Something I learned last night- I am no good at soldering wires to rails. Other than that, I've been having a lot of fun working on my layout Here are some pictures of my current progress. I have all track in place, but I have yet to connect all the wires and make sure everything works. This is my next step. After that comes the Sculptamold for scenery base. I just want to add that this forum has been the source of more help than any other site on the internet and any train books I've looked at. Not only from new posts, but from reading old posts, I have been able to get help on almost every question I've had so far. So thanks everybody Overview. Pardon the low quality pics. I use my camcorder at the moment. When I have detail worth capturing I will take *real* pictures and scan them in. Here's my wiring scheme if anybody's interested. I have yet to see if it works though Notice that I added a branch in the upper left corner. This will link to a simple staging yard I plan to add that will be connected to the wall and will hover over my workbench. I'm really good at melting the plastic ties. I wonder if any amount of ballast will help cover this accident. On the right is my curved turnout leading into the most pointless tunnel around. But hey, I just had to have a tunnel. My first engine. It's an Athearn GP38-2 kit that I slightly detailed. I'm not all that proud of the iron grabs, but hey, I had to try. I have yet to add any weathering. Here are a couple cars that I've weathered. I took pictures of trains passing my workplace and used those as reference. I think they're alright for my first attempt, but there's always room for improvement. Well that's it. I hope everyone is enjoying the hobby as much as I have been lately. Later- Dave
Dave, The layout is looking great! The one thing that jumped out at me after reading your post was that you are having fun! That is the main thing. About soldering feeders: Make sure you pre-tin the wires before trying to solder them to the rails. Also, put some wadded up paper towel that has been wetted over the rail near your solder point. This will serve as a heat sink and help you keep from melting ties. Keep up the good work!
Looks great. About your soldering "issue", what I do when soldering feed to Atlas C55 N scale track is this Pre-tin the wire Clean the rail with a small wire brush Apply flux to the rail (the flux really helps a lot, believe me) Use a hot iron (I use 40 watts), if you use a 15 watts, you'll have to heat the rail for a long time before the tin float, with a melted tie as result. Place the wire tight against the rail, place you tin on one side, and put the iron on top of the rail for a short moment (1 second or so) and remove it again. If the tin doesn't flow, touch again, but don't hold it for too long. This technique works for me, without any damager to the ties, but as you can see from other threads, there are many different techniques, and eventually you will find one that works for you. Jesper
Here's a melted ties tip... If I melt ties, I just slide an exacto 11 knife under the ties and push down on the rails hard to cut the ties free from the other ties. Then I use a small screwdriver and pry the melted ones out. Just cut a few new ties off some flex track, and clip the spike heads off, then just slide them under the rails. When you ballas the track, the ties will be held in place and look good!
Dave: Cool! In reverse order: Car weathering: you've got it nailed! Not bad at all! If that's your "beginners" approach you'll be an expert in no time at all. Isn't it so much easier when you have some pics for inspiration? Locomotive: not bad. Sure, the grab irons aren't perfect, but then, maybe they have been bent around over the years from rough use. After all, GP38-2 units are not pushing 35 years in age, running soon into 40 years. If you want to enhance that, rust and chip the handrails a little. Soldering: sorry, no help here, I've avoided it as much as possible. But I am learning from the other replies here. Scenery: very sweet, you *did* have room for a canyon after all! Wow, I wouldn't have bet on that. Love the *deep* scenery. And the tunnel does have a use -- to hide the corner. Track: Good addition. A suggestion for ya, make it so that the line that is the staging lead, and the line that is the reverse loop connection, was once or is now a competeing railroad. Use a different ballast color to emphasize this. If it's UP you are modeling, just conisder that it used to be a competitor and then UP, per prototype, took it over! To further emphasize this i'd suggest putting a crossing tower where the staging lead cuts off to represent what used to be an interlocking when the two lines were seperate routes. Whatever you end up doing, you are coming along fine! I look forward to seeing more. PS Dontcha love foam? Messy, but easy!
