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Questions and answers about large-scale track
Gauge 3 is 2.5″, which is the correct gauge for modeling standard-gauge trains in G scale (1:22.5). 1:24 scale is close. There are three gauges commonly used in garden railroading: Gauge 0 (11/4″ or 32mm), gauge 1 (45mm), and gauge 3. However, virtually any gauge can be used.
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The “code” of a rail (i.e, code-250 rail) is merely its height measured in thousandths of an inch. Hence, code 250 is .250″, or 1/4″ tall.
Brass has several advantages over stainless steel. It is easier to work with, can be easily soldered, is cheaper, conducts electricity well (if that is a concern), and will weather to a nice, dark color (except Aristo-Craft track, which does not seem to weather). Stainless steel is more difficult to work with, more expensive, cannot be easily soldered, and will always be bright and shiny.
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The answer to this question depends on many factor–the type of material the tie is made from (plastic or wood), your climate (dry vs. wet vs. salt water spray), and even how much direct sunlight each tie receives. Commercial gauge-1 track ties contain UV protectants to help them weather outdoors longer. Properly maintained, your outdoor ties should last many years. The exception would be handlaid track made with a soft wood (balsa, etc.). These ties would deteriorate much faster.
If you’re using sectional track, the ties are integrated with the rail into one piece. No assembly is required. If you’re using flex track, the rail and ties are separated. After bending/cutting the rail to the desired curve(s), the ties simply slide onto the rails. No glue or screws/staples needed!
Most trains will negotiate the smallest radius available, which is LGB’s #1100 curved track. This is 2′ in radius, making a 4′-diameter circle. However, this is far too tight for realistic operation. A general rule of thumb is to use the largest radius you have room for.
Though this is a matter of opinion, I feel that a radius of 7′ or 8′ is about the minimum on which a train will begin to look realistic going around it, and then only if the rolling stock is fairly small. Larger rolling stock needs larger-radius curves. If you use flex track, you can make the track go where you want it to, and not be constrained by the pre-made curvature of sectional track.
LEARN MORE about sectional track in our downloadable article package.
LEARN MORE about flex track in our downloadable article package.
LEARN MORE about how to handlay your own track in this package.
Yes, you should be able to run your lawn tractor over the track, with some qualifications. The track will need to be very firmly supported at the point where the tractor crosses it. I’d suggest a concrete pad, perhaps around 4″ thick, with reinforcing metal contained therein upon which the track is laid. Also, the concrete should be brought up to the top of the rail as well, both inside and outside the track. In fact, it would probably be best if the track were embedded in the concrete, with the flangeways cleared out to allow for the passage of trains. Given this, any rubber-tired vehicle (car, truck, tractor, etc.) should be able to cross the track without causing damage.
There are many, many ways to lay track outdoors, none of them right or wrong. I prefer using a method similar to that of full-size railroads.
Dig a trench 2″-3″ deep along the line where you want your track to go. Fill the trench up to the level of the bottom of the ties with crusher fines, decomposed granite, or some other crushed rock. Do NOT use pea gravel or squeegee. This is river rock, and the stones are round. They will roll against each other and against the track, and are unable to securely hold the track in position. Crushed rock has “teeth” and, when tamped, will lock against itself and the track.
Tamp the ballast with a stick or a brick to seat it and level it. Place the track in position, level it up, and fill the trench with more ballast. The top of the ties should be even with the top of the trench. Tamp the ballast around the ties until it is firm. Do this with a stick, and take your time. It will take a while to properly ballast and tamp, but this is time well spent.
Track will change with the seasons. It will contract in the winter and expand in the summer. The ballast method allows the track to move freely, eliminating the buckling rails and broken ties of track rigidly fixed to a wooden or concrete base. Also, if you live in the frost belt, frost heave will move the track around, perhaps necessitating a once-a-year realignment. Ballasted track makes this an easy operation.
