Track

Templot Plug Track - updated 19 April 2024

I have started playing with Templot plug track. After much trial and error I have printed the chairs for a straight B8 turnout directly on my build plate. Our 3mm Society finescale rail threads nicely between the jaws/keys as shown below.

In order to fit them all on the build plate the turnout is split into two templates. The first 125mm is at the top with the tiebar at the right hand side. The rest is printed below with the V to the right of centre and the blades to the left.

The two short pieces of Society finescale rail slide in easily.

In trials I found it easier to ballast the 1.5mm thick Society ply sleepers than the thin ones so my ultimate goal is to laser cut sleepers and timbers directly from Templot files in 1.5mm ply. In the meantime  I am experimenting using printed sleepers and timbers as shown below. 

For economy, I plan to print chairs and sleepers for plain track in bulk. For ease of assembly, I plan to cut the timbers for turnouts as a fret to match the Templot template and print the chairs directly on the build plate as above for ease of identification.

The plugs on the chairs above are 1.5mm deep to match the timbers with no additional support. However I have had to include chair supports with pyramid height 0. Templot then adds supports to the crossing gap spacers which don't have plugs.

The files generated by Templot were fine but my printer has not included the jaws for some of the chairs at the ends. It is not a problem because they are all ordinary chairs.  I am struggling with my printer settings while trialing water washable resin. It might also be an issue with the FEP.

The settings for my 3mm Society code 60 rail are as follows:

overall section height = 1.5
head width = 0.89
rail-head corner radius = 0.125
foot width = 0.66
web thickness =0.35
fish centre from top = 0.4
fish centre from bottom = 0.4
fish angle 1 : 2.75

These settings may change as my experiments progress. Our rail section does tend to vary a bit and I am still experimenting with getting the gauge correct.

I need to rescue the build plate to print the timbers for the B8 turnout while somehow preserving the identification of the chairs above. Then I will take more pictures and continue this blurb.

Here are the sleepers for a 60ft track panel as printed and still on the build plate. I broke two from their supports while handling. 

A 60ft panel will not quite fit on my build plate so each strip is half of a panel at the correct spacing.

I started with the DXF file produced by Templot intended for laser cutting. I removed the tabs from one end of the sleepers and used the ones on the other end to form the supports. Sleepers and tabs were extruded by 1.5mm. The raft was added separately.

Next job is to remove the strips from the build plate and check the fit of the chairs in the sockets and the dimensions of the sleepers.

I am still struggling with my settings for the water washable resin but these results look promising.

Progress in Scale 7 - updated 15 May 2024

I am also experimenting with plug track for my https://sites.google.com/site/ogaugeinthegarden/home and Scale 7. Here are my latest laser cut timber bases. The first one is part of a B8 turnout for Hamworthy and the second one is part of the crossover for Uffculme for my friend Eric. Both are designed to use plug in solid 3D printed chairs.

For plain track I am printing sleepers and chairs in bulk. In Templot I start with one chaired sleeper then export one sleeper,  one chair with left pointing key and one chair with right pointing key. An array of sleepers is created in Lightburn for laser cutting and multiple chairs are created in Chitubox for printing. Here are 90 chairs with right pointing keys.

I have moved away from the water washable resin in favour of Siraya Fast Navy Grey which has been very successful.

Before I go any further here is a cautionary note from Martin Wynne, the creator of Templot:

"Just a reminder for those new to plug track who haven't read through the previous 973 pages. 

In plug track you don't slide the rail into a chaired timbering base*, as if building a plastic turnout kit.

For the intended way of working instead, see:

https://85a.uk/templot/club/index.php?posts/11201

*unless you have a specific reason to do so -- it's your railway. 

Martin. "

Here is a 60ft panel and the "gadgets" I used to create it.

A 60ft panel in 7mm scale is 420mm long but my laser cutter cuts a maximum length of 400mm. So, the 33mm gauge is not quite the full length of the panel and the combs are cut as two parts . The "saddles" hold the two parts together and can also be used to connect to the next panel.

The sleepers and saddles are cut from 3mm thick ply. The combs and gauge are cut from 1.5mm ply.

The feet on the saddles are long enough to fit through the combs, a 3mm spacer and a 1.5mm spacer. The 3mm spacer is used to lift the combs to allow a cork base to slide underneath the sleepers. The 1.5mm spacers lift the combs a little bit more to avoid sticking combs to cork when gluing the sleepers.

I have not used the Templot nibs on the sleepers because I could not find a happy compromise between being strong enough to hold the sleepers while sliding the rail through the chairs and still easy to cut off.    

This shows the track in its final state and the underside of the saddle with its feet. 

The sleepers are dyed with Colron Jacobean Dark Oak solvent based wood dye before cutting. Unfortunately that is not available any more. The replacement "refined" version is water soluble and does not soak into the ply as well. I am experimenting with Rustin's solvent equivalent.

The chairs are hand-painted with Precision P977 track colour (rusty rails) in a jig as shown below. The ply is 1.5mm thick so the plugs leave a gap between the baseplate and the jig preventing everything getting gummed up.  The jig has warped a bit but it doesn't affect its use.

The rail is blackened with Birchwood Super blue before assembly.