Study the trackage in the area that you are looking to model. A good fact-finding trip can help you to learn a lot about the track structure and surrounding scenery. This trackage is located on the Milford-Bennington Railroad in Wilton, NH.
	Summer is a distant memory as the leaves fall from the trees… time to get back to work on the layout! This scene is Crawford’s depot on the old Maine Central Mountain Division, now restored and used as a seasonal stop for the Conway Scenic.
	Draw your center lines with a dark colored marker so that they are easily seen though the thin layer of wood glue.
	Fill the TieRack with pre-cut ties. Once filled lay a thin strip of tape along the top to hold them in alignment when you transfer them to the layout.
	Newly laid ties in wood glue. Once set, the tape can be removed.
	You can use pre-made stains for your ties, or make your own from rubbing alcohol and shoe die. I’m cheap so I mostly make my own.
	Use a brown stain for your first application on your ties.
	Once the brown has dried for several hours (preferably 24 hours) apply your second stain with the black. After the final stain has dried, check the ties to see if they are the shade you desire. If not, continue adding alternating stains of brown and black.
	All the documents you need come on the FastTracks CD. There are also several other helpful tips available on their website.
	When shaping your switch and frog points with the PointForm tool, use smooth, one way strokes with a bastard file.
	Inspect your points to make sure they are clean and sharp. These need some fine-tuning on the ends to square them up and get rid of the burs. A quick swipe with the fill will make quick work of it.
	Make sure to dry fit your rail to make sure everything is coming together nicely. Once the dry fit is complete you can solder the points in the jig. Be careful when you line up the frog points not to roll the rail by pushing them together too hard, just push together to where they meet.
	A completed #6 turnout rests in a Fast Tracks jig. After building a few turnouts to try my skills, I was able to produce a high quality turnout for the layout in about 15 minutes.
	Dry fit your turnouts to make sure that they fit, then secure them to the roadbed with epoxy.
	Newly spiked rail with Micro Engineering “micro spikes” on Code 70 rail. Notice the gouges on the ties in the center of the gauge… there must have been a derailment here at one point!

By Ian MacMillan/Photos by the author
Originally published December 13, 2007

Now that benchwork has progressed on the Amoskeag Northern, we can start laying some track so that we can get to the real point of the layout, running trains!

Having used flex and sectional track in all of my previous layouts, I decided that it was time for me to give handlaid track an honest effort on this layout. If you are like me, you think hand laid track looks really good, but its perceived difficulty has scared you away. For years I had put off trying to hand lay my own track, even though I was exposed to it at my local model railroad club. Even though all our track is handlaid, I still refused to have any part of it. And that’s why I say “perceived difficulty,” because once you actually get down to it, it’s not that hard, and it can be a lot of fun.

When designing the Amoskeag Northern I had just recently seen a layout with track laid to Proto:87 standards, and I knew that I had to handlay the track for the new layout. At the same time I was introduced to the FastTracks kits produced by Tim Warris which allows you to easily create handlaid turnouts in any scale, and even to Proto standards if so desired. I ordered a #8 and #6 turnout kit to see if it was as easy to use as Tim said, and I was pleasantly surprised with the outcome!

Now while I will be using the FastTracks kits to assist in making turnouts for the purpose of this article, if you feel more comfortable using the traditional method of construction, please feel free to do so.

Laying Ties

After you have your track plan figured out, begin construction by drawing center lines on your roadbed. You want to make sure your ties have a realistic flow to them, and follow the centerline. Using the FastTracks “Tie Rack,” place pre-cut wooden ties into the slots, and place a thin strip of blue painters tape on top of them. Use you finger to press the tape onto the top of the ties. I have found that sometimes the ties fit into the slots snugly and when you pull the tape, some of the ties remain in the Tie Rack. Using wood glue, place a bead along the center line that you drew, and then spread the glue with a putty knife so that it leaves a thin coat where you are going to place the ties. (Make sure that you use wood glue. I tired Gorilla Glue at first and the glue expands way too much, possibly leaving you to replace entire sections of ties.) Once the glue is spread, lay the tape strips of ties into the glue, with the center of the ties aligned with the drawn centerline as much as possible. You’ll want to leave the tape on the ties, and if you wish, use your fingertip or the end of an X-acto knife to move a few ties to represent deferred maintenance or ties that have shifted or need replacing. After the glue is allowed to set, preferably overnight, remove the tape.