For your soldiering issues. I would sugest soldiering the contact wires to the rail joiners! Then push them onto the ends of the rail un-soldiered! This will prevent the tie melting issue being your doing the soldiering at the bench to the rail joiner, insted of the rail web and melting the ties in the process! I got good and do this to the rail joiners on location on rail.... Not at the bench! I would suggest using a "third hand" tool to hold the joiner as you soldier the wire to it. Then to install it, you simply push the wire into the hold made for it and then push the joner onto the rail end, do this for both sides (both sides) and thenpush the next section of rail into the joiners and do the same thing to the end of the new section. I soldiered like that for years as a kid being I had the same trouble with melting ties! Now I soldier to the rail web/joiner and the wire goes in between the rails and down through my sub-base. I normally only soldier one end of the rail joiner to one end of rail. this way the other rail if needing replaces will slip right out with no un-soldiering, then only one rail end gets a joiner and wire and the other end doesn't get a joiner or wire. Its left to get the slip on joiner, un-soldiered. and then the next joiner gets a wire and all. I wire every other joner like this for temperature and all so the track can expand and contact from heat without rippings the rail off the plastic ties and ruining a track section. HTH [ 22. November 2002, 00:57: Message edited by: 7600EM_1 ]
Looking good Dave. Its amazing what u can do in a small area. Before u solder u could strip away the ties and replace later. At least u didn't set the styrofoam ablaze
Dave, Your layout is looking great. I would take Johns advice in soldering the wires to rail joiners. It is also important to pre-solder the wires first. Look forward to seeing more pics
Looks like good progress Dave. It takes time to learn and practise to hone your skill at soldering. Just use a hot larger iron so you can quickly heat the rail and get off before the heat can travel hot enough to soften the plastic ties. It just takes practise. I like the way John does it by using the joiners, but I can't always fit them everywhere, so I had to learn too.
Looks Great! I use a slightly different soldering technique that works well with PECO Code 55 (N-Scale) track .... - Use the smallest diameter solder possible, 0.015" or smaller. - Use a medium heat iron ... 25-40 Watts. - File a long sharp point on the iron tip, then tin it thoroughly. - Wipe the iron tip on a damp paper towel after each use to keep it clean. - Use 20-22 Gauge solid wire ... NOT stranded. - Tin about 1/8" at the end of the wire. - Clean about 1/4" of the rail side and add small amount of flux (solder paste). - Carefully bend the wire so it presses tightly(!) against the side of the rail into the flux. - Position the end of the solder against both the rail and the wire. - Press the iron against the wire, NOT the rail. - Remove the iron and solder as soon as the solder flows. This technique will heat the wire first, then conduct just enough heat to the rail to melt the end of the solder onto the rail side. If done quickly, there should not be enough heat conducted through the rail to melt the ties. I'll admit that I melt an occassional tie when I'm not paying attention. Placing the iron on the rail top will take too long for the heat to be conducted through the rail to the wire. It will probably melt the ties before the wire gets hot enough to melt the solder. P.S. I recommend feeding each wire through separate small holes drilled in the roadbed right next to the rail. This makes it easier to hold the wire tightly against the rail. I use needle-nose pliers to bend the end of the wire after I passed it up through the hole. [ 22. November 2002, 14:34: Message edited by: Hank Coolidge ]
I did forget to mention, I "tin" all my wire ends, wether or not its stranded wire or solid wire, and the rail joiners also get "tined" on the bottoms! Then I attach the wire to it. Being done this way, you set your road bed as you want the track plan to be, do the soldiering to the wires and joiners, then all you do is find a start with the track, I use a 180 curve(half circle) to start, tack one curve section inplace, then add the joiners with wires, and then push another track sections onto the laid section, tack it fast, and then add more joiners to the ends of the second laid section of rail, and so on and so forth. I now soldier my wire contacks to the joiners tho, in place! Not on the bench! I did the bench soldiering when I was a kid being I wasn't good at it. Practice makes perfect tho. Now I soldier my wires to the joiner AFTER the track is all laid and the joiners are in place, then I drill a 1/8th inch hole in the center of the ties, between ties and centered between the rails, through the sub roadbed and push one end of the wire down through the layout sub roadbed, and take the other end under the rail joiner, and out the side and then bed the end of the wire thats already soldiered and make it fit the contour of the rail and then put it against the side of the rail web and touch it with the iron. 2 seconds tops in time it takes, and thats one wire soldiered to the rail. And then onto the next location. Watash, ole buddy, you can STILL do this to ALL your joiners! I have cut joiners down in length till they were 1/8th inch long! Thats 1/16th of an inch to each rail. I know its short! But I have never had to once not use a joiner.. I then fill the gap in the ties from using flex track with other ties with the spikes cut off, slipped under the rail joiner. I use yellow carpenters glue to glue these ties in place. IF a big IF, I use snap track or sectional track like for curves, I cut the end ties off being they have that weird looking ties molding on each end thats hard to explain here without a picture, once laid in place, and all wiring is soldiered I then replace the molded ties that I cut off with a normal set of ties. Normally you have to cut the first 2 ties off each track section being they are a special molded thing thats awkward looking. And replacing them makes it look like a normal rail section on the real railroad. They then have a uniformity with all the rest....
