Hand Laying O Scale Track - Lessons I have Learned

Putting 4 spikes per tie and using tie plates requires a great deal of patience.  However one can improve the experience by following some simple rules and procedures.  Here are lessons I have learned in the process of Hand Laying.

1. Keep your feet and legs comfortable by using a fatigue mat.
2. Put some music on.
3. Lay a rail out on your ties using T pins to hold it roughly in place.
4. Insert a tie plate under the rail about every 8 or 9 ties for up to the length of the rail or tow you reach the location of a switch.
5. Insert two spikes in each tie plate but DO NOT drive the spikes home.  Leave them loose.
6. Insert tie plates between the 1st and 2nd and 2nd and 3rd tie that was inserted in 4 above.
7. Spike the first set of 7 or 8 tie plates driving the spikes home.  
8. Then drive the 1st spikes home and the 2nd two spikes home.
9. Then insert another 7 or 8 between the next set of ties.
10. Then go back to #6 and repeat.

What this effectively does is make is easy to insert tie plates between set as the "boundary" spikes were not driven home and the rail is still a bit loose.

Then repeat this for the second rail using 3 way track gauges to control the spacing on the second rail.  Always double check the gauge by using the standard NMRA gauge.

Back to Spiking.

Penn Station Progress

Here are some ties with the final Raw Umber/Ebony stain on them.

Here is the beginning of hand laid track including tie plates.  This inclusion of the tie plates looks great but is a very slow process.   I am considering only using the tie plates where they can be seen.  They are just small plastic plates but are rather expensive as you need so many, two per tie.  The rail was painted with Earth Brown and then lightly sanded off the tops.

Progress At Penn Station Hand Laid Track

The first photo shows the ties all glued down.  Tuesday and Wednesday I sanded them with a power sander.  The kind with a flat rectangle base and used 120 grit paper.  Worked pretty well.  After sanding Warren used a fine tooth saw blade to make ridges in most of the ties to create some grain.

Then on Thursday I applied Min-wax Classic Gray Stain to all the ties taking care to not miss any spots on the sides and ends of the ties.

Another area of the ties with the stain.

 Then today, Friday, after the stain had dried I streaked the ties very lightly with Min-Wax Ebony stain to create oil, grease, and cinder stains on the ties. 

Another section of the Ebony stained ties.

After this dries overnight I will put down the final coloring using Raw Umber to give the ties a brown look.  The gray and Ebony will show though to some degree.  Some will receive a darker treatment to represent new ties and some very little brown to give them a faded look of old ties.

Stay Tuned!