I'm working on installing a couple guard rails that are to be functional.
However, I'm wondering how close to the rail they actually need to be to
work properly. In turnouts, the guard rail actually pulls the wheel away
from the other rail so they have to be quite close. However, I'm working
with straight sections of track, where the intent is to keep the wheel on
the rail and not pull it away from the other rail.
Do I need to keep them really close, or would it normally be fine to just
get them as close as the flex track nubs would allow?
Puckdropper
In message , Puckdropper
writes
You can find all the information you need on the NMRA site at nmra.org
Look at the various standards which will give you the required
dimensions. If you are working in HO scale you can even buy a gauge to
use for track laying.
Hope this helps
I used code 70 rails on code 83 flex track and placed them against the
'nubs' (moulded rail spikes) on the flextrack. Be sure to bend the ends
towards the center. The point of these guard rails is to limit
derailment and keep cars either on the rails or very close to staying on
the rails and thus prevent cars from falling off the bridge and into the
water (river, lake, swamp, etc.).
For guard rails on bridges and so forth, the purpose of the guard rail is to
hold the wheelset in the area of the track and thus the wheel should be able
to fall to the ties and contain it there. The guard rail on a turnout is
intended to keep the opposite wheel from picking the point of the frog and
thus it needs to contact the flange itself to control the position of the
wheelset.
--
Bob May
rmay at nethere.com
http: slash /nav.to slash bobmay
http: slash /bobmay dot astronomy.net
Nomenclature problem. Hope the following helps clear things up. I found
OP's question obscure, as all he said was that he wasn't talking about
"guard rails" in turnouts (these are usually termed "check rails.")
Guard rails: found on bridges, are designed to keep derailed trucks from
wandering far enough sideways to cause serious damage to the bridge,
tumbling the car off the bridge, etc. Standards vary somewhat, but
generally they are spaced about 1 ft from the running rails. Study
photos to get a sense of what will look right.
Guard rail: in track, are designed to help ease (if that's the word)
rolling stock around curves. They are installed next to the inside rail
of the curve, and prevent the wheels on the outside curve from climbing
that rail. The flange way should be a little wider than that of a check
rail, and will vary with the severity of the curve. Actually, typical
model railroad curves are so sharp that the equivalent prototype curves
would have guard rails installed.
Check rail: the rail opposite the frog in a turnout, designed to prevent
the wheels from picking the frog and running down the wrong side of it.
Spacing depends on wheel standards. NMRA
Grade crossing may have rails spiked down next to the running rails, but
their purpose is to keep asphalt and gravel out of the flangeways.
HTH
wolf k.
Wolf K wrote in
news:4a9b43eb$0$24749$ snipped-for-privacy@news.newshosting.com:
I'm working with something like the "guard rail" definition above for
curves. There's an expansion rail on one side (the rail's cut in half
along its length and allowed to move back and forth as the layout
expands), and the guard rail is across from it. The purpose is to keep
the truck from falling off the non-expansion rail should the wheel fall
in to the gap.
Puckdropper
Cut "along its length"?! The rail expands primarily along the length.
Gapping the rail (a cut Across the rail) is the usual method of
accommodating expansion and I've not seen guard rails used at the gaps.
In message , Bob May
writes
Here's a few photos taken in Canada of actual track with various check
and guard rails. Perhaps the knowledgeable will identify each type for
us :-)
First a bridge
formatting link
A 'normal' point
formatting link
A couple at a trestle bridge
formatting link
At a grade crossing
formatting link
A point (switch) with one check rail only. The frog is a 'self checking'
one used where there is a maximum speed of 10 mph
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