Problems with rail joiners

Is it just me or do these @#%@^ N scale Atlas rail joiners the biggest pain in the neck? I am coming over from HO scale where I never had a problem with rail joiners. Now I am starting my first N scale layout and these things are a royal pain. The problem is they are so tight fitting that I am bending alot of them trying to get them on the track. If I use just me fingers the joiners end up going into and cutting my fingers. If I use pliers, they bend. Yet with turnouts the same joiners which at too tight to slide on the sectional tracks are TOO BIG for the turnouts! All sectional track and turnouts are Atlas. Aparently Atlas has changed its dimensions over time or has made the turnouts thinner then the sectional tracks like 9" straight and 11" curves. I also notice that not all the joiners that come with the sectional tracks are the same; some have a little bit wider opening and are somewhat easier to install.

JC

 

I use a very fine screwdriver to widen them just a little bit. Mostly, inserting the screwdriver at the end, and then lifting it up a bit is all it takes. Sometimes, I wiggle it a bit sideways as well.

 

I used Pecos joiner on Atlas code 80. I had to use needle nosed plyers to put them on. Very tight & I still soidered them. I been told by HO guys,I have the best running N scale layout they ever saw. If your trackwork is lousy, you'll leave the hobby. If it good, you don't even need scenery, you'll stay.

 

I also use Peco rail joiners with Atlas CD 80 track. They go on easier and are smaller so they are less visible. Where I need an insulated joiner I also use Peco IJ's, Smaller and made from a clear plastic. I had been using a piece of rail filed to a point to open up the Atlas joiners to make them slide on easier.

 

Believe it or not, I used to coat the end of each rail with a little beeswax--just a bit. Beeswax comes in a block and is cheap. Just stick the end of the rail into the block. When you then solder the rail joint the wax melts away and doesn't inhibit the electrical contact. That helped a lot.

I gave up on Atlas track for that and other reasons--especially their code 55 which looked good but was a pain to install without a hitch. If you have the bucks, I strongly recommend PECO code 55 or 80. Very sturdy and easy to work with.

Hope this helps!!

 

Ntrakkers are all to familiar with Atlas rail joiners. Our club uses a tool called a chip lifter to remove or attach joiners. See similar tools here:

268 Chip Lifter Pry Bar

Ours were purchased at a train show from a tool vender for about $2.00US ea.

 

I also make it a habit to file the rails before inserting joiners, especially where the flex track has been cut with rail nippers. There are often very small burrs that prevent the joiners from slipping on smoothly.

And by all means, use needle nose pliers instead of your fingers!

 

Welcome to the bloody finger club! I'm using Peco code 55 and those little joiners are at times painful little buggers to get on. Code 80 was a breeze but the way the code 55 is made when you cut the rail the small burrs created make it almost impossible to get the joiners on. Like others have said, if you use some kind of small tool to pry open the joiner ends it makes a world of difference. If you pry one open a bit too much you can crimp it down a bit with needle nose plyers so you won't have a contact problem.

Brian

 

Easy way to save your fingers. Take a scrap piece of thin wood. I use a 2"x2" square of 1/8" multi-ply wood used in model making (e.g., Midwest). Light yet dense and very tough. The 2"x2" can vary to your liking. Once you get the rail joiner partially on, just put the piece of wood against the oppostie end of the rail joiner and push. Viola!

I've done many many Atlas rail joiners like this and didn't have to use a single Band-Aid.

 

Somebody needs to make a tool that will make installing these joiners easier.

Like this. It has a 7/64 hole drilled near the end and it keeps me out of the medicine cabinet.

 

Hello!

I use Atlas Code 55 with insulated plastic rail joiners as well as metallic ones.
After installation of metallic joiners i usually solder it with phosphate flux.
You're right, plastic joiners are sufficiently tight.
These joiners can be weared more conveniently Using Metallic long-nose pliers.
Also You can hold and insert tracks to layout-attached ones also under pliers-control.
As to me, i usually cut and sand rail's edges using thin diamond disc.
In this case, all joiners can be weared more easily.

-------
Vadim

 

Examine the joiner first if you are using Atlas. They come in four piece strips, IIRC. Be careful in separating them, making sure that the tongues are not bent upward. If one is bent, I just toss it. They are cheap enough. It is better than the bloody fingers and the split finger nails.

If you are using flextrack, it is mandatory to file the burrs on the edges of the cut track. Otherwise, the joiner will never get on. Opening up the end of the joiner will get it onto the rail, but remember that you may have the use a pair of pliers to gently press the top of the joiner back down onto the rail to help insure a good solid connection for electrical current.

 

When I use the four-piece strips, I cut each one from the rest with a simple pair of scissors. There's always the temtation to bend the things until they snap free, but bending them will likely cause the problem described above.

 

Paul-

Yes and thank you. I never thought of the scissors. I guess I ain't the sharpest pair of scissors in the drawer or toolbox or work area.

 

just a pointer/ something to look out for. and it could be just me but i had a small handful of issues, going back to the joiners fitting tight and getting bent, with the rail heights being off just enough to cause derailments.

 

Fothergill, I think if you're on this foum and in N Scale you're plenty sharp.

By the way, the scissor technique works on the code 80 Atlas "n" joiners as well.

 

At least I'm not the only one having problems with n scale code 55 rail joiners. I'd pay double or triple the price to have the go on as easily as HO joiners for code 100 rail. Wow. It takes me about an hour to do the 6 joiners for a turnout and by then I'm losing my desire to lay rail. I do all the suggested things: filing, bending edges, etc. Geez, why doesn't anyone make a good joiner that just works?

 

Here is my rail joiner tool. It's a piece of rail soldered inside a bit of brass tube. The rail protrudes about half a joiner. The brass tube gives me a way to hold the joiner with my fingers out of harms way while inserting the joiner. I filed the rail to ease inserting the joiner on the tool. This is for Peco c55. You could use some Atlas c55 rail for their joiners.

 

Before I went with Unitrack I used forceps that I bought as a set. Clip a joiner long ways in the jaw and push it on the rail.

https://www.amazon.com/Ultimate-Hem...words=Forceps&qid=1554046995&s=gateway&sr=8-5