LGB Rail Joiners

Garden Railroading
1

Hello to all forum-members,

I just prepare my needs for my garden railway, which should be built until next spring…and came to the question of connecting the rails (flex and prebent).

I would like to know your opinions about using the original rail joiners from lgb, as I live in Austria/Europe with a climate moving between hot summers with 35 degrees celcius to winter-temperatures of minus 20.

I´d like to use them because of costs.
Please let me know your experience,

thanks in advance
Klaus

2

Hello Hobbyfossi201 welcome to the forum…

My opinion about LGB joiners is that if you are planning on using a wood support under to track and screw the track to the wood sleeper, they are OK. If you are planning on flaoting the track on the ballast, then the joiners will work their way loose. Heat and cold will push and pull the joiners apart, allow dirt to get inside the joiner and make your layout less reliable.

I dont know how well LGB’s little plastic clips that tie the tracks together work long time outdoors. I used Aristo track with the little set screws and RailClamps at the switches so the track would act as a single entity.

3

Hi Klaus!,
Welcome to the forum.[#welcome] As usual Vic offered some very good advice to you. Can’t say much more than he already said. Glad to hear you are coming here for advice before you start. Smart move. We’ll do our best here to help. Enjoy the forum! Later eh…Brian.

4

hi vsmith and bman36,

thanks for your advice and your offer to get additional help.
by the way i like the forum, very interesting with very informative posts

best regards from austria

5

Do not use the black plastic sleeper ties as these are only ment to to used in tempory locations where the sleepers are not fixed to a base. As you know the original rail joiner on LGB track as a lug which slots into the first sleeper, when the rail contracts or expands this sleeper has to move as well and if you use the ties you will find that all your sleepers will start to split over a period of time. In southern UK I find that LGB rail joiners in conjunction with conductive paste and the track fixed down firmly is very reliable.

6

Hi hobbyfossi201
[#welcome]
My track is off the shelf LGB free floating with the joint clips i use a graphite grease when the track is laid put in the join clip and then ballasted
The only joint I have had problems with is between two pieces of pre loved track.
My track is out in tempriatures that range from around -3 c in winter to around 40c in summer.
I have had no problems exept that one joint
regards John

7

Guten Täg Klaus,

Hello and Welcome from South Texas, I am glad to meet someone from Central Europe here in the forum. You will find that we are a very friendly lot in here, I have learned a great deal from them.

I plan to use LGB track on my sidetracks and other lines that run in parallel to my mainline, I like the track "screw " method that Aristo-Craft employs.

Schöne Grüße,

Capt Carrales

P.S. forgive my sometimes improper uses of your language, I tried to teach myself but seemed to have failed slightly!

8

Hello hobbyfossi201,
I usually use just the LGB connectors but having just relaid my track have become a convert to the Aristocraft srew connector method.I now have a mixture of both.Time will tell !
Troy

9

Klaus I have been to Austria and was surprised that there were no Kangaroos.

No really i loved it; Salzburg, Vienna, Danube; if you have been to Spitz you will know why Mark Spitz was such a great swimmer. Viena is my second favourite city after Sydney in the whole world.

Now on to rail joiners; i disagree with just about everyone else, nor do i agree with what has been said about black sleepers (ties). The colour like the colour of a mans skin is not important… I use both black and brown.

LGB joiners are ok but they are expensive for what they are and as far as i can see do not justify the extra cost and I only run LGB equipment. I use our clubs joiners or LGB irrespective i solder them and where you have anything that has to be removed use Hillman clamps. Do not be concerned about expansion as Hillmans can help there as well. The problem is not just to do with conductivty but also for mechinical strength especially when you have a curve after a straight and you are operating something with a bit of clout like a DR Mallet or the high speed ICE train as do I.

When you work out where i am from you will get a laugh about the Kangaroos, I can send you a photo of one with a Joey inits pouch if yoyu like…

Rgs Ian

10

Hello,
many thanks again to all writers…I decided to lay out my first 30 meters of track with the lgb rail joiners plus this special conductivity paste…let´s see how they´ll work during wintertime; maybe i have to replace them in spring next year.
i´ll keep you informed about this theme.
best regards from austria
klaus

11

hobbyfossi201,[#welcome] I have yet to lay any track as well. My plan is to do what Ian said by soldering the joint everywhere except as Vic said at the switches for easy removal for servicing as needed I would use the rail clamps.
It sounds like you already have your plan though. Are you going to let the track free float in ballast? Or are you going to attach it to wood sleepers?

12

If you solder the joints, the solder may crack over time due to expansion/contraction. Instead of soldering the joints, I suggest soldering a wire across the joint. Bend the wire a bit to allow for expansion/contraction of the track. This is what I did using the standard joiners (I use both LGB and Aristocraft track) and have had zero electrical problems.

George Schreyer has soldering tips on his website: http://www.girr.org/girr/tips/tips1/track_soldering_tips.html

Jon