Laying Track!

The new tracks cross the old alignment.
Now that a portion of the CP Rail M & M Sub. is gone, I need to reconnect sections before trains can run again. The last time I laid track was probably five or six years ago; it's been fun to once again do this part of the hobby.

I use Atlas code 100 flex track on the layout. Sure, there is better looking track, but Atlas code 100 is cheaper and quite dependable. Plus, I have lots of it!

For cutting track, I use my trusty Xuron track-cutting tool. When cutting track, you need to wear glasses or turn your head away from the track; pieces of track fly off at great speed, and sometimes in all directions.

The new alignment means sharper curves, which is unfortunate. The area I am replacing had a 33 inch radius; now I am down to 24 and 26 inches. But I plan to hide this area behind buildings so the curvature isn't as noticable.

To make sure that cars won't hit each other on the curves, I use the longest pieces of rolling stock to test the alignment. In my case, that means two Walthers' autoracks.

For roadbed, I use sheet cork, available for purchase at any home improvement store. It's cheaper than model railroad cork, and I think it looks better since it's thinner. Since it's thinner, you also don't need to cut it in the middle to make it follow a curve.

While it was hard to remove part of the layout, that loss has been replaced by the opportunity to once again work on the M & M Sub.