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The method you have outlined sounds fine, except that you can get away with a trench 4″ wide x 2″-3″ deep. If you use larger rocks as a base with smaller ballast on top, you’ll find that the ballast will sink between the larger rocks over time. I suggest using your ballast material for the base as well.
Technically, there is a difference. Chicken grit is crushed rocks or pebbles which aids in digestion. Oyster shells are consumed for calcium to harden an egg’s shell. Since the shells are crushed pieces with a “tooth,” (as opposed to rounded edges, like river rock) they could be used as ballast, provided they are crushed finely enough.
One way to get pretty accurate curves is to draw each rail on a piece of paper to the desired radius. You can do this using strings of the correct length with loops at either end. Stick a tack into the floor through one loop and use the other to trap the point of a pencil to draw the curve. Bending the rail to match the drawn lines should be a relatively easy task. Fine adjustments can be done by hand. Rails needn’t be perfectly bent–the ties will hold them to gauge. If you are building your railroad indoors, you might get away with bending already-assembled track, but I wouldn’t recommend it. Outdoors, it’s a definite no-no. The track will always try to unbend and with sun, weather, and frost heave aiding and abetting it, it will eventually succeed.
Depending on where you live, you may or may not want to do this. If you live in an area subject to frost heave, I’d definitely suggest that you not. However, if you live in the sunny South, you might try rain-gutter nails. Pin your track to a piece of pressure-treated wood, then put the gutter spike through a hole in the wood, into the ground.
Constant cleaning of the track is probably the biggest thing that drives people away from track power. Mechanical cleaners (as opposed to solvents) are still the most effective, unless your track is coated with oil, say from a live steamer.
Start out by brushing any dirt, sand, or debris from the track with a small broom. The track can then be cleaned. A drywall sander, which amounts to sandpaper on a stick, is a popular way of cleaning the track, since it allows you to stand up. Scotch-brite pads from 3M also work well.
Proprietary track cleaners, like Joe Black’s sanding pad in a rolling chassis, can work well. These must be pushed around by hand or by a battery-powered engine until the track is clean enough to run a track-powered locomotive. PIKO America also sells a self-contained battery-powered track cleaner that looks like a small switcher
LEARN MORE about track basics, including cleaning track, in our downloadable article package.
BUILD your own track cleaner! Get ideas in this downloadable package.
That depends on a lot of things. What is your rail made of? Aluminum seems to require more cleaning than brass. How many trees do you have around and do they drop sap? What sort of birds or animals are around that might contribute to dirty track? Do you run plastic wheels or metal (metal runs cleaner)? How long between runs? The more often you run, the less track cleaning you’ll have to do. What is your climate like? Dry climates seem to require less cleaning. Is there salty air near you? If so, more cleaning.
Unfortunately, I know of nothing that will prevent ice from forming on the rails. Any chemical that might be applied could also interfere with conductivity and/or gum up your wheels. Increased amperage would have little effect. Heating the rails via solar radiation is probably the best bet. Once the ice has melted, wipe the rails down well so ice does not reappear (at least not until the next snowfall). If any readers have a better answer, I’d like to hear from you.
A reader response:
I am responding to the reader who asked about something to stop ice from forming on his tracks in the winter. He can purchase heat cables, used to melt snow and ice on roofs, at the hardware store or farm store and put them under the tracks. Just plug them in when the snow starts and no ice or snow will form. They are safe, inexpensive, and they work like magic. –Dale Schenekl, via e-mail
The climate crisis and the Covid-19 pandemic have made us question and rethink our travel habits. Night trains are a good example of how to favour a more sustainable means of mobility. Because of the pandemic, rail connections, including night trains, were interrupted; now, just before the summer break, night train operators are relaunching those connections that had to be cut short.
There are more challenges to cross-border night trains than border closures, such as different legal requirements across EU member states, different signalling and electrification systems, and different track and loading gauges. Moreover, as with all railway undertakings, night trains face the payment of track access charges, which is an important disadvantage in the competition with flights.
