Union Pacific's Bailey Yard

KCS

Member
Well, I hate to be the barer of bad news but the whole tie squeezing thing doesn't work. It was a good idea but I've tried it when a couple guy's and I got together and all built our own retarder using that rail squeezing idea and all we got were the same results. Derail. What happens with that is that in such a small scale you have to have really good wheels and trucks. The design I made was meant for Kato trucks as they make the bets rolling trucks on the market and that's all I have on my cars. The wheels have a taper to them and the rail has a bit of a crown to it (depending on what track you use) And what happens when you squeeze the track is that the taper on the wheels run out, then it's the flanges. The flanges will get tight but only to a certain point and they have very little tolerance which will slow the car a little but won't do any justice so then the flanges will climb up on top the rail head and over on the ground she goes. You'll even get the same thing from hand laying track if it's not gauged right. I'm not sure how a retarder works but I do know that they use a very high pressure rubber pad that is pushed against the inside of the rails against the inside of the car wheels to slow it. The design I drew up has the paddles high enough above the rail head to prevent derailment yet won't interfere with anything hanging from he car. Ahhhhh. I'll come back and explain it and read over this to make sure I got it right. I am extremely sleep deprived as it be 3 days I've been up working on day 4 at 5:30am
 

MasonJar

It's not rocket surgery
Interesting problem...!

I can see what you mean about the wheels climbing out of the rails when you try and squeeze them by narrowing the gauge. They would simply ride up and out...

I wonder if there is something more or less permanent that you can do. I have seen "craft foam" at the Dollar Store. I wonder if strips of this could be made to work like the rubber pads in your description above...

In the diagram below, the cars enter in the direction of the arrows. The "rubber pads" (strips of craft foam) are fixed at the green points in such a way that they push against the rails. Cars entering are slowed by having to force the foam aside.

How the cars get out I am not sure... :D ;) It is not a perfect solution.. :rolleyes:

Andrew
 

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Union Pacific

New Member
:eek: this gave me an idea :eek: if you take a floppy disk an pull the little cover that slides back and forth off. Take the little spring that is onside use it as the spring to apply a bit of pressure but not so much it sows the carr so it won't go far enough of comes to a complete stop :rolleyes: I might try this and se before I go and buy air cylinders switches a oses and all the other stuff

Thanx,
 

MasonJar

It's not rocket surgery
Looking at my picture again, maybe it is possible to rotate the green points (e.g. if they were a post coming up through the layout). That way the strips could be rotated away from the rails if cars wanted to exit the yard on the same track.

Floppy disks... what are those...? :confused:

;) :D

Andrew
 

who_dat73

Member
I just saw a picture of the Baily Yard in a UP history book I got off of the Bay WOW if your undertaking that project I got to see it after your done that thing is stinking huge to model

Good luck and keep us posted how things are progressin
Mike
 

Union Pacific

New Member
I was doing some research and this thing has 8 miles of track.:eek: To do this in HO scale would be a massive undertaking:) UI was thinking about doing it in Z scale ;) :rolleyes: I don't know why but I have wantdt to do Z scael and have never gottin' the oppertunity to do it so what the hey!!! ;) :D It will probably give me alot of :curse: :curse: :curse: :curse: :curse: :curse: :curse: :rolleyes:

thanx, Ben
 

Union Pacific

New Member
I was going to get some of this stuf on Ebay and I think it would be cool to do in HO but maybe if I tried it on Z or N first and used that as my "model"

thanx, Ben
 
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