Atlas terminal joiners

Model Railroader Layouts and layout building
1

is there any advantages to using these, instead of soldering wires to the rails? Any disadvantages?

2

Pro: Ease of use

Cons: Cost, particularly if you are going to follow the recommended practice and have feeders ever 5-6 feet of linear track. Screw terminals are less reliable than solder joints, too. I also think they look ugly and I don’t think you’ll find a lot of prototypes for them. They only come in the track sizes Atlas provides, so you’ll have to fit these into your track plan.

I personally just solder my feeder wires crosswise on rail joiners. This avoids on-layout soldering, so I don’t melt any ties. Atlas also makes rail joiners with feeders pre-attached, but they are really overpriced, and it’s simple to make them yourself.

3

I think he’s talking about these terminal joiners, not terminal tracks.

Yes, they are fine, just more costly than soldering to the track. Fred

4

Like MisterB… I have soldered wire to railjoiners successfully. Costs less, is an easy project to improve your soldering skills.

I have one of those handy holder things with two aligator clips and a magnifying glass to help do a good job without heating my fingers.

Good luck,

5

yes, I AM talking about those terminal joiners. I didn’t even know they still made the track with the screw terminals on it. You’re right; those ARE ugly.

6

I have a short piece of scrap track down in my workroom. To solder feeders to the joiners, I slip joiners on to all 4 rails on the track and lay the track upside-down on the bench. Then I cut 4 pieces of wire (2 red, 2 black) and lay the stripped end across the joiners, not along the joiners. (This makes it easier to slide the replacement ties in when using flex track.) I hold down the wires with whatever tool is lying around, and apply a bit of solder.

Now that I know which Atlas product we’re talking about…

Pro: Very little opportunity to burn your fingers

Con: Cost. The feeders come in any color of wire you’d like, as long as it’s black. Atlas uses a very thin wire for this, although it’s probably adequate. And, my workroom is a lot closer than my LHS.