Sleeper

DafyddElvy

DafyddElvy

1:22.5 & 15mm Scale Trams, , NG Steam Railways
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I'm about to start track construction in the garden, because I'm scratch building all my points I need some sleeper material.
I have a small bench saw making cutting my own sleepers from a sheet of suitably material a viable option.

What I'd like some information about is the most suitable material to cut sleepers from.

On previous indoor 0 gauge layouts I have key pak'd rail chairs to sleepers and I'd like to do the same with the garden tramway.

What type of mde or hdpe or ??? material would my sleepers best be made from, thanks?


David
 
DafyddElvy said:
I'm about to start track construction in the garden, because I'm scratch building all my points I need some sleeper material.
I have a small bench saw making cutting my own sleepers from a sheet of suitably material a viable option.

What I'd like some information about is the most suitable material to cut sleepers from.

On previous indoor 0 gauge layouts I have key pak'd rail chairs to sleepers and I'd like to do the same with the garden tramway.

What type of mde or hdpe or ??? material would my sleepers best be made from, thanks?


David
Click to expand...
It's worth looking at places like Cornwall Model Boats - they have a changing stock list of small timber sections, but they are all hardwoods which are ideal for sleepers. Once you've worked out what cross sectional dimension of timber you want, you need to dive into each of the different wood types that they have in stock; you can usually find something that fits the bill.
 
I was thinking more about and ABS or similar so that I could glue the chairs to the sleepers.

Once laid the track will be held in place with a cement mortar mix, I'm not convinced wood would be my best option. I'll also be using code 180 and code 200 rail which is fine for all my stock.


David
 
I wouldn't use jelutong outdoors: whilst it is stable and has minimal movement, it isn't overly rot-resistant in the UK. Oak, cedar or teak (with afromosia being a good substitute for the latter) would be my preferences, but bear in mind that the dust from afromosia is very fine, and harmful. Extraction and a mask are recommended. A preservative of some sort will prolong their lifespan.
 
DafyddElvy said:
I was thinking more about and ABS or similar so that I could glue the chairs to the sleepers.

Once laid the track will be held in place with a cement mortar mix, I'm not convinced wood would be my best option. I'll also be using code 180 and code 200 rail which is fine for all my stock.


David
Click to expand...
Possibly worth looking at Filcris. I don't know much about it, as it's beyond my price point!
 
There is a wood-like product here in Australia called Ekodeck I use in the garden (not for sleepers but for other things).

www.ekodeck.com.au

Ekodeck | Australia's #1 Composite Decking, Cladding & Screening

Tried & Tested in Australia since 2009 with a proven history of performance, Ekodeck is #1 in Composite Decking. Available exclusively at Bunnings Warehouse.
www.ekodeck.com.au www.ekodeck.com.au

You can cut it and work with it like wood and it stands up to outside much better than wood.

One plank should make a lot of G scale sleepers.
 
DafyddElvy said:
I was thinking more about and ABS or similar so that I could glue the chairs to the sleepers.

Once laid the track will be held in place with a cement mortar mix, I'm not convinced wood would be my best option. I'll also be using code 180 and code 200 rail which is fine for all my stock.


David
Click to expand...
Plastic Coated Foamboard would work better than many other types of plastic as it does not flex/expand/contract like HIPS or some other Plastic types of material. Plus it is easily obtained in sundry sizes and easy to cut. If you want some wood type relief it is easy to add this by randomly dragging an old hack saw blade over it. Super Glue and pins should hold things in place nucely.
 
DafyddElvy said:
Unfortunately Filcris and Ecodeck sold in britain don't generally like most glues, and the glue you can use isn't that happy about normal rail chairs.


David
Click to expand...

No, it is not for gluing in any long term application. I have used epoxy myself but I would consider this "experimental" in terms of how it holds up until it is proven. It holds mechanical fasteners well, can you screw/pin the chairs?
 
DafyddElvy said:
I'm about to start track construction in the garden, because I'm scratch building all my points I need some sleeper material.
I have a small bench saw making cutting my own sleepers from a sheet of suitably material a viable option.

