Model Railway Forum

New box file, new start. Thought I’d have a go at increasing sleeper spacing to 7mm on code 100 OO gauge track as there won’t be too much to alter. The single point will have to stay as is otherwise major butchering will be needed. Has anyone tried this and is it worth the trouble. Any thoughts/tips much appreciated.
Again, sorry to those of a sensitive nature but the box file bug has truly bitten!

I think Richard @ Everard junction did some sleeper respacing on his new layout before switching to the peco track with wider spacing...

Thanks Steve. Think I’ll bite the bullet and have a go. Only a small amount of track so nothing much will be lost if it goes wrong.

other than some sleep...ers Good Luck!

I have done sleeper spacing in 7mm narrow gauge and I used my finger as a guide. I have no idea if if is a correct width, but it looks about right to me.

It is all about what looks right rather then an exact measurement. I noticed that even on the real railways, sleeper spacing does vary, though I read that sleepers nearer the rail joints were spaced closer together than in the rest of the track, and it also depends on the land and the sleeper tread size that one is using, and the weights being carried. Example is clearly seen with narrow gauge as some lightly layed lines were laid using tree branches as sleepers or thin pieces of wood but they were quite closely spaced. Others which used standard gauge sleepers cut in half could get away with generous spacing, especially if they were using standard gauge rails too as they could save money by using less sleepers.
In boggy ground, even on standard gauge main lines, they use wooden sleepers and jointed track which need to be spaced closer together. Wooden sleepers are used because they flex without breaking, and the closer spacing is because the track has to "Float" on the ground rather then sit on the ground like it does on solid ground. Many lines were origionally built with their sleepers literally sitting on the ground and the ballast was added later to hold the sleepers in place to stop the track from moving.

Thanks MG - good explanation.

From memory (as a P way volunteer on the SVR) The spacing between sleepers was around 20 inches +/- around the joints and about 30 inches for the rest of the length.
I was told once by an old P-way ganger, that during WW2 rail made in the USA for Britain was around 46 feet in length, compared to UK 60 foot
lengths. 46 feet being the longest they could fit in the hold of a Liberty ship. Not sure how accurate the info is, but that`s what i remember
being told!