When joining our flex track we took off about 4 ties from each end to make way for the railjoiners, now how do we go about filling in ties under the joiners without creating a bump?
I just use my exacto knife to cut the clips off the tops of the tie where the rail once was, then slide the tie back under the existing rail.
Be sure to sand the bottom of the ties when you slide them back under the rail joiners or you could cause a smal. bump. David
Thats the way I do mine, clip of the "spikes" sand the bottom and slide them under. The glue from the ballasting will hold them in place.
I use Peco code 55 and solder two pieces of flex track together before it is placed on the layout. When I solder the rails, I place the four ties under the solder joint. When I solder the rails, the ties melt on top and become a part of the rails as the rails sink down into the soft ties. Also works for short sections on the layout. It took a little practice, but the amount of filing and cutting I was doing to ties was taking an excessive amount of time.
I clip two ties off each section. Then I take a short piece of track--the sacrificial remnants--slide out the rails, and cut a section of four or five ties from it. I thin the section with an emory board so that it will slide under the rail joiners, sanding off the spikes and a little of the thickness. It takes me only a few seconds. Then I slip them under the joint. If the spacing is a little off, I prefer tighter than looser--five ties replacing four, rather than four ties replacing five. When we were in high production mode, I sacrificed a whole length of flextrack. I determine length by holding the strip if ties over the gap at the joint. It's important to clip or sand off any nubs that connected the ties to the strip--otherwise the ties may not slide underneath. That's about it. If it doesn't slide under easily, I look for the reason. Usually I haven't sanded enough, or I've forgotten to clip off the nubs.
I do the same as the others have stated, however I will often leave the cast on "spikes" on one side, the side which faces the aisle. Carve off the spikes for both rails on one side only, then slide under the rails till the remaining spikes touch the rail, glue in place. Gary