What I'd like some information about is the most suitable material to cut sleepers from.

On previous indoor 0 gauge layouts I have key pak'd rail chairs to sleepers and I'd like to do the same with the garden tramway.

What type of mde or hdpe or ??? material would my sleepers best be made from, thanks?


David
Click to expand...
Tenmille Gauge 1 chairs plug in to a pre-drilled hole. This would give you a wider choice of adhesive, even UHU which I have found to last almost for ever out of doors.
 
Rhos Helyg Loco Works said:
This all sounds like a whole lot of unnecessary hard work. Use wood and you'll be doing it all again in a few years.

Shameless recommendation for Tenmille track. Mine is on its third railway and was first laid in 1990.
Click to expand...

I guess this was not David's question but yes, I would go for manufactured track as well unless you could use synthetic materials and enjoy building. The only wood that will last outside is teak or impregnated. I use LGB and I have a lot of my track still outside and fine for 20 years now....
 
Slawman said:
I guess this was not David's question but yes, I would go for manufactured track as well unless you could use synthetic materials and enjoy building. The only wood that will last outside is teak or impregnated. I use LGB and I have a lot of my track still outside and fine for 20 years now....
Click to expand...
Tenmille manufacture a lot of track partd - chairs in various styles as well as separate sleepers. They also sell ready made track.

If you want to build your own track, and why not, then you can just buy the chairs :nod:
 
Buying the chairs and laying it myself has always been the plan, to fit the geometry I need to build my own points, which was always the plan.

The rail will be code 200 in chairs, the track will mainly be laid on concrete with a cement infill, not up to rail top level, to keep the track in place, and because my line will be a tramway as opposed to railway.

The line will be used by vehicles with fine scale Gauge 1 wheels and 0 gauge trains. I've already built a test turnout crossing that both large scale trams and 0 gauge models are happy traversing.

It's because of the dual gauge track requirement and having sleepers which could accommodate 63.5mm gauge in the future that I want the ability to cut my own sleepers. I have now established, I think, that UV stabilised or UV resistant ABS would probably be the best material, I can glue the chairs to this material and know I'd have a stable track to run on. Its just a matter of trying to find this in sheets no more than 3mm think and in quantities less than 1,000kg per order.

The present alternative is good quality wood, if such a thing exists in britain these days, soak it in decking oil before laying and give regular applications of decking oil and see how long it lasts, a bit suck it and see which isn't my preferred method but if it means I get things going then that's what it'll need to be.
Its times like this when I really miss living in Hong Kong when I could simply go down to the market, tell someone what I wanted and within a very short time I'd either have what I went for or a perfectly acceptable alternative which would achieve the intended result, hey ho I'm over here now.

So that's my present position with things.

Thanks for all the advice folks, as always, the replies don't always give an exact answer, but they do get the grey cells rotating and help with the thought process to find a solution to a challenge, thanks.


David
 
DafyddElvy said:
The present alternative is good quality wood, if such a thing exists in britain these days, soak it in decking oil before laying and give regular applications of decking oil and see how long it lasts,
Click to expand...
if you hunt for this alternative, try to find "Palo santo (Bulnesia sarmientoi) "
that is a south american wood, with a brown-greenish core and yellow outer layer, heavier than water, naturally oily. it does not twist
the oldest documented building and fence posts here abouts stand now in the ground for 97 years - without decay or material loss of the core wood.
(if you hand-lay stainless steel track, the rails might decay before the sleepers... )
 
korm kormsen said:
if you hunt for this alternative, try to find "Palo santo (Bulnesia sarmientoi) "
that is a south american wood, with a brown-greenish core and yellow outer layer, heavier than water, naturally oily. it does not twist
the oldest documented building and fence posts here abouts stand now in the ground for 97 years - without decay or material loss of the core wood.
(if you hand-lay stainless steel track, the rails might decay before the sleepers... )
Click to expand...
I would guess the plastic chairs, and the glue to bond them, would fail first?
Getting a glue to 'take' to a naturally oily wood, might be a challenge?

PhilP.
 
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