Night trains are among the most sustainable and relaxing modes of transport to cover long distances in Europe; however, they are not yet the most common choice for everybody.
This article describes their main features by answering questions that arose during the Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung event “Night Time on European Rails: The rise of night trains in Europe”. The answers were provided by MEP Anna Deparnay-Grunenberg (Greens/EFA Group, rapporteur for the European Year of Rail 2021), Mark Smith (Founder, The Man in Seat 61), Veronika Haunold (EU and International Affairs Manager, Austrian Federal Railways - ÖBB) and Carl Adam Holmberg (Head of the open access railway company Snälltåget).
Night trains are on the rise again! While Europe was widely interconnected by night trains until the end of the 20th century, connections decreased dramatically in the past two decades. 2021 marks the European Year of Rail and the resurrection of important new night train connections combined with fresh railway market entrants. The climate crisis and the Covid-19 pandemic have made us question and rethink our travel habits. Night trains are a good example on how to favour a more sustainable mobility.
Check out our maps on night trains in Europe!
1. What is the optimum frequency and regularity of overnight services, and how do you assess the demand for night train connections that do not exist yet?
Mark Smith (Seat61): Clearly, a daily service is ideal for most night sleeper connections. It is easy enough to look at overall demand for travel between two major cities by all modes. If there is a large overall market and the distance/journey time is suitable for a night train, such a train ought to be feasible.
Veronika Haunold (ÖBB): To offer as many night train connections as possible, a well-developed infrastructure is crucial. In addition, we need to distribute better rail capacities to enable cross-border trains and reliable connections with short waiting times. What is needed is a timetable that is coordinated throughout Europe. Only in this way, can we create optimal transfer connections and integrate night trains that are not part of the interval timetable.
The demand can be estimated based on a potential analysis, considering the source and target market, travel time, and the competitive situation with other modes of transport.
Carl Adam Holmberg (Snälltåget): It is difficult to say. It depends on the route and its specific market situation. There is no ideal frequency relevant on all routes.
2. If you use a day train to connect to a night train of a different operator, will the responsibility be yours or be on the operators to look after you if you miss your connection?
Veronika Haunold (ÖBB): There is an agreement with DB Fernverkehr (a division of Deutsche Bahn that operates long-distance passenger trains in Germany) to share the risk between ÖBB and DB. In all other countries (except Belgium), the Nightjet trains are operated by the national railway companies, which are also commercially responsible — therefore, the risk of connection loss is also with these railways.
Carl Adam Holmberg (Snälltåget): The operator that provides a connection to another train is responsible for the onward journey if the reservation is made all the way at once. This is comparable to what we see in other modes of transport, e.g. air travel.
3.What makes the rolling stock for night trains so particularly scarce? What do you think about the EU-level night train rolling stock pool idea?
Veronika Haunold (ÖBB): European Railway Undertakings (RUs) have access to a wide range of institutional lenders, specialized in railway rolling stock financing — such as EIB, EBRD, KfW or EUROFIMA. In addition, RUs can always refer to institutional investors and use the commercial banking sector. Sometimes the vehicle manufacturers themselves — also through specialized subsidiaries — offer RUs very interesting financing conditions, where appropriate in combination with maintenance issues. Since there are a variety of financing options for rolling stock open to European RUs, ÖBB sees no need for additional (legal) initiatives (such as the introduction of a rolling stock pool). Increased investment needs should be covered through dedicated existing European funding instruments (e.g. CEF) for the upgrading of rolling stock with multi-system technology for international use.
Carl Adam Holmberg (Snälltåget): There is a shortage of rolling stock today in Europe and that is, of course, a problem for operators like us who want to develop new night train services. This shortage is because only a few new night train coaches have been built in the past years and that some operators prefer to destroy their old rolling stock rather than selling it to new entrants that could refurbish them and give them a second life. One possibility to solve this problem could be an EU-supported rolling stock pool for all operators. Another way forward would be to force all operators to offer excess rolling stock they do not want to use anymore to other operators (incumbents and new entrants).
