johnny45# Posted July 28, 2019 Share Posted July 28, 2019 (edited) Track panels 45ft or 60ft ? Thought i would ask before cutting Are zuron cutters any good for O Gauge track Edited July 28, 2019 by johnny45# Spelling Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ISW Posted July 28, 2019 Share Posted July 28, 2019 Johnny, Fishplated track panels are typically 60ft in the UK. The metric conversion 18.288m can 'vary' with some contractors (particularly overseas) amending this to be a more suitable multiple of the sleeper spacing. A minimum length of 15ft is also common. In Germany, rail lengths of 60m are now the norm, and that's before flash-butt welding into even longer lengths. I've been involved with a project in which the turnout switches (stockrails) were ~60m long. The whole turnout was over 210m. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dungrange Posted July 28, 2019 Share Posted July 28, 2019 2 hours ago, johnny45# said: Track panels 45ft or 60ft ? What's your time period? 45' panels were used by some companies in pre-grouping days, but 60' would have been the norm in more recent times before the introduction of continuously welded rail. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnny45# Posted July 28, 2019 Author Share Posted July 28, 2019 Era 3 the big four are xuron plier type cutters ok for 0 gauge track Or should i use my dremel? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dungrange Posted July 28, 2019 Share Posted July 28, 2019 I can't comment on how well Xuron cutters cut 0 gauge rail as I model in 00. With regards track panel lengths for you era, it will depend on the company and location. I think each of the big four adopted a 60' standard at some point in the inter-war era, but they would have started upgrading the mainlines first and just as some bullhead track survives in sidings to this day, 30' and 45' panels were probably around on many sidings and branch lines all the way through to nationalisation. A post in https://www.lner.info/forums/viewtopic.php?t=10505 suggests that the LNER adopted a 60' standard panel for new works from 1928. How long it took to cascade these down to lesser lines, I don't really know. Therefore, to answer you question, it could be either - unless of course you are modelling the Great Western Railway which I understand had 32' track panels and 44'6" track panels before the move to 60' track panels - see https://www.scalefour.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=3809. Sadly a simple question doesn't always have a simple answer. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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