I was asked about how I lay rail, do I do it up on the railroad? and how do I get the tangent rail straight?

The photo below shows how I spike rail.  Coments below photo.

I work downstairs on the "den" table where the light is good... and where Natalie is.  As some of you who have been here know, the "den" is next to the kitchen.   It is also where we watch football games and eat.

I cut the roadbed homasote up into manageable chunks (typically less than 4 ft).  Lay ties, then sand them awhile later.

For tangent track I spike a single rail down near each end, then spike down a 3-ft steel ruler at three or four places... as shown.  I work off the one "tie line" (rather than the track centerline).   The block of wood with "TOOL" written in red has a notch along one corner that perfectly offsets the first rail for 8'-6" ties.  The first pair of spikes, at each end, position that first rail, and the ruler spans between the first pair of spikes.   TOOL must be 30-years old by now.

Then I spike along the first rail tight against the ruler.  With  the ruler as shown I am spiking along the outside of the rail.  Then I remove the ruler and spike down the other side of the rail, as shown on the 2nd track from the right.  Perfectly straight rail.

Then I use the NMRA gage to spike down the other rail.  I spike both ends first  ... then the middle, then the middle of the middles... until the whole rail is done (right-hand track).

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Perhaps the most important tool is that black thing to the left of the NMRA gage.  It is a magnet.  When I am done spiking for the day, I run the magnet over the table .... and all over the floor.

               Jim