As many of you know I am at the track laying point on the New Oakville Sub (you can follow the project along at the topic of the same name). While laying the first of the visible track (which is ME's code 55 Concrete Tie) I noted the "track bolts" - the nubs which hold the rails in place - would accept (and hold securely) a rail pushed onto the tie. Here's a shot of a stick prepared for joinerless joining: And here's a shot of the completed joint: I gotta tell ya, I'm liking this stuff A LOT! I made only ONE joint with joiners, everything else was using the above technique. If anyone needs a blow-by-blow description I'll be happy to do it, but it's really self explanatory IMO.
Jim, I was actually about to post a question about rail joiners in my other thread (helixes) and you just basically answered it for me with this post. I am also planning on using the same ME code 55 concrete tie flex track (I think I found a few pieces to get me started until I can order more). Jamie
Jim, I would suggest staggering your joints and probably using two ties for to hold the adjacent rail. From seeing pics of your layout, I know the curve radius is quite large but does this method seem resonable on curves or just straight areas? This also means a lot of feeders, wow.
Looks great - I assume that there will be a pair of feeders to each track? How do things hold up on curves? I loved your old layout - and love what I have seen so far on the new one. Keep up the inspiration.
^ thats what I was thinking too. Learning how to solder rail is one of the things I'm dreading about starting my first layout!!
The main problem people have is not understanding how solder works. Solder is a glue. If you tin the wire and put a drop of flux on the rail, you don't need any more solder to get the wire to stick to the rail. If your rail is dirty, first wipe with a Q Tip soaked in alcohol, then put the flux on the rail. After that it's easy. Oh yeah, red feeders on on side, white feeders on the other. Why red and white? It's DARK and scary under the layout, and these two colors are easy to see! :tb-biggrin: We also use black for frogs. In any event, always use the same colors everywhere. Even if you got a "deal" on telephone wire, resist!
Since there is no joiner to transfer the electricity, are you soldering feeder wires to each section? There is always a trade-off.
Nice idea Jim. Please keep us posted on how this approach holds up, especially in the curves. I like skipgear's idea of staggering the joints by a few ties. BTW, what kind of glue are you using for track to cork? As an aside, I love this track too! At first, I was quite annoyed by its lack of flexibility, but now I regard it as a real feature. On my test module, it was very easy to get precise track arrangements worked out before committing to glue. The hardest task I had was trying to get a neat looking joint while trying to retain some of the clip under the joiner (for appearance sake). Your idea looks like a great way to go. Cheers, Gary
Never liked rail joiners myself and don't use them unless I have too. Adding feeders to each piece of flex is not a bad thing either. Ny only question is where did you find ME Flex track????
Ya know someone was bound to do this...now we have gone over the line in mimicking the prototype. First it was couplers...then DCC, now superdetailing...and finally, true ribbon rail.... I've seen it all my friends. I've seen it all.
The idea sounds great and looks great ... on straight track. But what about on curved sections? How well does the alignment hold together there?:tb-wacky:
There seem to be no issues at this point regarding curves, Skipgear. Everything seems quite stable using just one tie, and many of the joints are on curves. I've laid upwards of 30 pieces thus far and see no problems. Yep, lots of feeders. But IMO that's smart anyway. EVERY piece of rail gets a feeder. Bulletproof. See above, TexasNS, thanks for the comments, and you ain't seen nothin' yet. Wait til you see how I bridge a door...coming soon! Exactly, Hemi. I'm REALLY happy with the way this works. Davd R, It's a shame Heath Company is no more. Building Heathkits was an education in more ways than one. You either learned how to solder correctly or your kit didn't work. I'm still using a portable multimeter I built - I think - 25 years ago. Johnh, I don't consider it a trade off. I would have used one feeder per piece of rail in any case. I would never rely on a joiner to transfer electricity - one bit of corrosion (and there WILL be corrosion) and that's all she wrote. Gary, based on how it feels, I think the one tie will do it. And staggering would make it more difficult to lay. I'm using Alex clear caulk, very happy with it thus far. And the concrete flexibility is MUCH better than the wood tie stuff. I tend to align the track by clicks - three clicks out and one click back seems to work well to provide a minor adjustment... And no one asked, but the feeders are soldered UNDER the rails. You can barely see them now, and with ballast they will be quite invisible.
Inkaneer, I cleaned out woo woo woo woo woo woo's. They showed a bunch in stock, and I got a few pieces, then decided I better get it while the getting was good and ordered the rest. That real-time inventory is super. I've had some on order from Wig-Wag since early May - apparently ME has VERY sporadic production runs. I think Walthers showed their backorder clearing on the 29th...Be interesting to see if it happens.
With the feeders under the track (even possible with Code 55 Atlas) nobody is going to see them after ballasting.
I've always wondered if we couldn't make ribbon rail. That is, using a high powered resistance soldering rig connect an electrode right on each side of the joint and give it a high blast of power and actually weld the two sections of rail together; no joiner, no solder. I like this method though, and I will have to try it. Not sure it would hold up on a curve, but for straight sections it should be fine.
GNFA310, it hasn't been a problem so far, and it FEELS right. I don't think I'd lay it on a small radius, and I have no idea what the limiting factor is but my curves are very broad (24" minimum) and I really don't think there are issues here. Leo, based on what I've done thus far there will be no problem. I think what need to be determined is how short a radius it will work on. I'm not sure ribbon rail is all that good an idea based upon expansion and contraction. My method allows the track to move as it must. I probably won't begin scenery until next spring to fully test the hidden trackage and going through a winter will tell me everything I need to know about what it's going to do. Be neat to try it, though!
Green for Frogs! Tony, I use green wire for frogs because frogs are, well, green. Easy to remember even for me... :tb-cute: Cheers Dirk