When it comes to handlaying ties for turnouts, modelers have a few ways of doing it. One is by using long lengths of ties and then cutting them to the appropriate length, using pre-molded plastic tie templates, or using laser cut turnout ties like the ones offered by FastTracks. Using the FastTracks “QuickSticks” for turnout ties is pretty easy. Each turnout is laser cut on micro plywood that can be used on either side for a left hand or right hand turnout, and are the same height as the pre cut ties you can get from FastTracks. Using the centerline that you drew on your road bed, once again lay down some glue, and place the turnout into the glue.  Again after waiting for the glue to set, use an Xacto blade to trim away the carrier plywood from the ties. When you have a good amount of ties down that have set you may choose to lightly sand the ties to level the tops so that the rail seats properly.

After you have sanded the ties, you can begin staining the ties a realistic color. Use actual photographs as a guide to coloration. Ties are not a consistent brown color, and will vary from grays to blacks depending on the climate of the area and maintenance. By staining the ties and not painting them, we can replicate the varying shades of color in each tie. The section of track that I am working on right now represents a Boston & Maine branch line that is somewhat maintained, so the ties vary from brown to brownish black. To create this color we will use a brown stain and a black stain. While there are several pre-made stains and washes out there, I prefer to make my own as it is much cheaper. To make your own stain, get a couple of one-quart bottles of rubbing alcohol, and some liquid shoe dye. Add one bottle of dye to 1 quart of rubbing alcohol and shake thoroughly. Pour a little of the color into a cup, and with a soft bristle brush, brush the stain on the ties. After the first application of stain has almost dried, about 8 hours, brush on your second color. Keep alternating the stains until you get a color you desire.

Building Turnouts

Now that you have your ties down you can get down to laying some rails, getting us all that much closer to running some trains. For this article we will be laying rail without using scale tie plates, and turnout hardware. If you do choose to add those details, it produces some of the most realistic track ever seen.

For my layout I am using Micro Engineering Code 70 rail for mainline and secondary trackage, while sidings and industrial tracks are Code 55. Branch lines and sidings generally used lighter rail than their mainline cousins, and Code 70 and 55 will have a much finer appearance than the usual Code 100 found in train sets. The rail comes in 3’ lengths, and it is very easy to damage and bend the rail, so be careful while handling it.

I personally find the best place to start laying rail is at a turnout. By starting at a turnout you are starting with rail that has already been soldered to gauge, and is pretty much a strong fixed point for where you are bending rail. For the first turnout on this section of the layout we will be using a #6 FastTracks turnout jig as this is secondary trackage. Since the FastTracks documentation is very well written I will just touch here on a few of the steps of building the turnout. I begin by first creating the switch points and frog point rails using the FastTracks “PointForm” jig. Begin by placing a length of rail into the tool, and using a bastard file make several light passes over the exposed part on the face of the tool. After you are finished making the frog and switch points inspect them for any flaws. You may find that the ends of the filed points have “fingers” of rail still left over. Cut these off with rail nippers, and then make a light pass with the file to clean the cut.

Place the frog points into the FastTracks turnout jig in their respective slots. Slightly push the rails forward until the points touch. Be careful not to roll the rails, making sure they lie flat, and then solder the two points together. If you get a tiny bit of solder on the tops of the rail at this point, do not sand it off now, wait until you have the entire turnout built, or you may risk damaging the points.

Now place your PC board ties into the form, and begin making your stock rails according to the FastTracks instructions. One part where I stray from the instructions at this point is the length of my stock rails. I prefer to make my stock rails longer than suggested, and even beyond the “QuickSticks” turnout ties. I feel that the longer length creates a smoother approach into and out of the turnout providing more reliable operations. I also choose to have longer frog point tails for the same reason. However, having the longer rail is a choice you can make on your own layout.

