I have a dilemma. My station is just about finished and now I'm laying track in what will be a yard. As 2 of the tracks exit the station they encounter a double crossover which needs to be electrically separated by gaps. I find that the plastic railjoiners are totally unsatisfactory. Are there different types of insulated railjoiners? Does anyone out there have a good method of filling the gaps with non-conductive material so as to avoid derailments?
That's a great idea! It's like putty, can be shaped with a hobby knife and when it hardens it forms a smooth transition across the gap........and the rails are isolated electrically. Now........if I can get this thing hooked up properly. we'll run some trains. Thanks very much, Jim.
As an additional suggestion, which I have never done but been told about it in the past, solder the rails to a piece of printed cicuit board with the copper scratched out at the joint to make the electrical break. Use a thin piece of plastic or something to make the gap while you solder it. Once it's all in the location that you want, epoxy over the gap. No gap, and a solid mechanical connection. It should work well. Epoxy by itself may lack the mechanical strength you'd want. I'm also one for overdoing things, such as using 2X4's for construction. Cost is $1.95 each, and they're strong enough, I think..... Mark
What I have always done is just use a small piece of plastic. Wherever I need to insulate a track joint I use a dremel cutting disk and slice the rail. I then insert a piece of plastic in the joint and super glue it in place. After the glue has hardened I cut off the excess on the inside of the rail and then file the top smooth. I find it a lot faster then having to mix up a batch of epoxy.
