I just got the Unitrack V14 kit. I've been burning up the rails since last night seeing what I can run on those tight radius curves. One thing has me bothered. None of the rail joints seems to be that smooth. The rail is a different height at just about every joint. It's almost like I need to file them all to even them out. But I don't want to do that because I want to be able to tear this down and rebuild it at will. The kit is brand new. I laid it out on a brand new smooth hollow core door. Is there a trick to getting a smoother joint? Do I need to replace the Unijoiners? Any tips? Thanks, Greg
I don't think you will get a perfectly smooth joint. I did replace a couple of my jointers and that helped.
It's a dumb question, but probably better that it be asked before you start filing away - do you have the transition curves the right way around? They're the smaller (22.5 degree) curves, which have regular flat track on one end, and super elevated track on the other end. They're required to transition from the straight to the super elevated curved sections, and if you have them backwards or aren't using them the rails will not line up.
even on Unitrack flat track, there is, at times, uneveness in the unijoiners. Normally, when you look at the join, you can see the unijoiner itself being at a slight angle. I've found that if you use the tip of a small flat screwdriver to press the metal part of the unijoiner back flush with the plastic, the rails will then be perfectly aligned.
I think I've got the transitions right. Arrows pointing to the super elevated track side. But even the joints on straight track are not smooth.
Check your track sections for a slight bow upwards on the ends. If you press down on the both track sections at the joint, they should line up, but the other end of the track may raise slightly. If so, gently bend them so if anything, the bow up slightly in the middle instead of the ends. This will make sure the ends of the track section are firmly on the ground where they mate and it should eliminate some of the joint problems. In order to get unitrak joints seemless and smooth, you almost need to glue the track down. When you glue the track down, place a flat weight on the rails across the joint. I've seen the bow in all forms of roadbed style track. Not as much in Unitrak, more in the Bachmann EZ track but all roadbed track suffers from this problem, even in HO.
No - but the Kevlar is pretty thick :tb-cool: IF the small metal part of the unijoiner is even, then I've never had a problem. It is made flexible for the action of joining, you just have to remember to even them out. My problems have been when I forget to do that (or, in two cases, completely miss the metal part of the joiner on one rail! In both cases, took me quite a while to figure out why I kept derailing there, and then the "Duh, stupid stupid" self berating begins, followed by the equally loud swearing caused by some chain-reaction event, which makes one question the sanity of ever starting in this hobby, and....Oh, are we having fun yet? :we2-jimlad
Ohhhh...I hear ya !! Been there...done that...even with Atlas Flextrack ! :tb-wacky: Like you said..."makes one question the sanity of ever starting in this hobby, and....Oh, are we having fun yet?" :tb-biggrin: :thumbs_up: Originally Posted by RBrodzinsky No - but the Kevlar is pretty thick "Kevlar"?...is that what Kato calls their funky, ugly, really fake looking trackbed now?....LMAO .
I read the original question and glanced at some of the responses. Forgive me if I'm out of sync but here's the cause and the solution. The Unitrack, is all but "Bullet Proof". When you put the two pieces of sectional track together make sure the rail joiner slides onto the rail and not under it. When I installed a hidden staging yard, I had several sections where the rail joiners disappeared under the rail leaving me with an uneven track. I didn't discover it until an older Atlas GP 9 slammed into the rail. Just pull the section apart and try putting the two sections back together. Use a magnifying apparatus, if need be, to look at the joint. Best of luck.
Rick, It is impossible to miss the rail with the rail joiner. The railjoiner is also the connection system for the roadbed and it is designed so you can't miss. The problem is with verticle unevenness between sections of track. The verticle play in the railjoiner is what makes the system so easy to assemble but it causes the issue mentioned above unless the track is absolutely flat on the layout. If the track is bowed, then it can't be dead flat.
@Tony...it is NOT impossible to miss. I've done it but then it's pretty obvious. The problem the OP is talking about is evident with a lot of Unitrak. I don't find that it hinders operations but it is a little annoying. There is an initial urge to file down the rail but I've decided against that baring some serious problem with running the trains which I don't have.
OK, I'll accept it is possible, but I had to force the track out of allignment to do it. The rail that missed the joiner was more than a full rail height above the other rail. It is blatantly obvious, you would not have electrical contact, and a train wouldn't run across it. I guess part of the verticle slopyness problems stems from the fact that the same unijoiner is used for both N and HO rail. If both pieces of roadbed are flat to the ground at a joint, then the rails will be smooth. That is what I look for. The railjoiners don't hold tight enough to rely on them for verticle allignment.
That is not true. It's true in theory but not completely true in pratcial application. It is possible that the two pieces of track are joined correctly and still one rail will be slightly higher and can be felt when you run your finger over the joint. That is what Rick is saying here...
:tb-biggrin: hilarious. I inspected the track at very very very close range with my optivisor, it's definitely connected correctly, I'll try pressing the joints into shape with a screwdriver like Rick suggested. The joints aren't horrendously out of whack, they just are not smooth to the touch. And some are visibly off! I took everything apart last night to make way for Christmas wrapping, so I'll have to set it up soon and try again.
I have also had this problem. It is very present with my V11 set and was one of the main problems I was having a week or so ago when I posted a question about it. Un-trak is good stuff but not perfect. I could not get some of my joints so smooth out and I ended up swaping some track pieces around till it was managable. Good luck afternoon hogger. Kevin
I find the same thing with Unitrack as in the first post but as someone else pointed out it has never caused me any problems either, I think it's vertical rather than sideways so not as likely to cause derailments. I actually like the clickety clack of the wheels as they go over a joint that's a fraction out. Kato have been making Unitrack joiners to the same design since 1980, if they thought the problem was a serious one I'm sure they would have fixed it.
Tony, What? Did you really say the above. "It's impossible to miss" I think is what you said. I have news for you...it's not impossible to miss. I put two pieces of Unitrack together just this morning and missed. On a flat surface. I guess it pays to back track. You went on to say in a later post. ""OK, I'll accept it is possible, but I had to force the track out of allignment to do it. The rail that missed the joiner was more than a full rail height above the other rail. It is blatantly obvious, you would not have electrical contact, and a train wouldn't run across it."" End of quote. No the current will make it through the track as the rail is sittling snugly on top of the rail joiner. Ahh, this is what pushes the rail up to cause the uneveness. Sometimes you amaze me with your answers. Then I wonder just how much experience you really have with model railroading. I'd expect a newbie to take me on not someone as experienced as yourself. Unless, I've dissed you off at some point in the past. Never mind! It's all good but heck I have to stand up for myself. I wasn't lieing and I don't appreciate the insinuation that I was.baffled: Give it a go, for yourself. The cause and effect you described may be true as well. I'll give you that.cool:
Greg, I have found uneven joints straight out of the box and many times after soldering feeders to the track. I look for the rail that is low and very carefully bend it up, then do a test fit and repeat if necessary. Once the track is affixed to the layout you can make minor adjustments by pressing down on an offending rail with your finger. As you may have heard the 29mm and 45.5mm track sections are all slightly taller than every other section of track. I am now filing these pieces down to the correct height before using them on the layout. Also, once the track is affixed to the layout you will want to hit the joints of all the rails with some emery cloth to remove the "snags". Hope these fine tuning tips work for you as well as they have worked for me. Jerry
