Other than Atlas code 100/83 railjoiners, which are very large on the rail, which Code 83 railjoiners are most people using to connect rail. The ME railjoiners are very small and I find very difficult to install. Any suggestions?
I’m happy with the Atlas joiners, myself. I just wish they were still selling those ugly orange insulated joiners.
Take a look at a prototype rail joint (if you can find one in this day of all-welded rail.) The joiners are big, beefy castings that lap over the rail base and are supported by the ties.
As for the orange plastic insulators, I found the prototype (same bulk, same ugly orange color) on some recently-laid industrial trackage in North Las Vegas. It was in the closure rail of a turnout close to a grade crossing, so placed that throwing the points to a warehouse siding wouldn’t shunt the circuit and activate the crossing blinkers. Further research turned up the interesting fact that the same manufacturing concern makes insulated joiners in baby blue - as well as mundane black. No clear, though.
Chuck (Modeling Central Japan in September, 1964)
Take a look at Walthers/Shinohara railjoiners. The new ones are very short and do not hold very well. The older ones were longer.
N scale rail joiners and insulated joiners will work on code 83 track as well if the size is a problem. Jim.
Peco N scale code 80 railjoiners are nice and discreet, and may possibly work on code 83 HO track if opened up a bit with a screwdriver.
I use Atlas code 80 N Scale joiners for HO code 70 and 83. The rail web on Atlas 83 needs to be filed a tiny bit for them to slip on easily, as does the base on Shinohara/Walthers 83. No modifications needed on Micro Engineering 83 or on any code 70. They look much better to me than the huge Atlas code 100/83 HO joiners, and are easier by far to use than the Micro Engineering code 83 joiners.
I also use Atlas Code 80 N Scale joiners on my Code 83 HO Scale track. These joiners are very small and very difficult to see once the track is painted. Yes, they are more work than the standard HO Scale joiners but the nearly invisible joiners are worth the effort. I use a round jeweler’s file to dress the Code 83 rail ends. I also use a scrap piece of Code 83 rail wrapped with electrical tape for a handle and the exposed end profile of the rail filed into a slightly tapered shape. Just before I install the Code 80 N Scale joiner onto the Code 83 HO Scale rail, I gently push each end of the joiner about halfway onto the piece of tapered rail. This helps resize the end of the Code 80 joiner so it more easily slips onto the dressed end of the Code 83 rail. By not pushing the joiner all the way onto the piece of tapered rail, the center of each joiner stays tight on the Code 83 rail.
As far as insulated rail joiners, I simply use Atlas HO Scale insulated joiners but locate such rail joints in areas that are not visible (or not easily visible) from normal layout viewing angles, or I just cut gaps in the middle of a piece of flex track using a razor saw.
I prefer the smaller size of the ME code 83 rail joiners, but, they are tough to install, so, I made a joiner spreader with a short piece of code 83 rail. It’s ground to a point, and the rail flange is filed to a taper. I hold the rail with a pair of pliers, then just start the joiner. Press the joiner down on the workbench, wedging the spreader into the joiner. They’ll slide on after that and still be snug.
See my posting on an earlier thread regarding this same question (pics included).