PLASTIC TRACK!

If they where available in code 250, code200 or even smaller, like 150 I could use it as guard rails on bridges and in tunnels
 
Following on from a year ago.
At that time (post #15) I'd laid some plastic rail on wood sleepers for a siding which is always in the shade. There's been no problems.
Six months ago (winter) I laid another siding in full sun and have had some major buckling. And it's not even summer yet.
As you can see it has buckled upwards. I had screwed the sleepers down every 3' and ballasted with my standard 6:1 gravel:cement, but it didn't hold.
7adf5142ece74d0babe23b962db3d7c7.jpg


I'll have to scrape the ballast out and screw down more often for a final summer test.
 
gregh said:
Following on from a year ago.
At that time (post #15) I'd laid some plastic rail on wood sleepers for a siding which is always in the shade. There's been no problems.
Six months ago (winter) I laid another siding in full sun and have had some major buckling. And it's not even summer yet.
As you can see it has buckled upwards. I had screwed the sleepers down every 3' and ballasted with my standard 6:1 gravel:cement, but it didn't hold.
images


I'll have to scrape the ballast out and screw down more often for a final summer test.
Click to expand...

The coefficient of expansion for UPVC is phenomenal. We used to do a lab experiment for ONC Construction, whereby you took a metre length of plastic roof guttering, with two end stops, and filled it with boiling water.

With one end fixed, and the other free, you could see the free end moving as the hot water went in.
 
Rhinochugger said:
The coefficient of expansion for UPVC is phenomenal. We used to do a lab experiment for ONC Construction, whereby you took a metre length of plastic roof guttering, with two end stops, and filled it with boiling water.
With one end fixed, and the other free, you could see the free end moving as the hot water went in.
Click to expand...
Interesting. I never realised plastic expanded so much.
 
Aristocraft are working on plastic track. Quote from Lewis Polk as written in the Aristocraft Insider May June 2011 -
"[size=14pt]we?re going to make and all plastic roadbed track for battery and steam operation at a super low cost. This will be an ABS plus fiber glass material with an integrated roadbed in U.V. material and colored a dark gray. ABS is an engineering plastic and we will have a wide variation of temperature capability for this material."[/size]
 
ROSS said:
Lewis Polk has made many announcements...quite a few never matured.......be interesting to see what comes of this.
Click to expand...

Yep - thats why I said are working on rather than are going to make. Lewis is very keen on battery power so plastic track at a time when brass is so expensive does sound like a sensible thing to investigate.
 
Just caught this thread for the first time. The idea of plastic track for storage sounds great (would release a bit of my brass stuff for other use).
And also for sidings where shunting does not happen only the storage of rakes of rolling stock. With the expansion that has been noted on the track used outside it might be a case of fixing it down with brackets to let it slide sideways (along its length as it expands)...



ba8ca77f68cc4cfbaeeba96d465253b6.jpg
 
Wot's the problem?

I seem to remember that 1:1 scale railways used rail in short lengths with gaps at the fish plates to allow for expansion - hence the clickety clack.

So why not follow prototype practice?
 
Rhinochugger said:
Wot's the problem?

I seem to remember that 1:1 scale railways used rail in short lengths with gaps at the fish plates to allow for expansion - hence the clickety clack.

So why not follow prototype practice?
Click to expand...

Ian, I was presuming that the plastic track came in long lengths so cutting them seemd a bit of a faf if they were going to be used for storage areas or non functioning sidings etc. If they are in short lengths then leaving gaps at the joins (the gaps would have to be larger due to the higher coefficient of expansion of plastic) would make sense too.
I have used the bracket method with pieces of bent Meccano strip for spreading across the joins in my track in a couple of places where I could not fix down the ties either side of the join
 
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