which is the best way to gon on insulating track?
Depends on how handy you are, and how involved you want it to be. [:)] I’ve had no troubles with the Atlas insulating connectors, but they do have the limitation that they have to go between track sections.
If you want to put a gap somewhere else, like at the frog of a switch, or DIY, you’d have to cut the track and put an insulating material in the gap. I’ve read that .020 styrene is good for this (use gray styrene if you can find it to blend better with the track), and some folks have had success filling the gap with epoxy. Of course, with either method you’ll have to file down the gap filler so it matches the rail profile.
the problem with the commercial insulators is that they are so wide that if you use enough of them the track will eventually become uneven when you try to put another section of track together causing huge gaps between the rails and metal rail joiner…the best way to insulate the track is by cutting through the rail with a dremel tool cut off wheel, cut a piece of styrene plastic into a square shape and insert it into the gap and then glue it in place with CA glue…after the glue dries, whittle the piece of styrene down with a hobby knife until it conforms to the shape of the rail and wahlaa!..you have a good sturdy insulator between your sections of track…Chuck[:D]
I agree CW,
I first used the commercial insulators and soon realized the potential for rail misalignment. Also, the separator piece on the atlas is very thin and weak. If your not careful you will either break or distort it enough to have electrical contact. I have since started using the method you describe above with very good success.
REX
I use the PECO insulated joiners. They are less obtrusive than the Atlas ones and they are made from a much harder plastic, which keeps the rails lined up better.
The Atlas Code 83 insulated joiners are much narrower than the Code 100 ones. On a big layout, I can see where the Code 100 ones could start to cause problems, but they’re fine for a 4x8. So Sean, the question is, what size layout are you building?