Has anyone here taken Lionel Fastrack sections and cut them to the exact desired length? I’m thinking I might have to do this with a swing up bridge I have that is at an angle.
I have not done it personally, but there are threads on this or the competition’s forum that address the process. A radial saw is helpful; table saw is next preferable tool. What you want to do is preserve both ends, so take the excess from the middle and then glue the two ends back together using styrene strips on the underside to hold the two ends together. Solder a wire to connect each middle rail tab and outer rail tab to bridge the gap produced by the saw cut and you’ve got it.
- Terry
tcripe got it right. I’ve cut a number of pieces (including a curve) and it works wonderfully. I use my table saw with a used blade and just send it right on through the rails and all. As tcripe said, cut out the middle section and just glue the two outer sections together and solder a wire between the rials underneath. I have used an epoxy glue with hardener and it seems to hold much better than I thought it would. Originally, I set up an elaborate sceme with wood braces underneath and screws holding it all together. I even posted some picutes on this sight describing it. eventually someone pointed out that I didn’t need to do all that. The glue holds just fine!!
Well tuesday I removed the pins from one end of two sections. They still would slip together if I pushed them towards each other face to face, but didn’t work well with one piece coming down from above on the swing up bridge. So on the section thats on the swing up bridge, I then removed the two little plastic tabs on the recessed outside rail. Then after that I could drop the swing bridge down and line up the adjoining tabs on the other outside rail. Stupid me I removed the recessed plastic tabs on the other section. Now there is no way to hold these two sections together. I might end up attaching some kind of allignment pin on the swing up bridges section.
You live and learn.