suitable length of hose, having first cut the bottom out of the bottles to make them into funnels.
 
KeithT said:
Why not use a laser level if you get a decent quality one it will be visible in daylight. Mind you I still managed to get over 1" out across 20metres. :bleh:
Click to expand...
Err... what's that in degrees?
I make it 1 in 780 - not bad, all things considered - what is the accuracy of your laser level? 1mm in 1m?
 
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