Mark Smith (Seat 61): If you wanted to start an airline, leasing planes is a well-developed market. Leasing trains is not, and leasing stock for night trains certainly is not. Often, operators abandoned night trains as their stock became life-expired, avoiding the need to replace it. Other operators abandoned night trains and scrapped the stock or let it rot in sidings, so it was no longer fit for purpose without major expenditure. Some cars have indeed found their way to new owners (Snälltåget and Regiojet, for example) or a leasing company (RDC-Deutschland is likely to lease cars to Moonlight Express for Brussels-Berlin and to SBB for Amsterdam-Zurich, for example). However, I often wonder what happened to all the other double-deck cars built for City Night Line in 1992-94, or the old DB InterCity Night Talgo trains? Spain, of course, is rebuilding its Talgo night trains as daytime trains.
4. Is a night train from London to Europe ever possible? Or is Brussels the future hub for travellers from the UK?
Veronika Haunold (ÖBB): The technical specifications of the Channel Tunnel are not the decisive barrier for a night train between the Continent and Great Britain. The barriers are rather the obligation to check passengers and luggage on the way to Great Britain as well as the level of track access charges in the Channel Tunnel and on the high-speed line HS1 between Dover and London St Pancras International.
Mark Smith (Seat 61): The economics of night trains is difficult, but it becomes pretty much impossible if you add Channel Tunnel security and border control costs, plus the high access charges for the Tunnel and HS1. Night trains through the Tunnel would require special new Tunnel-compliant rolling stock, and quite possibly changes to the current tunnel rules. Allocating and securing a platform at every Continental boarding station for such trains would be a headache, if not impossible, at many locations. So, unless something really major changes, Brussels and Paris will be night train hubs with Eurostar connections to and from London. The key challenges then will be through booking, attractive through fares and looking after connecting passengers if there is a delay.
5. What innovations in night train services can we expect in the next years?
Mark Smith (Seat 61): The upper end of the market increasingly demands en suite toilets and showers, so we will see progress towards that in the sleeping cars. But even the economy end of the market now dislikes ‘sharing with strangers’ so we’ll see innovations such as OBB’s new sole occupancy ‘minisuites’, and innovations in pricing that allow affordable sole occupancy for solo travellers or couples on trains that only offer 4- or 6-berth couchettes. Indeed, I wonder if the days of 6-berth couchettes are numbered. Aircraft-style flatbed seats have been used on a night train in Australia, but as they don’t make good use of the height space, nor offer a secure space, I’m not sure they are worth pursuing when alternatives are available such as the ‘minisuites’.
Veronika Haunold (ÖBB): We foresee new, ultra-modern and comfortable trains, more customer-friendly booking options (Open Sales Distribution Model platform), and better customer experience on board (WIFI, new offers in on-board entertainment such as bedtime stories to read and listen to, music to fall asleep to, etc.). Beds in ÖBB’s new night trains (to enter service at the end of 2022) will be somewhat longer. However, the Continental European structure gauge (the spacing of the rails on a railway track) does not permit a 2-metre-long bed, for example, in the Nightjet. We are currently replacing aluminium beverage cans in our Railjet on-board restaurants with environmentally friendly glass bottles. In this way, ÖBB will save the environment around 1.4 tons of aluminium waste in the future.
