What’s the concensus (if there could be such a thing on this forum) regarding the best way to fill a rail gap? I did 4 with styrene glued in place last night. That worked but it seemed like a lot of work and I’m not overwhelmed by the results. My biggest complaint is that it is difficult to remove all of the styrene on the side of the rail such that a joint bar can be glued in place properly. Maybe some kind of pasty goo would work better?
george
Well George it depends on how much of a gap you have. Did you add the gap intentionally for expansion or for another reason? On my railroad I have 1/64th or so in some places for expansion…I left them alone…kinda like the clickity clack. If you need to fill, maybe try basswood twigs or something small…add glue, insert and break off…then file smooth.
I built up layers of Gorilla Glue over a 24 hour period. I put a small drop in the bottom of the gap, let it cure, than another, etc, until it bulged over the top of the rails. This takes a total of 2 minutes if you’re reeeaallll slowwww. Then, I simply carved or filed it flu***o the rail tops and made sure the flange path was clear. Worked like a darn. Painted (weathered) it should look the same as the rest of it.
-Crandell
My gaps are about 1/32. They are only for electrical isolation of the frog so I don’t want them too narrow unless they are insulated with something. I’m just trying to get a little better appearance than by leaving them open. I’ll have to try the GG technique. But GG is pretty tough after it cures. Seems like it would be even more trouble carving down to the rail profile than the styrene is.
Since I found a prototype for the ugly orange plastic insulated rail joiners I’m using them everywhere that I need to isolate rails electrically. Gaps between uninsulated rails were left to allow for expansion (or contraction of the subgrade,) are aligned with rail joiners and have soldered-on jumpers to carry current around them.
A quick swipe of the file to take the sharp corner off the inside edge of the railhead at each joint does wonders to eliminate derailments.
Chuck.