Charles Field Track Panel Jig
In March, 2020, Charles Field posted on Facebook about a Track Panel Jig that he built. This was the second one of these jigs he constructed. It is light weight and disassembles into two parts for easy storage. It will work for constructing both straight and curved track panels of 10 foot length.
This article presents Charles' original drawings and photos, along with a version modified for "Texas Standard Tie Spacing".
The Original
These photos were provided by Charles Field and come from his original Facebook posting. Used with permission.
This design specifies 4 inch spacing from tie to tie.
Support Joint members in place prior to fill welding.
The Support Joints have been fill-welded to the support beams.
Retention Pin holds the two sections of the the track jig together.
Tie stops welded to support beams.
Charles added a small support brace for the tie retention bar.
Completed track panel jig.
Track jig with several completed track panels.
A key feature of the track jig is that it can be easily disassembled and stored.
Texas Tie Spacing
This design is modified to use the Texas Standard Tie Spacing of 5.5 inches from tie to tie.