I had considered that. My plan is to leave about a .015 gap between all tracks sections. It may make things a bit noisier but that shouldn’t be enough to cause any problems. Going to test beforehand though, of course.
Yes, the swing is really that bad. I’ve even seen worse. This summer, I saw it go from 112 during the day to 53 at night.
I agree. I was not planning on soldering the rails but I do plan to have many feeders to the track. In the past, poor contact and problems with track were just some of the reasons I gave up and walked away. At the time I had no paience and never even thought to add multiple feeders. Live and learn.
That’s encouraging news. I’m glad to hear everything has settled down and is working well. That gives me hopes of surviving the experience.
Folks,
Track really doesn’t expand much from heat, at least not worth mentioning. If you do the math, a 12-foot long piece of brass will expand less than 1/64" in a 100 degree F temp. change.
https://www.engineeringtoolbox.com/linear-thermal-expansion-d_1379.html
A less than 1/64" length over 12 feet won’t kink much of anything.
Normally what happens when you get track kinks on your layout is that the wood is moving. Wood will move a heckuva lot more than metal due to humidity or lack thereof.
When we lived in Arizona, I built a 3 X 6 N-Gauge layout that resided outside on our patio. I soldered all the gaps and even though it was shaded most of the day, it was still exposed to the summer heat and in the 2 years it was out there, I always enjoyed smooth operations.
Good luck with your build…
My Free-mo modules have experienced a wide range of humidities in their lives of 4 years. No buckling.
When they were exposed to 120 F, one rail buckled.
Ed
I wish I had taken pictures of my layout when the “non expanding rails” went bananas with the 70° temperature swing from the summer to winter because I soldered the joiners. The “non expanding rails” broke out the ties in every section of track in my 64” diameter radius helix as well as several other 32” diameter curves. I didn’t solder the joiners when I replaced the 10 sections of flex track and that took care of the “non expanding rails” for over ten years.
I went with a 1/64” gap between rails during the hot summer when the “non expanding rails” were at max. That took care of the problem.
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[quote user=“RR_Mel”]
Paul3
Folks,
Track really doesn’t expand much from heat, at least not worth mentioning. If you do the math, a 12-foot long piece of brass will expand less than 1/64" in a 100 degree F temp. change.https://www.engineeringtoolbox.com/linear-thermal-expansion-d_1379.html
A less than 1/64" length over 12 feet won’t kink much of anything.
Normally what happens when you get track kinks on your layout is that the wood is moving. Wood will move a heckuva lot more than metal due to humidity or lack thereof.
I wish I had taken pictures of my layout when the “non expanding rails” went bananas with the 70° temperature swing from the summer to winter because I soldered the joiners. The “non expanding rails” broke out the ties in every section of track in my 64” diameter radius helix as well as several other 32” diameter curves. I didn’t solder the joiners when I replaced the 10 sections of flex track and that took care of the “non expanding rails” for over ten years.
I went with a 1/64” gap between rails during the hot summer when the “non expanding rails” were at max. That took care of th
My building for my RR suffers a wide swing in temp and humidity. Northern Minnesota. To try and head off any contraction and expansion issues I used steel studs for benchwork and laid 2" of foam over the top to build my scenery upon.
Track has soldered joiners with the joiner soldered only on one end every so often. to insure electrical conduction I make a jumper over the spaced joiner from one track to the next. Just like the prototype. I use a fine wire and it has proven to insure a strong connection for all those rampant electrons. After all, loose electrons add to operating expenses! No slack time for them.
on a layout, the expansion and contraction of the LUMBER is critical. The expansion of the railsa is miniscule compared to the movements of the tables.
ROAR
I wonder, though, if the issues mentiioned here can be attributed to wood movement. I understand wood movement well as I am a woodworker as well. Wood does expand as humidity and heat rises. However, everyone here tells how the track bulged during the summer. If it were wood expansion, the track should be pulled apart rather than bulging. Also, since most everyone works with primarily plywood, expansion should not be an issue as plywood is dimensionally stable.
Ah, well, track bulging occurs when the table contracts, Gaps also appear between the sections, but the track remains operational.
Plywood is EXPENSIVE. LIONS do not use plywood. LION builded tqables from used 1x4s salvaged from buildings that we have torn down, the track deck is made of 1/2" Celotex, a sort of Celotex that has not been commercially available since the introduction of fire codes, but I had ten sheets of the stuff left over from a remodling job. Makes an excellent foundation for railroad tracks, lighter and more stable that homosote.
But alas, I used up the last ten sheets that were availavle on the planet Earth.
ROAR
Just like in the full size world with the prototype model railroads can also develop kinks. The leading cause of this is modelers who glue their flex track down or they bend the flex track from the wrong side and they bend the track into a curve and solder it together instead of using rail jointers.
What’s wrong with this picture? One you are not leaving room for expansion, two you’re placing stress on the rails, and three your ballast and ties are not secured properly and they’re going to shift out of alignment when the track heats up!
Here is how to fix this problem so you do not get kinks. Rule number one if you are using flex track to make curves you must solder the end of the track to a straight section of track that way the track will not move out of a alignment when you bend it into a curve. Rule number two on the end that is bent you need to have it gapped if you don’t gap the rails and leave room for expansion you are going to get kinks. Rule number three place the movable rail on the inside of the curve not the outside that way when you bend the track you have less stress on the rail when the track is bent. Rule number four when you bend rail for a curve and flex track do not use glue if you glue that down it’s going to come up and kink use spikes or Atlas nails to secure it. And rule number five if you are placing a curve down use a ruler do not guess or eyeball or the curve will be too sharp and it can cause your trains to derail. For more of these tips ask the MR Staff or Tony himself that is where I got my tips on how to lay track.
Shades of the neutral temperature when field-welding CWR!
Is using a high-reflectivity coating on the roof an option? An alternative is to make an approximation of a safari roof with high-reflectivity sheets mounted on standoffs from the existing roof structure – do not vent the peak; the insulation is through the trapped air underneath…
None of this may be as cheap as a mini-split, though. You don’t need HVAC for comfort, just enough to hold ~78F on the hottest days.
The OP may not still be following this thread, but the past and recent comments are still relevant, especially these days with wide[r] temperature swings. I’m in Sacramento, and my n scale layout is in my detached, unheated, uninsulated, 98 year old 18x18 garage. The layout is around the walls with one peninsula and takes up all of the garage. I started it about 3 years ago and have been running trains regularly through 3 winters [wet and chilly] and 2.5 summers [hotter than you-know-what although this year not so much. Like at least one other has posted, most of the teething issues with trackage seem to have faded in the last 18-24 months.
However I’ve tried to mitigate future issues in a number of ways. First, my layout is all sectional Unitrack. I feel this gives me a margin of protection against expansion and contraction. I also use latex caulk on no more than every other section of track [and not on any turnouts], secured to pink foam. The track is not ballasted, and scenery material takes care of the rest. I’ve also dropped feeders about every 3 feet. Lastly, I insulated my west facing garage overhead door and installed a 10,000 btu window air conditioner in a hole I cut in one wall. It is a dual inverter unit from LG that runs very quietly. My recent test in a hot garage at 5:00 PM and 96 degrees ambient got the interior down to 77 degrees in less than 15 minutes. The AC is 115 volts and is on its own dedicated 20 amp circuit. Except for the overhead door the entire garage is shaded in late afternoon through sunset, so that helps.
All in all I’m fairly pleased with how my layout has turned out. Ron
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