DOES IT MAKE ANY DIFFERENCE AS TO WHAT SIDE YOU PLACE THE MOVABLE RAIL WHEN USING FLEXTRACK? DO YOU PLACE IT ON THE INSIDE OF A CURVE OR THE OUTSIDE? THANK YOU FOR YOUR HELP.
ED ROSE (ENGINEER ED)
No, it really doesn’t matter.
If you put the sliding rail on the inside, you will have the full length of the tie strip under the outside rail. If you then move the sliding rail of the next piece along and thread the overhanging end into the space thus vacated, you will end up with naturally staggered joints - which help to avoid kinks in the curvature.
Another tip. Pre-curve the flex to the desired radius. For the very springy Atlas code 100 flex, this means taking the radius down to a fraction of the desired end radius so the rails will take and hold a set. Use a pair of pliers, gently, to work the curvature all the way out to the very ends of both rails. I have a piece of Atlas code 100 flex that I ‘set’ to 350mm radius over a year ago. It’s still holding that curve, even though it isn’t anchored in any way to anything.
In all of your curved-track tracklaying, the key is, be gentle. Slow, steady pressure will set the rails in the desired curve. A sudden jerk will send plastic spikeheads flying to the far corners of your layout space.
Chuck (Modeling Central Japan in September, 1964 - on flex track with hand-laid specialwork)
I haven’t heard of setting flex track. Do you have a video of the method you’re talking about? I’m just not picturing it.
There are brands of flex track that are not very flexible – in fact they are darn hard to flex – and once curved to a particular radius they hold that radius, or something close to it. So they are “set” to that curve radius. Micro Engineering flextrack works that way. So does PSC’s flex track with the built in superelevation. Atlas by contrast reverts to nearly straight as soon as you let it go. Atlas cannot be “set” - you have to curve it as you lay it.
Dave Nelson
Dave Nelson
To ‘set’ that superflexible, springy Atlas flex, you put it on a flat surface and gently force it to assume a radius about 1/4 to 1/3 of that which you desire it to hold - fixed rail to the outside, please. When it springs back it will only open out to a close approximation of the final radius you want. If it doesn’t repeat the bend-and-hold procedure until it does.
You have to make sure that the entire lengths of both the inside and the outside rail stabilize at the desired curvature, and that you avoid forming any kinks. Judicious use of pliers helps, especially on the end 100mm or so of each rail.
If the flex is allowed to twist, or is forced too far too fast, it’s entirely possible to shear off a bunch of the plastic spike heads. Slow, gentle pressure works. Abrupt bending doesn’t.
Chuck (Modeling Central Japan in September, 1964)
I have always wanted to comment on this forum about Flextrack. I have seen numeous layouts that have used Flextrack that were awesome. I do not use it because I have always found it difficult to use and/or I never mastered the technique to lay it down on the layout.I have tried and the spring tension trying to pin it down and then trying to glue it down and making sure you cut it to the right length. I’ll stick with my sectional track, it may cost more, but its worth the less aggrivation I would encounter.
Willy, here are two reasons that I prefer flex, but they might not have any meaning to you:
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I want to use track radii (measured in metric units) that aren’t available as sectional track.
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No sectional track can form a proper spiral easement, and most don’t do well in forming vertical transitions into curves.
As with anything else (including walking) there’s a learning curve. I had to learn that flex that had been ‘set’ was a lot easier to handle than flex which hadn’t. A lot of my early efforts had to be lifted and re-laid several times before they met my (at that time) rather lenient standards. Working with flex can sometimes be frustrating. When that happens, I go off and do something else for a while.
The same can be said, with equal validity, about hand-laying specialwork. As your skill increases, the frustration and aggravation go away - and what replaces them, pride in craftsmanship, is priceless.
Chuck (Modeling Central Japan in September, 1964 - on flex, with hand-laid specialwork)
Chuck,
I think Flextrack is good stuff and I tried it again on my current layout that is under construction, but I took out a curved section of flextrack that didn’t look right and put in sectional track which caused an alteration in my plan but i got it to work. I have some good model railroading talents but flextrack and weathering are at the bottom of the list.
Actually my railroad is laid with MicroEngineering flex and hand laid track using rail spiked to wood ties glued down on the homabed. The handlaid is my favorite, but the ME runs a close second. Haven’t used sectional track since 1959-1960, didn’t like it then, still don’t.
Bob
The only flex track that I’ve ever seen that you’ve been able to set and it hold it’s shape is Micro Engineering my track of choice now after using it. Some coplain about this aspect of it but I think it can be very advantageous especially being as I no long solder both rails of the track but rather one side of each rail joiner and alternating sides. I keep my sliding rails all on the same side typically the out side rail of the curve.My reasoning is f the rail is designed t slide for expansion and contraction you need all of the rails to slide it you have a sliding rail meeting a fixed rail how is that going to happen? Just the way I’ve been taught and it works for me thats all I can say. I personally feel it’s more important to build your bench work as best you can to avoid expansion and contraction as well as controlling the relative humidity in your train room. I don’t care how much your rails will slide or what side they are on but they are the only thing that will move the ties the roadbed, scenery etc. are all fixed solid to the bench work. So big deal you have track that can take up the slack when your scenery and roadbed are popping and cracking.
Always to the inside according to Atlas.
The only time I saw it set was after ballasting and lifting it to re-do a section.
The inside is where I always put the movable rail.
I wonder if you run something along the edge of the rail if it would bend in place. Similar to how you bend a rail when making turnouts.