Is it possible to get a good transition from one piece of flex track to another if not using joiners? I have two pieces of flex track meeting on a curve, and there is supposed to be a break in the circuit at the same point. Is there a way to get the rails to meet up without using joiners? Or should I use joiners and then cut them after the caulk has set?
I’m using latex caulk for gluing down the track to the roadbed - will that hold the track in place after the joiners are cut?
Thanks.
You need a way of drilling small mm holes in at least two of the ties nearest each end of rail lengths, and you should insert a couple of small black track nails into each of those last two ties. To help with curvature retention along the last 5" or so to the gap (on both sides of the gap) it wouldn’t hurt to place one other track nail about five or six ties back to help act as a fulcrum for the nails at the end.
-Crandell
One great trick for doing this is a plastic railjoiner as you can cut them out later if you abhor plastic joiners as some do (mainly proto people).
Once you cut the rail, not only will the track attempt to straighten itself at the cut, but the individual rails will also attempt to do so, independent of the ties. [:O] If the gap cannot be placed elsewhere, on a straight section of track, use spikes intended for hand-laying track to keep the ends of the rails in alignment. While the picture below is to maintain rail alignment on a lift-out (also on a curve), the principle is the same.
Note that the individual ties and tie segments have been tacked in place using nails Atlas spikes intended for flextrack, while the rails are held in place by spikes intended for handlaid rail (they look sorta like an upsidedown “L”) with the “foot” of the “L” overlapping the base of the rail.
I’d suggest spiking both the ties and the rails in place before making the cut, then use the tip of pliers or a screw driver to re-align the rail spikes, as required, after the track has been cut.
Wayne
Hi!
As you probably realize, curves are not a good place to have a break in the trackage. However, sometimes it just has to be. I would highly recommend the plastic joiners (they now come in clear as well as yellow). I follow them up with some rust/brown/black paint and they tend to disappear. If you are a real “scale perfect” MR, then I would use the plastic joiners, let the track set in caulk, reinforce with track nails as needed, and cut the joiners away afterwards.
Mobilman44
I use the clear plastic joiners for all my electrical breaks.
I have some track nails, but my sub-layer is foam. Will foam provide enough resistance to prevent the track from straightening?
Thanks!
no, but another trick you can use is a slightly higher tie piece butted up to the rail, once the ballast is in place you will not notice the one tie made up of pieces and slightly higher. If you need more force you can make the ties longer and hide them with scenery, anything to justify the extension of ballast beyond the norm, IE relay box etc.
There is another solution not mentioned - use a non-springing flex track such as Micro-Engineering. You don’t need to use it everywhere, just where you have these kinds of situations. ME (and other similar) flex track will hold whatever curve you bend into it. In fact, you don’t even have to use rail joiners to link the sections - you can just link them electrically with jumpers or feeders, and fasten the track with the rails in good alignment. There it will stay assuming stable roadbed and subroadbed.
my thoughts, your choices
Fred W
Also, you can use two pieces of sectional track to makle the joint, and solder the flex-track to those ends! Provided, of course, that your flex track matches the raduis.curvature of the sectional track pieces… think of the break in the middle as your circuit cutoff using plastic joiners:
[flex]=[curved sectional]=/=[curved sectional]=[flex]