Whats the best way to lay and JOIN flexy track on corners???? The test joins I did look dodgey as in not smooth.. one suggested soldering them???? ------------------ RR: K, C, & Bird Butt Railroad - SP, NS, and ROCK admirer. Its a coal mining region of a place far far away, that runs, SP, NS, and some CSX.. Also some Custom RARE Bird RR sd40-2's coming! Era: Time stands still round these parts, and we have everything from Steam, to Diesels of today.
I always try to avoid having joins on curves, even if it means wasting some track. But if unavoidable, I pin the ties near the ends every other tie for a short distance, to make sure there are no dog-legs. Seems to work ok, as I have not had tracking problems. ------------------ Alan The perfect combination - BNSF and N Scale! www.ac-models.com Andersley Western Railroad Alan's American Gallery Alan's European Gallery Alan's British Steam Gallery
I'm sure there's HUNDREDS of ways of doing this, so here's mine. Before laying the track, solder the pieces together on the OUTSIDE of the rail on both rails. Remove as many ties as needed but try to save them to "slip" back under the track after you have it laid. Next,(And this is just an option.)place thin shims under the outside edge of the curve to "super-elevate" it but only ever so slightly. One to two degrees of elevation is all that's needed. Secure the track with track nails but don't drive them in too far, this can cause the track to go out of gauge. I pre-drill my holes with a motor tool using a bit that's one size smaller than the track nail. This makes a snug but easy fit. Put your extra ties under the exposed rail, glue down if needed. Weather the track. Use any dark brown or rusty colored paint that will not attack the plastic ties but will "bite" into the plastic. Only exception here is concrete ties, I hand paint the rail and leave the ties alone. Later, I put a black paint wash on the concrete track to simulate fuel oil stains. Something I just started to do is NOT remove the paint from the tops of the rail yet. Ballast the track first, use your Railroads ballast type and glue it down YOUR WAY. I've changed glue methods many times over the last few years. The last time I used a "wet water" spray mist on the ballast first, followed buy an application of matte medium. LET IT DRY! Don't get in a hurry, if you do, it can loosen the ballast. Now use a brite-boy to clean the railheads. Clear any stray ballast from the inside of the track, remove the track nails, except were the joints and end of track pieces are and wire it up! The next step is the best, RUN A TRAIN ON IT! You're done! (At least I am...) ------------------ RAILROADING-TO-THE-MAX, Burlington Northern/Santa Fe Style! Brent Tidaback, Member #234 [This message has been edited by Maxwell Plant (edited 08 July 2000).]
As stated, best to avoid joins on curves. I've seen but have not tried, a method of slipping the loose rail into the other curve section where the rail has been shorted by bending. Slide the rail thru the now open rail slots and then trim off the section end which meets up with the straight section. The loose rail would have to be on the outside. It sounds stronger and I guess you would have to solder the rails together, no space for joiner. Has anyone tried this method? ..Eddie
I would agree with Brent about super-elevation of curved track. I have it on my 'S' curves, and stack trains look great going round them ------------------ Alan The perfect combination - BNSF and N Scale! www.ac-models.com Andersley Western Railroad Alan's American Gallery Alan's European Gallery Alan's British Steam Gallery
I use Peco flex-track. The good thing about using Peco, is that it doesn't have a memory. When you shape it, like on a curve, it will not snap back to straight. I solder both rails, then bend it to shape, apply a glue/water solution, place the track down, use canned foods for weight and let it dry. Polly "S" Rail Tie Brown is airbrushed, top of the rails are cleaned with Brite-Boy or Goo-Gone and ballast is applied. Most recently, this method was used to replace an entire curve because of a major unwanted "hump" that developed over the years in the middle of a curve. Now everything os normal again. ------------------ Keep on Track'N Harold Riley www.phcomputing.com
I agree. If the rails are soldered while the track is straight, the rails will follow the same curve when you make your curve. You may have to remove more ties, but I found a use for old sectional track. Pull off the rails (for other uses) of both curved and straight track. Cut off the "nubbins" on top and replace all the ties removed at a joint with sections of ties still attached to each other (example 4-5 ties). Less hassle with worrying about getting ties lined up. ------------------ David http://www.geocities.com/nscaler_55
I have always soldered flex-track together using a railjoiner. You have to watch your curves when you lay the track out to make sure that you don't put a kink in a curve. I never solder more than two sections together, because you have to leave the rail some room for expansion. You think that rail expansion won't be a problem till you have a spot light heat up a track section, and it drives you nuts trying to figure out why the %#@*&+ trains won't stay the track, when they ran fine yesterday. ------------------ Let's Go Run Trains MARK
I read a cool solution on the atlas forum... when it was up..... cut back 3-4 ties from the end... cut a section of sectional track to match... than slide the flex rails on to the sectional .. being careful that you dont break off the plastic rail holders on the sectional... I tried it on my n layout and it works great !!!!
Neat Idea! Let us know how the joint holds up and Welcome to the Boards! ------------------ RAILROADING-TO-THE-MAX! Brent Tidaback, Member #234 and a N-Scaler to boot!
A little off subject here but I think you all might want to know. Paul Graf, e-mailed me today and said Atlas Forum will be back, but it will have a different look and be "more controlable". I think they may go to this type of format and have moderators. Although Trainboard.com is my home posting place, I do go to Atlas and on some times check in on RailroadBuilders.org. The more info you have access to, the more we learn. ------------------ RAILROADING-TO-THE-MAX! Brent Tidaback, Member #234 and a N-Scaler to boot!
With reference to what is said about tolerances (topic: hump yard) I will just add some comments. I´m using ROCO flex track and ROCO switches. There are two types of flex track, one very flexible and a more stiff one. The track length is about one yard and costs $$3 each. I found no problem when placing a joint in a curve. I´m soldering all joints after sliding on the metal joiner (removed one sleeper on each side of course). Preparation of the rail ends after cutting: with a fine grade file I grind the railhead and the base of the rail foot. I also grind the upper surface of the rail foot to get it thinner so the joiner will fit perfect. After soldering I grind the railhead and most important, the inside of the rail so there will be no jagg. ----------- Helge Sandy River and West Forrest Railroad http://members.tripod.com/hkri1938
I have a jig I bought at an "N" scale only store I use to solder my flex track straight. This jig works without joiners and does a great job. After the track is installed I take a small file and clean up the joint so it is almost invisable. In fact I dismantled my old layout and built a new room in the back of my garage so my railroad now has a room of its own. Pictures of new room can be seen at www.members.iquest.net/~leghome/index.html. I plan on reusing the flex track on the new layout. I have played witht he track and it seems to work very well. ------------------ Larry E. Gilbert ASST. Superintendent Central Indiana Division MWR/NMRA
