I was wondering what the best method all you guys use for cutting track, I have atlas code 83 and some code 83 flex track and everytime i try to cut the track and join the pieces the trains are either coming off the track or are having a tough time passing over. it seems like one section is a bit higher than others. I tried with a dremel to smooth down the track to make it even but that really did not work that well. my questions are please tell me what tools to use for cutting and joining track so I will avoid these problems that have wasted almost 50% of my time. BTW this is my first HO trainset build since i was a kid it's been a blast to build but the track issues are frustrating.
The thinnest cut you are going to get is with a razor saw, either Zona or Atlas. The Dremel cut off wheel is surprisingly thick when compared to a razor saw. Heed Nolan's advice on stabilizing the track. You don't want to separate it from the ties while cutting.
Just did some track maint for buckles and wows. Found the razor saw was too fine and the cut was not wide enough. Used the dremel saw which produces a large gap which did the trick. Note: No ballast down yet. Helix had the freshest lumber with the rest of the layout lumber in place for many months before trackwork started (just a factor of time available as opposed to good planning) In laying my helix I used code 80 from the previous layout nailed to the wood. Of course I got wows and buckles even after leaving gaps, obviously not enough nor big enough. I will never use nails again. It made repairs on the helix track very difficult and gap cutting a necessity. I used code 55 and Matte Medium (for glue) on the rest of the layout. This made for easy track lifting and redo of joints as opposed to cutting gaps in most cases. Gaps when needed were cut using the Dremel. New feeders were run in after all gaps cut on the main layout. Jumper wire was used on the helix to connect across the gaps. Tom
Once the pressure on the rails has eased and I am sure that I have taken care of most of the contraction in lumber I will seal up any remaining gaps with styrene. Some of the gaps have virtually closed with the easing of the stress. The other gaps seem to not bother the trains as I have had some hours of ops on the track the last couple of days. The grandson was over, he is 4, and we spent the entire day between breakfast and supper, except for lunch running engines with different lengths of trains over the entire trackwork that is there. He loves speed and I am happy to say that no derailments occurred because of the gaps. He was a happy little boy and grandpa had a sore back that night. I have to say he is very delicate with the engines, steamers, and cars and his nimble fingers are better at getting the rolling stock on the the track. He learns really fast. Tom
NTRAK connector tracks Reviving an older thread: This is exactly what I need for my modular layout, could someone point me in the right direction for how to fabricate one of these? I have some Atlas 5" rerailers (old models) but could not figure out how to remove the rails without destroying the piece.
It has been a while since I made those but I think I can recall what I did. I have a small milling machine which is almost essential for cutting the rails to the right contour. First I cut the plastic away off the bottom of one end of the tie piece right where the five ties meet the central rerailer section. I was able to slide that short section of ties off the end of the rails. Next I loosened the remaining rail by holding the track in one hand and tapping the short end of each rail with a small hammer. Once the bond between the plastic and rail is broken, it was easier to extract by sliding out the end where the ties have already been removed. Sometimes I had to grab it with a pliers and add a little light oil to the rail to ease it out. I then salvaged two more sections of rail from an Atlas short straight sections. I was able to modify my mill table vice to clamp each rail so that the surface of the flange facing me was exposed and the surface away was supported by an offset vice jaw. That way I could mill away half of the rail for about an inch on the end of each of the four rails. The milled sections overlap and slide side by side when reinserted into the rerailer body. I then trimmed the excess rail off the ends of the rerailer and applied rail joiners. After much use, I have modified these joiners sections to be more robust. I inserted a rail joiner in the middle to hold the split rails together better where they slide past each other. I heated the rail slightly with my resistance soldering iron so the rail joiner would sink into the plastic a little. I also did away with the plastic ties on the moving end as the glue I was using to kept failing and the rails would slide inside the ties. I made some PC board sections that I soldered the rails to that work much better. These take a lot of time and right equipment to build but sure make NTRAK set up and tear down a breeze. I think Kato Unitrak has the same thing that could be incorporated into a home layout much easier.
Oh my goodness! I posted the following to the HCD guys last night. Laughed out loud when I found you guys. Returning to hobby after 25 years and thought I was the only one using hollow core doors. I used 5 doors for my HO. Two run N-S, two E-W(with space in the center) and one more N-S. Banded them all together with 1x6 yellow pine and then hung it all on six cables running thru pulleys to a counter weight in the corner of the garage. It exceeded my expectations for ease of use and rigidity of the table. For dust control, I attached 18" walls of 1/4" plywood to the ceiling that the table goes up into--picture a big shoe box lid on the ceiling. When I figue out how to do it, I will attach a couple of pictures, Track work is about 70% and I am starting to contemplate scenery--on a tight budget. Does anyone know of a site that will allow you to down load back drops for free. First time to chat on line so I hope I am doing this correctly! Now, after discovering your lament about garage modelers, I am in a panic. Looked at your pictures btw--beautiful stuff! I am in HO. How long a run before I need a gap?
I just looked up the similar track piece from Kato. Kato Unitrack 20-050 costs about $7 a piece. For a home layout this might be the way to go if you don't have the tools or are not brave enough to try and build your own.
Thanks, I looked up that part as well. Only problem is that I already cut my modules to accept the not-quite-5 inch Atlas straight piece. Since my precision on cutting the track and squaring the ends of the modules was poor, there is a gap where the pieces connect (3-5mm). When you try to do something like this, as mentioned earlier in this thread, the kerf and angle which the dremel cuts are usually enough to create a gap. I may just replace some trackwork to accept the Kato pieces since that looks to be the most robust solution. For a woodworking amateur, the precision that n-scale demands can be a little frustrating at times.
Because the Kato expansion tracks are much shorter, you could always solder a one inch piece of Atlas track to one module. That way you can drop the Kato in and then have enough to bride the gap. You will also have to make room below the track to accommodate the molded in road bed under the Unitrak.
Expansion problems with elecrical problems made me decide to rework and rewire my old HO pike. As I started to carefully remove that frustrating wiring I got more and more into it until I was standing there with an evil grin and dilated eyes snip-snip-snipping away like crazy. Then I decided to redo some scenery so I kept right on tearing that sucker up until I was down to the bare benchwork. After some consideration I went to Home Depot and returned with several sheets of plywood to cover the whole top surface and then......and THEN.....I dug out my old Lionel trains and installed them and never looked back to HO. Now I will admit to a budding reinterest in N but I don't plan to build an empire this time so expansion/contraction shouldn't be a problem. Odd-d