After soldering the stock rails to the PCB ties, take the switch point rails and fit them into their respective slots. At this point they will be too big to fit properly, and you will need to mark them with a Sharpie, cut the rail, and then bend it to fit the slot. Solder to the PC ties, gauge the switch points, and are you are almost done!

One of the final steps is soldering the guard rails to the turnout. I save this step until last because of the many finishing options there are based on the prototype and how realistic you want the track. While observing track in several locations on the B&M I found that some turnouts did not have guardrails, while some had guardrails with wings at extreme angles. So if you choose not to have guard rails, you are pretty much finished at this point and can install the turnout. However if you choose to have guardrails, you can form them via the FastTracks instructions. If you would prefer a turnout built to Proto standards, you can make a guardrail via the FastTrack instructions, and then file off the base of the rail on the side that rests against the stock rail. This allows the guard rail to move closer to the stock rail for a more realistic gauge. Gauge the guardrail with a Proto standards gauge, and solder to the PC ties.

Finally, lightly sand the top of the frog with 400 grit sandpaper to clean off any excess solder. Cut the frog gaps, and wash the turnout to remove any flux and dirt.  After it has dried we can install it on the layout.

Installing the turnout

Now that the turnout is completely dry, I like to airbrush it the color that the rail will be on the rest of the layout. Don’t worry about the PC ties not matching the color of your stained ties, as we will weather them to match. Airbrush the entire turnout a color such as PolyScale Rail Brown, and then set the turnout aside to dry. After a few minutes of drying, dampen a paper towel with a little Windex and clean the rail heads.

When we laid the ties using the “QuickSticks” for the turnouts, some glue may have got to where the PC ties will fit. You’ll need to clean those areas out, then test fit the turnout to make sure that everything is fitting properly. Once everything checks out, mark where you will drill your hole for the turnout throwbar. Drill out the hole and clear the area of wood chips. Using five-minute epoxy, lightly apply a layer on the bottom of the PCB ties, and then press the turnout into place on the ties. Quickly check to make sure the turnout is aligned properly, and then weigh the turnout down until the epoxy sets. While you could start working again in a few hours, you may want to let the epoxy set overnight. Once set, check to see if you need to spike any areas, and then we will get ready to begin laying the rest of the rail.

Laying the main rail

Now that the turnout is set into place laying the rest of the rail is pretty easy. A few of the tools that are must haves for this part are;

1. Xuron Rail Nippers
2. Grooved Needle Nose Pliers
3. Micro Engineering Micro Spikes and Small Spikes
4. Micro Engineering 3-Point Gauges (in your scale and rail code of course) *I recommend getting 3-4 of the point gauges
5. Micro Engineering rail jointers

Since my turnouts have long rail leads, we do not need to add any rail at this point. Using the 3-point gauges, place them on the rail and space them about 6” apart. Using you needle nose pliers, grasp a Micro Spike and drive it partially into the tie by one of the gauges. Re-adjust your pliers to the top of the spike and then push the spike the rest of the way into the tie with the head coming to rest on the web of the rail. Spike the other side of the rail, and then do the same to the other rail by the gauge. Repeat this process with the other gauges, working at about 3’ at a time. With a 3’ section spiked down, slide one of the gauges the length of the rail to check for narrow and wide spots and spike to correct the problem. Now take a set of free rolling trucks that you know are in gauge, and roll them along the track to see how they track. If everything is good, you can move onto the next section of rail.  If you prefer to have spikes in every tie (some do), install them at this point and make sure to continue using the gauge, so that you don’t accidentally spike a tie out of gauge.

Conclusion
Pretty easy, huh? Looks pretty good, doesn’t it? Next time we will be staring some scenery to go with our new track such as ballast and turnout details. Until then, keep laying track and get ready to run some trains.

About the Author
A Network Administrator by education, and a Dispatcher/Police Officer by trade, Ian MacMillan has been involved in model railroading for over 15 years. After a brief stint in N scale he has returned to HO to build his free-lanced Amoskeag Northern Railroad. Ian lives in East Wakefield, New Hampshire with his wife Tabatha and his two children. When not working on his layout he enjoys working on his Woodings speeder, and his website.