Micro Engineering Flex Track

Intarsiabox Nov 24, 2019

  1. bill pearce

    bill pearce TrainBoard Member

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    Another thing I did was build yard ladders with continuous rails wherever possible. So instead of building one and then three more and joining them together, there were all one assembly. Smooth and easy.
     
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  2. Sumner

    Sumner TrainBoard Member

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    [​IMG]

    I use a simple pair of tin snips and ...

    [​IMG]

    .... straighten them in a vise. I can make a lot in a very short period of time. More info on making them here...

    http://1fatgmc.com/RailRoad/Trackwork/page-4.html

    Sumner
     
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  3. Sumner

    Sumner TrainBoard Member

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    Bill I think that depends on how many you are making. 10-20 and paper templates is fine but I'm hoping to make about 100 and the fixtures make it way faster so in my opinion well worth the money spent. The same when it comes to the point forming and stock rail filing tools They save a ton of time.

    I've made a number of paper template turnouts and will still make more for special situation turnouts but the bulk will be #6's using the fixture and point forming tools. I probably wouldn't of started in the first place with out the fixtures. They gave me the confidence to move on to using paper for special situation turnout like curved and the 3 way I just made but still might buy the 3 way fixture.

    Sumner
     
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  4. DCESharkman

    DCESharkman TrainBoard Member

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    I have a very large layout with lots of turnouts. Fast Tracks was the only way to go for running what I wanted to run. I did buy the the fixtures because I was making several dozens of the different turnouts. I found that while I could use paper, the fixture was 2-3 times faster to produce the turnout. And like the post said, having long trains run effortlessly through a #12 crossover is a wonder to see!
     
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  5. Sumner

    Sumner TrainBoard Member

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    Bill could you post some pictures of the yard ladders? I'd like to see them. How many turnouts have you tied together as one in a ladder?

    I read about doing that before but have a hard time visualizing soldering up multiple turnouts at one time on the work bench as the whole ladder would be pretty long to rotate around while soldering. If I can I like to turn the turnout one way or the other to make soldering easier instead of doing everything from one side but I guess I could work around that

    So would like to see some pictures if possible, phone shots would be great. Thanks,

    Sumner
     
  6. bill pearce

    bill pearce TrainBoard Member

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    Truth is, I built all of mine before there was a Fast Tracks jig, so I was forced to develop a process for using paper templates. Bus as my layout had a variety of sizes, jig expense would have been overwhelming. As to the point and stock rail tools, I built my own,

    IN any event, try making continuous yard ladders. You can tape together templates to give you what you need.
     
  7. VinceP

    VinceP TrainBoard Member

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    I have some ME and Atlas flex somewhere I heard,read that mixing the two can cause corrosion between the two different metals used by each is this true.
     
  8. DCESharkman

    DCESharkman TrainBoard Member

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    Corrosion happens when the electrochemical potential of the materials are different. Not knowing the specific alloys used by either manufacturer makes it a wild guess as to whether that is true or not. Now if you are a metallurgist, you would know for sure, but I am an electrical engineer so it is not in my skill set.
     
  9. VinceP

    VinceP TrainBoard Member

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    Just something I heard or read about

    @DCESharkman

    thanks
     
  10. Intarsiabox

    Intarsiabox TrainBoard Member

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    While I haven’t mixed the two items together myself I have been doing a lot of research on my my next track to use. It seems like one of the most popular track laying methods is to use ME flex combined with Atlas turnouts. I have never once come across any corrosion complaints. What may have happened is that after the two pieces got soldered the joints were not cleaned and flux residue caused the corrosion if an electrical friendly type flux was not used?
     
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  11. bill pearce

    bill pearce TrainBoard Member

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    If you solder using tix flux, common in trackwork, it needs to be thoroughly cleaned. I have heard that windex gets the job done, but have not tried. For most of my track work, especially turnouts, I used Kester rosin flux, common in electronics at one time. I haven't seen it lately, though, but other brands can be found.
     
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  12. Metro Red Line

    Metro Red Line TrainBoard Member

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    I use both and have had both on my layout for over 12 years now. There's no such corrosion going on.
     
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  13. VinceP

    VinceP TrainBoard Member

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    Cool thanks all
     

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