Rick, I was allowing the original poster a moderate amount of skill and common sense in that he wasn't doing this... Here is what misalligned Unitrak looks like.... You have to try to put the track that way. I have to physically twist the track when assembling to miss the joiner. There is no way a train would even run across this. It is definitely more than bump in the rails. I can't see how you could possibly do this pushing track together on a flat surface. When connected this way there is no possible way for electircal contact to be made. There is a slot built into the unijoiner to vertically allign the joiner with the track. It is about 2mm tall and a 1mm deep. If you miss the slot, you are at least 4mm above the other rail and no contact is made as shown in the picture. There are two ways to put Unitrak together, the right way, and the way shown above. Keep in mind the original poster is also using the super elevated double track system which would be even harder to miss a joint with. Please read the whole topic before posting and I would appreciate it if you would be sure of yourself before you post next time.
Tony and of course all tuned in, I was very sure of myself when I dropped into this thread. From what I could see in the answers I glanced through. It was pretty much a dance around the facts. I know I'm going to get cards and letters on that last comment. Now that I've gone and insulted everyone that participated here. The example you share here and I picked up below, is clearly the wrong way to put Unitrack together. Agreed. This is not what I was talking about. Going back to what I said earlier. You can go straight in, working on a flat surface and miss joining the rail joiners. I've done it. Very sure of myself. I'm not as retarded or as stupid, as I look. I really don't mind if you doubt my word, why should anything be any different this time around. Where would the fun be if we didn't rattle each others cage. Grin! It's all good and I will leave it to each of you Unitrack users, to prove myself or anyone else wrong or right. There is more then two ways to put the track together wrong but only one way that works and is right.
Not to make light of the situation...but...I once had a 15 degree crossing that was giving me fits. I couldnt get trains to cross without derailing. I tried everything...files...gauges...patience. They all ran out...especially the patience. I decided the heck with it...I wasnt going to put a &^%(*&^%*&$(&^* crossing there anymore. I reached over...grab a hammer...and forgetting I am working on a thin skinned HCD...W A M...I took it out on that crossing !!! Yup...the BIG hole is still in that door...right at the end of my yard now. It reminds me all the time "PATIENCE GEORGE... its only a hobby !! :tb-wink: .
If there is, I would like to see it. I orginally gave you the benifit of the doubt and tried on multiple pieces of track many different ways and I could only come to two results. The only way I could see having the rail slide over the joiner and still have the roadbed in line is if the unijoiner or piece of track was substancially damaged. Not what I would suspect with a person talking about a brand new track set.
Unfortunately, the design of the unijoiner does not haold the rails in precise vertical alignment. This does not mean that it is a bad design, I know of now other rail joiner design that continues to work acceptably after repeated assembly and disassembly. One effective way insure vertical alignment is to remove the metal part of the unijoiner and replace it with a regular code 80 railjoiner. I would only suggest doing this on a permanent or smei-permanent layout because the rail joiners would loosen with repeated assembly and disassembly. I am using Unitrack for what I plan on being the lower level/semi-sceniked staging yard. It's design has not been finalized so it occasionally gets changed, so I am currently using the regular unijoiners; however, once the design has been finalized, I plan to replace the metal part of all of the unijoiners with regular rail joiners.
Tony and of course all tuned in, Not that what I say here really matters much any old way. I don't post pictures here or anywhere else...anymore. I'm tired of fighting with the copyright...know it all's. And, that is to include my own pic's. Heck...no one was looking at them and when they did the remarks were critical. Well not all of them. Sound familiar? Regarding the "Bullet Proof Kato Unitrack". It's a bunch of hype and the experienced modelers know that. Now, I know it's advertised and promoted by most LHS's, your's included, that it's bullet proof. One of the benefits and easy sells. Sorry, I don't mean to disappoint you but it can be bum fuzzled up, just as easy as any other sectional track out there. Here's how: I have diabetic vision and at times my vision isn't as clear as I'd like for it to be. When I put the Kato Unitrack together, my vision was less then. It's easier then you think to miss... sliding the rail joiner onto the rails. You can be thankful you are young and have excellent vision. You will more then likely see and correct the problem before it happens. Just my two cents and thanks for the change. Now to see if it will buy breakfast. Grin! .
Everyone is getting very excited. Yes, it is possible to booger up unitrack. Yes, joiners can get loose in unitrack and even crinkle the metal joiner. That's why they sell replacements. I will say that it is the most "bulletproof" system I have experienced and highly recommend if you can swallow the cost and works for how you want to model.
Yeah, just likeCSX Robert showed ya. Stuff happens. BTW the best way for connecting /disconnecting typical Kato track sections is to keep both pieces flat. Otherwise if you bend up the track piece ends, you also bend up the rail ends also. It's fixable as noted above. As for noticing the problem, if you ran trains left to right across the above photo, you might hear a *clack* if you were running with metal wheels but chances are you wouldn't derail most times across two straight sections. You might not check for track problems until it got to be an irritation. Then -- Oho! And then Duh! Picture Gromit (me) laying track during the day, who then found out the hard way that an Evil Penguin (name withheld to protect the guilty) "improved" track layout during the night and connected the occasional section inside a tunnel as per CSX Robert's photo. Or did not put sections together at all inside the tunnel. More than once. So Kato Unitrack is not idiot-proof either. But it is still ahead of everything else that's available commercially and typically miles ahead of everybody's first effort at building their own track.
For what it is worth I do most of mine by feel. I do try to keep it flat when I connect / disconnect it. If I get it wrong, I do it over.
Yep - and I had one of those in a tunnel, that I normally ran "left to right". Of course, when I was showing off the new tunnel, I ran "right to left", and derailed in it. Everything had been fine until I did the final feeder drops, joins, glued and built the tunnel over it. How I missed it.... Of course, it was dead center in the one tunnel I hadn't provided the lift off top
My Kato V11 set was the same way. I’ve had over a year now and I don’t know if it settled in or if I just don’t notice it anymore. baffled:
