I have a couple places where my code 83 rail has Atlas clear isolation rail joiners and I allowed the gap to be a bit large, around 1/8" or a tad bigger. Most everything (so far) runs over it ok but it’s one place where my most finickey steam rear driver can derail when backing. I’d like to fill the gap if practical to minimize future derailment potential but also because it just looks big. Don’t want to re-do the trackage, so are there good ways to fill in the gap. Eventually it will all be painted.
I would solder it and then file the excess.
Just add some solder to it. Then file it down, on the inside edge and on the top. Then come back with some fine grit sandpaper and make the top of the rail smooth again.
I’ve done the same exact thing as you, so thats what I did to fix it.
I assume that you still want an insulating gap.
What I would do is, as the others have suggested, fill the gap with solder and file it smooth with the railhead and the inside edge of the web. The outside edge is not as critical.
Then, take a cut-off wheel in a rotary tool and cut a thin gap in it, and slip in a piece of styrene to insulate it.
To keep the insulation you can fill with styrene or some other type of plastic and file smooth. When I built my modules instead of insulated joiners I used epoxy. The joints have worked for ten years of the abuse modules go through with no failures.
Pete
Since you want the gap there. fill it with styrene. I have seen several posts where folks use styrene for insulated gaps (rather than the clear joiners) If you have access to some shaped stryrene strips about rail size, use some of that. If not glue several pieces of thin material together. Glue into the gap and use a Dremel tool or file to make it the correct shape.
Good luck,
Richard
Thanks, all. I think I’ll try a non-solder approach as I want to leave the plastic joiner at the bottom and don’t want to melt it.
You can bend a short piece of 22 gauge copper wire into a U and insert it upside down into the gap. That provides a structure for solder which doesn’t like to remain fashionably integreted when it is hot. It likes to run. I have filled gaps that way.
Or, the styrene plug method works. The glue and styrene need to be shaped a couple of days later, leaving it that long to cure firmly, so that it doesn’t snag or deflect flanges. I have done that successfully on the advice of others here.
You can create dams on either side of the rails, encompassing the gap needing filling, using tape. It takes some care and precision to mold the tape to the rail’s shape on either side, but once you have it there and firmly pressed to create a sealed well of sorts, fill in the well with the filler of your choice, really, from caulking that can be painted to Gorilla Glue to epoxy. Upon removal of the tape, again two days later to ensure curing, or what will come free, you can gently sand the surfaces clean with 600 grit paper to clean it all up and make it safe and relable.
Crandell
Hi,
Been there, done that - a couple different ways…
When building my current layout I found (too late in the process to redo) a couple of excessive gaps. As both sides of the gaps were wired, continuity wasn’t a problem.
Sooo, I first tried to solder but solder will only stretch so far, and not far enough to fill either of the two gaps.
Then I remember an old trick. I put a strip of 1/8 styrene crossways in the gap and secured with ACC. I then nipped off the ends and smoothed down with a file. The result worked like a charm.
Paul,
I had a pretty good size gap in one rail as well on my layout. At a friends suggestion, we cut off a piece of rail from a scrap piece of flex rail to fit, and soldered it in. It actually now looks like a prototype broken rail that was fixed…
My cure for wide rail gaps is a little different. I (carefully) bevel a small facet in the railhead, on the gauge side. With no sharp edge to pick, the flanges stay between the rails.
A few weeks ago some of my gaps were in the 3mm range (dawn temperatures in the 20s.) Now that things have warmed up to the 60s, they’re down to 2mm. I have been known to put guard rails opposite spots which might become troublesome.
Chuck (Modeling Central Japan in September, 1964)
I had the same problem. I used some 2 part epoxy that comes in soft bars. You break a little off each and knead them together. It stays soft long enough to fill the gap and shape it a little. No need to remove the rail joiner. Once cured, I ran trains over it for years.
Enjoy
Paul
Yeah, I would also recommend the two-part epoxy putty, ( you can find it in the plumbing department of most hardware stores).
I had a similar, small, gap to fill. I cut the bottom web off a small scrap of rail, dropped it into the space and secured it (I soldered it;it wasn’t an insulated joint). For the insulated gap, I’d use a strip of styrene on it’s edge and CA it so it wouldn’t get sucked up in the vacuum.
I thought I’d report back on results. I used the two part putty type epoxy, in this case JB Weld epoxy “plastic” repair which is a cylinder of the two parts (one outer, on inner) that you cut off and knead together. It was rock solid after 18 hours (3 hours per the instructions). A bit of sanding blok on the top, then a tapered Dremel stone on the sides to roughly shape there, plus some touch with a file, then cleaning (gleam) the tracktops did it nicely. It looks better and is testing fine as well. Thanks for the help.
I used a small piece of rail to fill a gap once…I solder the rail in place…All you would need to do is cut a gap.