Hay folks, got a question for you. I'm new to G but have been a long time HO scaler. I was wundering or is that blundering? If any of you soder your rail joints like we do with HO. My layout is an indoor layout and I have sodered a few joints and em not happy with the way it looks. Any ideas?
On an indoor layout I wouldn't think soldering would be necessary if the track connections are tight and the track is nailed down. I f you do have a problem you might consider using Hillman Rail Clamps like most of us do on our outdoor garden railroads. I also have an indoor HO and my son has an indoor G layout in our basement and none of our rail joints are soldered and we have had no problems. Fred
Sean, first of all welcome to trainboard. I've got a good friend who has built a G RR. we went through the same situation and the Hillman Rail Clamps really do look good and solve the problems. Unless you have a resistance soldering machine, it's too hard to make them look good. LOL
Fred has put it right that you do not have to solder your connections for an indoor layout. However if you want to solder your connections, then you can use jumper wires and solder them between your rail sections. These jumper wires allow your track to expand.
Hi Sean No need to solder indoors. I simply use the clamps attached to LGB or Aristo track. They will do 99% of the job alone but I still drop power feeders every 6 - 8 feet. That keeps the system trouble free. After market rail clamps are on the expensive side so I only use them on turnouts to facilitate easy removal - when ever.... Enjoy. Dave