Fun with <gasp> Unitrack!

[Kisatchie]

I would never suggest anything code 80 can be made to look good as code 55 (see above).  Usually I can spot makeup on a pig as a pig; I'm just sharing my own incredulity at how much less pig-like this looks to me than I expected.  Your mileage may vary.

Don't mind Dee. She's just throwing oil on the fire...


Hmm... ply me with
bananas and watch my
opinion change...

[Scottl]

Dave, all kidding aside, that Apex layout seems to have advanced quite a bit and is now nicely finished.  Any chance we can see more?

[Mike C]

  I used Unitrack on my layout also. It is amazing how good it can look if you fix it up just a bit...Mike

[Dave V]

Dave you got any use for a Unitrack double crossover?  Got one you can have.

Honestly, no thank you...  That track configuration is extremely rare in the US outside of light rail mass transit-type lines.  It also is the one piece of track that almost every Unitrack layout has, and it screams in flashing lights "Hi, I'm Unitrack!"

[Dave V]

Dave, all kidding aside, that Apex layout seems to have advanced quite a bit and is now nicely finished.  Any chance we can see more?

 

It was pretty damaged in the move.  That's the undamaged part.  I promise I'll show more when I get it fixed up.

[Scottl]

Sorry to hear that it was damaged.   Hopefully it will recover with your efforts.

[Smike]

If it wasn't for unitrack, all my stuff would be sitting in boxes while I procrastinate building my layout. Dave your results mirror mine when I experimented with this stuff. Killing the shine and weathering is the key. Looks great.

[Bsklarski]

Another upside is that whatever Kato uses for a metal to make the rails, it stay much cleaner with less effort to any other track I have used.

[Dave V]

  I used Unitrack on my layout also. It is amazing how good it can look if you fix it up just a bit...Mike

Mike,

Are these the double-track superelevated plates?  Novel idea, but I wish they'd come in wood ties.  Then again, it looks like they're not profiled like real concrete ties and could be painted.

[davefoxx]

Dave,

If the Apex, NC layout is damaged to a certain degree and your son is not enjoying it anymore, why not salvage that Unitrack for part of the JD's expansion.  For that matter, if you used a 36" x 80" HCD under that layout, salvage that, too.  There may be more in that layout that can be reused on an expanded JD than you may have considered.

DFF

[Dave V]

Dave,

If the Apex, NC layout is damaged to a certain degree and your son is not enjoying it anymore, why not salvage that Unitrack for part of the JD's expansion.  For that matter, if you used a 36" x 80" HCD under that layout, salvage that, too.  There may be more in that layout that can be reused on an expanded JD than you may have considered.

DFF

No, I built benchwork for it...  2.5' x 5'.  It's smaller than an HCD.  It sits atop a 2'x4' folding table.

Jacob seems to have drifted away from it but now Timmy shows interest in it, although Timmy seems to have decided he likes Santa Fe.  Irrespective, I like having a tiny little layout based on Apex.  It's much more portable than the JD and I make take it to shows instead of the JD.

Recently I asked Jacob if he'd like to learn to weather his stuff and he was interested.

[Mike C]

Mike,

Are these the double-track superelevated plates?  Novel idea, but I wish they'd come in wood ties.  Then again, it looks like they're not profiled like real concrete ties and could be painted.

Yes Dave , this is the superelevated  curve . I second the wish that they would have done them in the wood tie. I had considered trying to paint the ties, but didn't want to mess them up. I'm not real good with tedious stuff..LOL....Mike

[robert3985]

Dave you use Code 80 for the rest of the layout? I have noted here before that the Code 80 rail can be pulled (with a little effort) out of the plastic roadbed and Code 55 rail  -- even weathered -- slid into place instead and fastened with some ACC. As a bonus, with the rails out, any painting of the plastic roadbed/ties is much easier. Spray it all a gray ballast color, then broad brush strokes of whatever tie color you want over the plastic ties. Insert and glue rail and you're set to go.

Wasted effort.  It's not the height of the rails that catches the eye with code 80 track, it's the tie size, tie proportions, tie spacing, and those gigantic rail attachment thingies that are supposed to be "spikeheads".   Replacing the rails won't improve the looks.

[Scottl]

Doesn't replacing the code 80 rail with 55 defeat the purpose of Unitrack?  If people want a simple, reliable track (that is available!), it seems pointless to monkey with it.

[davefoxx]

Not to mention that even if Code 80 rail could be replaced with Code 55 rail in flextrack, what about the turnouts?  Without handlaying track, Code 55 turnouts are practically unavailable, too, and there is no way to replace the rails in a turnout.

DFF