Sorry if this has been asked before. I thought i saw a thread on it before, but I cant find it or one that would be close. Each rail is equal to the track (ties i guess maybe that goes inbetween the rails). Is there a way to remove one so I could be abkle to get joiners on. Thanks.
Sean
Sean:
The ties are joined under the rails. Before installing you can cut this strip of plastic to free the end one or two ties.
Then as necessary you can slide the required tie off the rails.
Save these ties. They can be carved to remove tabs that held the rail, and then sanded thinner, so that they may be slipped back under the rails before ballasting.
Dave
Yes, many of us remove the end ties to more easily. Be sure to save some of them to slide under later. Otherwise your track will look like it has lost some teeth.
an alternative is to cut the molded on spike heads/nubs off enabling one to slip a rail joiner between the rail base and the tie. More time and work but it looks nice.
This is what I do.
I’m trying to interpret what you are saying but I’m guessing that since track like Atlas flex doesn’t have space on the ends for rail joiners you need to cut a tie off of each end to make space. Yes, thats what I do. I turn the flex track upsidedown on the bench and use my razor saw to cut through the webbing nearest the next tie and slide it off the end - I do that on each end. Then I shave off the spike detail from the tie and slide it back under later, under the rail joiner.
I agree with those above. Here is a video from the good folks at MR that shows the process. Jump to 1:50 for the flex track part. As some have said, you may need to sand the leftover ties to get them to fit in under the joiners after they’re installed. I don’t think my joiners fit if I just cut one tie from each side. I think I had to cut one tie from one side and two from the other for them to slide on.
I have a pair of sprue nippers I use to cut off the molded on spikes - snip, and they are off and I can slide the tie back under the rail. Many people don’t have sprue nippers, but you can use Xuron rail nippers too.
If it is too tight you can sand the tie plate detail down a bit too. Then you can use a little glue to hold them in place. White glue should be fine.