"Steamers" Builds and collection

[kamyoncu]

I understand to making cars but What did you guys produce rails ? expecially curves ?

[steamer]

There is proper Aluminum extruded rail that is available but very expensive per foot. Our club in Ontario Coals used this rail for that layout. The only problem with Aluminum is it's very slippery when you run steam engines on it. A little oil add some water and it's like driving on ice. For my home track I just used 1/4" x 3/4" flat hot rolled steel in 22 foot lengths. I Used 2"x2"x8" for the ties. With a dado head on the table saw, set it up to cut one side a tight 1/4" and the other side a loose 1/4'. When you assemble the track lay out enough ties to cover about 30' or so. Start with one rail on the tight side and drive it in to the bottom of the cut,I made mine 1/4" deep. Set your curve and drive a long nail through the ties every 5' or so just to hold were you want it. now go back and push in the other rail and your away. Don't forget to stagger the two ends of the rail about 4' so that you don't get a kink at the joint. The other nice point about the steel is as it gets rusty you get better traction and the sun will not cause it to expand as bad as the aluminum.
Rob