bklynman01
Active Member
For connecting the track sections, I'm soldering the connectors to the rails. For the flex track, I leave the last few inches of track unattached to the table. The relaxed track allows a straight connection to be made. If a curve is maintained through the connection point, the track ends up having a kink. This kink could be the cause of troublesome operations, something I dont want to deal with later.
Here's a picture of a connection on a curve. All 4 pictures are the same connection point from both directions and with the focus changed to make inside and outside views. Notice the solder only fills the OUTSIDE of the rail. This is done to avoid any potential interference with wheel flanges.
After soldering is complete, the rail is attached to the table using same technique I explained earlier.
There is a risk doing this. If there is any inconsistency with rail direction, angle, height, or shape, that inconsistency will always be there. A file and some patience could fix those types of inconsistencies, but why destroy the track and add more potential for failure?
Wherever possible, I solder rail sections together off the layout on a completely flat surface. Placing some weights on the track sections helps make sure the top surface is smooth through the transition after soldering is complete. When connecting rails of two different makers (like Atlas to Pico), a shim may be needed underneath one side to create that smooth surface. The top and inside of the rail is priority, so whatever needs to be done to ensure those surfaces align properly should be done before even picking up the soldering iron.
What do you guys do to attach flex track sections? Straight sections? Turnouts? I use the same method for everything, I wonder if there's something better for different types of tracks?
Here's a picture of a connection on a curve. All 4 pictures are the same connection point from both directions and with the focus changed to make inside and outside views. Notice the solder only fills the OUTSIDE of the rail. This is done to avoid any potential interference with wheel flanges.
After soldering is complete, the rail is attached to the table using same technique I explained earlier.
There is a risk doing this. If there is any inconsistency with rail direction, angle, height, or shape, that inconsistency will always be there. A file and some patience could fix those types of inconsistencies, but why destroy the track and add more potential for failure?
Wherever possible, I solder rail sections together off the layout on a completely flat surface. Placing some weights on the track sections helps make sure the top surface is smooth through the transition after soldering is complete. When connecting rails of two different makers (like Atlas to Pico), a shim may be needed underneath one side to create that smooth surface. The top and inside of the rail is priority, so whatever needs to be done to ensure those surfaces align properly should be done before even picking up the soldering iron.
What do you guys do to attach flex track sections? Straight sections? Turnouts? I use the same method for everything, I wonder if there's something better for different types of tracks?