There was a certain level of frustration. I had a repairman working on a project inside the house and i was stuck outside fixing the track.

I was in a hurry to fix the track and didn't grab my kneeling pad.

You're not wrong! LOL!

I'll probably be working on track.

It's two 3W LED's loafing along at half power.

I do watch Hyce. Lots of fun being had there. At least my track doesn't smell like Kenosha. Instead, it smells like chicken, um, droppings. The problem on the straight was rotten ties. The problem on the curve was a combination of soft ties and aluminum rail that probably wasn't hardened to 6061-T6. There was quite a lot of rail web deformation on the curve. Basically, I'm rolling the rails outward under the pellet train. I made a couple phone calls and discovered that the rail I'm using isn't the rail I thought it was. I thought it was 1980's 6061-T6 hardened aluminum rail from Nuskey Engineering. What it turned out to be is Little Engines 1" scale square head rail from the 1950's. Hardening unknown. ...and I know folks who won't run the loads I carry over West Coast rail, (which is 1" x 13/16" and hardened to 6061-T6 specs) because they're afraid they'll break it.

@@MillBrookRailroad Oh crap on the rail. That sucks. :( I guess then actually you have been lucky so far. If you want to call that luck! Aluminum is soft anyhow, but after 70+ years, it has probably been annealed with trains and hot cold spells so any hardening it had might be gone now anyhow. Assuming Aluminum acts like most metals. I can't imagine there is anything you can do to re-enforce that rail like making blocks to insert between the web and the bottom of the rail head? Or would it be cheaper to just buy new used rail? And yeah, Hyce can be quite entertaining at times indeed. :)

Yes. That was a very effective repair to the switch. I'm very happy with it.

@@MillBrookRailroad In the ambient noise during the run I didn't even hear it the wheels run over it. Real smooth.

Thanks! We haven't had nearly the amount of snow we usually get. It's been a very warm, dry winter here for the most part.

I've thought about it and I have some sketches. Next step is prototyping some test parts.

All along, I've been saying that snow on the plow is not that big a deal. Glad you enjoyed the video!

It was either that or a dead blow hammer.

Glad you're enjoying it!

I have really, really light rail and relay ties. There's no way I'm not going to have trouble with the track with the weight I'm hauling. Maybe if this KZfaq thing does well enough, I'll be able to re-rail the entire railroad someday. Keep watching all the way to the end, hitting the like button, and sharing!

That's not mere tapping. I'm using my boots as a hammer.

It's been called Mill Broke before.

In a word: cost. The relay ties I'm using now were free and pressure treated ties cost me about 45 cents a piece to make. Upgrading the rail may also help. Some of the reason I go on the ground is rail failure. I've literally flattened the rail in a couple places.

That would be the one!

I do watch Mark's videos. He's got a great channel.

The outside rail got flattened. I was bending the rail back in shape. This is rail failure.

It sounds like you're suggesting two different things: anchoring the track to the soil and gauge bars. Gauge bars are a great idea, and I'm working on it. Anchoring the track to the ground is generally used as a temporary measure when the whole track is moving laterally. What I encountered here were two different kinds of gauge widening, but I didn't fully realize it until after I watched the video in the edit process and had a conversation with a real railroad track engineer. Here is what that conversation revealed: On the curve, the rail failed. It bent right over, which is why there was a whole lot more kicking done there to literally get it back in shape. I also had some ties in the curve start to fail. Tie failure is something I deal with everywhere on the railroad, which brings us to the other spot, which was due to tie failure. I'll be replacing hundreds and hundreds of ties this spring. Thanks for your thoughtful suggestions!

@@MillBrookRailroad Sir, Yes I am suggesting two different things: anchoring the track to the soil and gauge bars. As a very old amateur, maybe as a younger pro RR, you can explain further, as I don’t see why the gauge bar will not solve the gauge problem and your roll over. If the gauge rods are used properly then I think this would reduce both problems. Not knowing the rail material, weight, and profile, assuming Al alloy rail (not steel), a 6.5 mm web and standard head and flat bottom rail, then with the rail clipped on both sides of the foot of each rail and the rod attached to both rails, the rails should move together. If a heavy weight was applied to the head in an outward direction, I could see that the web could bend over but not roll but maybe if the foot breaks at the clips it could. Help me understand. Thank You

After reading all the comments below, I see and understand your problems and their causes. Good Luck Thank You.

I've done that. Hopefully, they'll hold. If not, I'm going to make my own tie plates. That should hold it.

@@MillBrookRailroad ok let’s hope it helps

The rail actually rolled over. i was bending it back in shape with my boot as a hammer, in a mild state of disbelief and denial. The rest of the movement wasn't the ties themselves, it was some of the screws that hold the rail down. tie plates would help some if it, but I'll have to make them myself. Sheet metal between ties would make it difficult to tamp in new ballast and level the track, so I think traditional tie plates would be best. Thanks for the suggestions, though. I'm glad you're thinking about it.

They're only interested in digging out all the ballast.

I do have plans to do it this year. Finishing the passing siding at Woodchuck Run is first on the list, then connecting to the basement and putting the TT in service. Then I have a boatload of ties to replace.

@@MillBrookRailroad that’ll be cool getting the passing siding done first! Then getting the basement connected! Keep up the good work!

The rail failed. I was bending it back into shape with my boot as a hammer.

@@MillBrookRailroad I meant possibly the reason the rail failed in the first place was due to the uneven stresses of only side ploughing on one side?

The gondola? Yes! That’s The first car I built. I'm doing a restoration video about it.

great news. hope your new shoes ok too.

The rail is 70 years old and might not be hardened. It is a new problem, but this year, some of the rail in the curves started rolling over. It's still attached to the ties, but the rail web of certain sitcks of rail is getting bent under the loads. I really need to upgrade the rail on the curves.

Wow crazy. Is rail expensive? I would guess everything is now a days. @@MillBrookRailroad

The track takes a beating in the winter.

Helmets are only required for the flat car luge. My boots do make a good hammer.

It happens. I did notice that the rail itself bent. If it does it again, I'll have to change the rail out. I noticed the rail deforming on Turkeyfoot Curve as well. I recently learned that I'm using 70 year old rail.

@@MillBrookRailroad 70 year old rail??? That's impressive. Also prototypical. I know at least one tram museum runs on 100+ year old rail, the rail head's worn so much the trams run on the flanges. Prototypical.

Snow gophers. Interesting. I'll have to have a chat with the rodent control department.

A small earthquake? Hmm. Yeah! Let's go with that! LOL!