Carl Adam Holmberg (Snälltåget): I hope we will see a greater variety of operators with different concepts, innovations and pricing for a wider number of customers compared to what we have seen in the past, when we had no competition on the rail. In Sweden, the fact that we have several train companies competing against each other, trying to innovate and offer new services to passengers, was a key factor in the current ridership growth we have seen in Sweden since 2010 (+45%). This is one of the highest rates in Europe, where we would love to see more of this winning recipe. With regard to the rolling stock, traditional sleeping cars are nice from a customer perspective, but they need a considerably higher ticket price to be profitable and sustainable. Our view is that the demand to pay a considerably higher ticket price (for a trip in a traditional sleeping car) is too low, at least currently. We are focusing on improving the customer experience in our existing coaches by adding new and more comfortable mattresses, duvets and pillows. If they want more privacy, customers can book a private compartment regardless of whether they are travelling alone or in a group of up to a total of six persons.
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6. Will Snälltåget be able to run the Stockholm to Berlin connection all year round every night without any subsidy? Would you refuse a subsidy to run the line all year, if it was offered to you?
Carl Adam Holmberg (Snälltåget): Our vision is to operate trains when there is a demand (or if we expect a positive development in demand). With improved conditions for railway operators, such as lowered infrastructure fees, reducing the minimum demand needed, the likeliness to add more departures is high. If we expect a demand for all-year-round operations, we will definitely consider operation on a daily basis.
7. Will the tax benefits of flight operators (fuel and VAT) be cut?
Anna Deparnay-Grunenberg MEP: In July 2021, the Commission is expected to present the “Fit for 55” package. It will also include a proposal for the Revision of the Energy Tax Directive. We hope that the Commission is coming up with a kerosene tax for intra-EU flights. This is, so far, uncertain.
8. Is it necessary for politicians to intervene in the markets to ensure that the night train is a viable alternative to the wide range of budget airlines on the market?
Anna Deparnay-Grunenberg MEP: We have such a wide range of budget airlines on the market because there is no fair competition between air and rail. We must push, at the very least, for a level playing field between all transport modes. For instance, a kerosene tax would be a step in the right direction. State aid for night trains should be the exception and not the rule. If there is need for a Public Service Obligation, the process of awarding the contract must be as transparent as possible.
9. What needs to be done to create fair competition between service night trains and other modes of transport?
Veronika Haunold (ÖBB): Introducing a category of infrastructure access charges for passenger night trains that is as consistent throughout Europe as possible, similar to the separate categories with reduced charges for freight transport in certain Member States, would be an element in favour of night train development. Night trains, like many freight trains, have more scheduling flexibility. What matters most to night train passengers is what time they arrive at their destination in the morning, not how long it takes them to get there. The greater flexibility afforded to infrastructure managers in allocating train paths could be reflected in a lower infrastructure access charge. Because infrastructure access charges account for a considerable portion of the total costs, a category with a lower charge for night trains that is standardised throughout Europe would greatly improve night trains' ability to compete and would be consistent with climate protection aims. As a short-term measure, track access charges for night trains should be reduced to the level of variable costs in accordance with the EU directive, and the VAT on international rail tickets should be reduced to zero.
Carl Adam Holmberg (Snälltåget): “Create a level playing field” means to shape a market or a situation in which everyone has the same advantages and disadvantages. Focus on improving the conditions for cross-border services in general. The border procedure itself is challenging due to the need for ID checks, customs clearance, etc. It is also challenging from an operational perspective due to differences in “safety” languages, signalling systems, power supply, national regulations, etc. Another important improvement needed is to reduce the cost to use the tracks (track access fees) and to harmonise the VAT situation for cross-border trains (compared to air travel, where there a no VAT on international connections). This will make trains more competitive and make it easier for new companies to enter the market, innovate and offer more service that will attract more passengers to trains; a virtuous circle.
10. Are European laws being considered, incentivising EU countries to make infrastructure available for night trains?
Anna Deparnay-Grunenberg MEP: Yes, to get favourable time slots is already a challenge for operators. On the one hand, we must increase the capacity in the rail network. For instance, we must overcome bottlenecks and close missing cross-border rail links. However, we also need better coordination. I like the idea of creating Eurocontrol for rail as the European Railway Agency suggests. This could facilitate cross-border path allocation.
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