Civil
The
requirements for Model Railroad Engineer - Civil may look long and
complicated, but they really are not. The reason that they are so long
is to offer you more options for meeting the requirements.
Remember - don't read more into the requirements than is there.
To qualify for the Model
Railroad Engineer - Civil certificate:
1.
Prepare
one original scale drawing of a model railroad track plan, identifying overall
size, scale, track elevations, curve radii, and turnout sizes.
You should also consider the requirements for Model Railroad Engineer -
Electrical, and Chief Dispatcher when planning your layout - it is much easier
to include the requirements in the planning stage than to go back and add them
later.
This plan must include:
1.
Adequate
terminal facilities for handling freight and/or passenger cars
2.
Adequate
terminal facilities for storage and service of motive power
3.
A
minimum of one mainline passing siding
4.
Four
switching locations, not counting yards, interchanges, wyes, and reversing
loops
5.
Provision
for turning motive power (except for switchbacks, trolley lines, etc.)
6.
Provision
for simultaneous operation of at least two mainline trains in either direction.
Here you may use the same plan as in Model Railroad Engineer - Electrical
2.
Construct
and demonstrate, the satisfactory operation of a completed section of the model
railroad and track work described in #1. Containing at least 25 linear feet in
Z, N, or TT scale, or 50 linear feet in HO or S scale, or seventy five linear
feet in O scale, or 100 linear feet in G or #1 scale, or other scales in
proportional relationship to HO scale, with appropriate ballast, drainage
facilities, and roadbed profile, which may contain spurs, yards, etc.
The
track work must have examples of six of the following features:
- Passing Siding
- Spur
- Crossover
- Reversing Loop
- Wye
- Simple Ladder
- Compound Ladder
- Turntable
- Transfer Table
- Super Elevation
- Simple Overhead Wire - A single
overhead wire (such as on a trolley system)
- Compound Overhead
Wire (catenary)
- Scale Track
- Cog Railway Track
- Coal Dump Track
- Ash Pit
- Service Pit Track
- Grade Elevation
- Other
__________________ This has been witnessed on my home layout
3.
Construct
for Merit Judging, scratch built scale models of any three of the following,
and demonstrate their satisfactory operation:
- Turnout (this is probably the easiest to build, lots of information in magazines etc.)
- Crossover
- Double Crossover
- Single Slip Switch
- Double Slip Switch
- Crossing (probably the toughest to build. Lots of soldering to hold everything together)
- Gauntlet Track (I always wanted to build one)
- Gauntlet Turnout
- Dual Gauge Turnout
- Gauge Separation
Turnout
- Double Junction
Turnout
- Three-Way Turnout
- Spring Switch
- Operating Switch in
Overhead Wire
- Other ___________
Commercial
frogs are not permitted to be used in any of these items. These models may be
built and demonstrated as part of the layout or separately.
I had a bag of switch ties left, so I needed to shorten the ties with my NWSL chopper.
Previously I had built a jig to space the ties correctly
Then I pressed a strip of scotch tape on the ties and lifted them out of the jig. I pressed the strip ties into a bed of white glue applied on a piece of plywood.
Before laying track I ballasted the ties. This leaves no loose ballast on top of the ties.
I started with the outside rails until they touched at the frog.
NMRA standards gauge and some Micro Engineering track gauges come in very handy to build and check handlaid track.
The finished turnout
Same procedure for the crossing
The diamond is the trickiest part. To avoid shorts, I had to cut many gaps. The best way is to solder the guard rails to the outside rails and then cut the caps. Spikes alone cannot hold everything together reliably.
This is the centerpiece of my gauntlet track.
The jig for spacing the ties.
The ties for the turnout.
I used a slide switch connected to throw the turnout. The elctrical contacts power the frog
I used a DPDT switch to power either route of the crossing
4.
You
must win a Merit Award (at least 87.5 points) with the items in section 3
above.
0. Attachment to the SOQ showing the track
plan required in Section 1 above. The attachment should include:
- Identification of all scratch built
features
- All commercial
components used
- Materials used in building the model
1.
Description
of the track work features, methods of construction and identification of
commercial components used in Section 3.
2. Verification
of the Merit Awards
3.
Witness
Certification showing that each of the above models meets all applicable NMRA
standards.
Here is my description of the 3 track work features:
MODEL RAILROAD ENGINEER – CIVIL
Track Work models for Merit
Award Judging
I’ve chosen
to scratch build the following models of railroad track work:
-
turnout
(point)
-
crossing
(90°)
-
gauntlet
track
CONSTRUCTION
To start I
constructed a tie spacing jig to lay out the ties in an even spacing. Then I’ve
cut the ties to their appropriate length using a NWSL Chopper.
I placed
the ties in the template. Then I glued a strip of Scotch Tape on top of the
ties to lift the whole length out of the template.
On a small
piece of plywood I spread a layer of white glue and set the ties into the glue.
Then I pressed the ties down until the glue had hardened. Then I pulled the
tape off. I used a mix of stained and unstained ties. (see template and
pictures)
When the
glue had set I ballasted the ties using a mix of Woodland Scenics Grey Blend
Ballast. When the ballast was evenly spread between the ties I soaked the
roadbed with a mix of distilled water and 70% isopropyl alcohol. Then I applied
a 7:1 mix of matte medium and distilled water and also added a few drops of
isopropyl alcohol.
When the
roadbed had completely dried overnight I started to lay the rails following a
construction article from Tony Koester published in Model Railroader and in the
Kalmbach book “Trackside and Line side Details”.
I nailed
every piece of rail down with track spikes on both sides on every tie.
DETAIL
I used
individual rails from PECO and nailed the rails to every tie from both sides. I
did the same for the guard rails.
CONFORMITY
The
turnouts and crossings are built following prototype practices from the
construction article.
FINISH
AND LETTERING
I ballasted
the ties prior to nailing the rails. By this way there is no ballast on the
ties or stuck to the sides of the rails. Every piece of rail is nailed on both
sides and on every tie. Nothing is glued. I soldered the switch rod to the
points of the closure rails and the point of the frog. The guard and wing rails
were also soldered to the rails to give them more strength.
The
different pieces of track work have to be wired differently.
The turnout
was wired at the point of the switch. The frog was polarized with one wire and
connected to an SPDT switch to feed it with the correct polarity.
The gauntlet
track was wired according to the following drawing,with the 2 rails between the
frogs connected to an SPDT switch to route the correct polarity. Gauntlet
tracks can only be travelled by one train at a time, while the other train is
waiting in a siding. The 2 tracks between the frogs may be positive or negative
depending on which track will be used.
The crossing
was isolated by cutting the four tracks in the diamond and connecting it to a
DPDT switch to route the correct polarities as per the following drawing.
Finally I
weathered the rails using Floquil weathering sticks.
SCRATCHBUILDING
I’ve
scratch built all the track work, using individual rail length, stained and
unstained ties and spikes. The frogs are soldered and the switch rod is soldered
to a PC-board tie. I also used commercial rail joiners and insulating joiners.
Parts
List
PECO IL-3 Individual Rail code 75
SL-110 Rail Joiners
SL-111 Insulating Rail Joiners
KAPPLER KP060 Switch Ties
MICRO
ENGINEERING 36-101 Regular Length HO Scale Ties
Track
gages
XURON 82839 Spike Insertion Pliers
84365 Rail Cutting Pliers
WOODLAND
SCENICS Ballast
Grey Blend
NMRA HO
Gauge
Needle
Files
Soldering
Iron, Solder and flux
PC-Board
tie
