Author Topic: Where to purchase rail in the United States?  (Read 673 times)

Offline esaresky

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Where to purchase rail in the United States?
« on: February 06, 2023, 02:43:20 PM »
Hello,

I want to get some aluminum rail to make a 4' long test track for the 3.5" gauge Pennsylvania A3 Switch I'm building. I believe I need 5/8" rail. I see it for sale online but all in the UK and Europe. Who has it in the United States?


Offline esaresky

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Re: Where to purchase rail in the United States?
« Reply #2 on: February 06, 2023, 06:45:00 PM »
I've looked at those four companies. None of them have 5/8". Am I looking for the wrong track? The UK websites show 5/8" tall x 5/8" base width for 3.5" gauge. If that's not correct, please let me know. I now see 3.5" gauge is not popular in the US. Maybe I should be building the 7.5" A3.  :Lol:

Online crueby

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Re: Where to purchase rail in the United States?
« Reply #3 on: February 06, 2023, 06:57:02 PM »
If its just for testing the wheels/motion on a short section, does it matter if the track is a little taller than scale?

Offline Kim

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Re: Where to purchase rail in the United States?
« Reply #4 on: February 06, 2023, 10:56:50 PM »
The RMI Railworks site seemed to have some 1/2" rail:

https://www.rmirailworks.com/SSP-Track-Aluminum-Rail.asp#.Y-E6H3bMJD8

That's a little shorter than ideal, but closer than going with the 1" stuff which seems like it would look WAY big.  I'm been looking for rail for 3.5" gauge in the US too and have had NO luck.  I finally decided to weld up some A36 (hot roll steel) bar to make some track.  Like 1/2" x 1/8" or something.  But I haven't done anything yet.

That 1/2" aluminum rail that RMI Railworks has looks pretty good!  The only downside is that it looks like you have to purchase a minimum of ten 10' lengths. And the shipping on it would probably be pretty harsh too since it's so long. Wonder if they would sell a few shorter cut-off pieces if all you want it for is a display or test track?  But maybe you're looking at making a full loop of test track, so 100' of rail might be what you need.

Kim
« Last Edit: February 07, 2023, 05:09:33 AM by Kim »

Offline Bobsmodels

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Re: Where to purchase rail in the United States?
« Reply #5 on: February 07, 2023, 02:08:04 AM »
My suggestion is not to use any rail etc.  If all you want is about 4' of track to run back and forth I can think of several ways.   Take a 2 x 10 or 12 and 2 -  1/4" x 1/2 "  strips of hot roll.  Screw the strips down as your rail 3 1/2" apart.     Now you have a test track that has several advantages.  One you can pick it up and lean it against a wall out of the way, two your engine will not drop down between 5/8" rails causing potential grief,  Clamp it two a couple of "L" brackets to the wall and you have a storage shelf.

The other approach that I have used is to make up a ball bearing type of mount so the engine stays in one place and you can test it forward  backward without any movement,  see photos.  It is for a 4-6-6T.

Bob

« Last Edit: February 07, 2023, 05:57:50 PM by Bobsmodels »

 

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