Lionel has done a lot to make fastrack accessible and easy to use. They haven’t succeeded all around, but I like the improvements. I am about to divide my layout into blocks and realized I have a problem: The connectors that lionel has lying under the roadbed to connect wires to is not a standard size (that I can find). I can buy crimp on connectors for 1/4 inch and 3/16 inch, but these are clearly smaller (about 1/8 inch).
I know that lionel sells an accessory wire pack that comes with these on the end of the wires and it would serve my purpose, but they also want $3.00 for each set. That adds up with a lot of blocks, turnouts, and uncouplers (let alone accessories). Radio shack doesn’t have anything small enough. Neither does home depot. Anyone find any at another place?
I was going to solder them all on…then I thought of all that time in uncomfortable possitions on all those connections and then not being able to change things around without breaking the solder, and thought better of it.
Radio shack sells them too. They are sized at 0.187". The blue ones are for the larger wire gauge (14-16) and the red ones are for smaller gauge wire (18-22).
The .187 crimp-ons at radio shack are the 3/16 ones (3/16=.187) and they are substantially larger than the lionel ones. They may still work, though, but I hadn’t tried them since I was hoping to get the “right” sized ones. sometimes the one that works is the “right” one, however!!
The AMP Fastons come in a .110-.125 size and that has to be close to if not exactly what lionel uses. Thanks! [:D]
Go to a quality electronics store. I found .110 stud size connectons made by SR components , Oceanside, NY part # FQD-11. I remove the red plastic piece, solder & crip the wire in, then cover with a piece of shrink tube. They work perfectly.
It bothers me a little that these seem to come only in an 18 AWG size. This is a little small for all but the smallest transformers, about 7 amperes. If I were using these, I would try to solder heavier wire to them, 16 AWG for a 10-ampere circuit breaker, 14 AWG for 15 amperes. Or I would make a transition from 18 AWG to the heavier wire after the shortest possible tap.
I found I needed more rail connections than I wanted to buy Lionel’s connectors for. I came up with a convenient way to make connections to FastTrack as a result of using conventional track sections (with the metal bridge across the outside rails) for isolated outside-rail track blocks. The metal bridge needs to be removed by lifting the tabs with a sharpened screwdriver and pliers.
Cut the metal bridge strip in half, punch a hole in the cut end, solder a wire through the hole, then install the half-bridge to whatever rail is desired for the connection. A quick soldering of the half-bridge to the folded down tabs can improve the connection, but be careful not to melt the plastic track body. Each strip yields two connections that can be used for outside power, isolated outside-rail, or center rail power connections.
The wires can be soldered to the bridge-halves on the bench, then installed on the layout.
jkerklo - hey, cool idea. I hadn’t thought of that way before. Cool page, too. I had been to the 3-rail website before, but hadn’t seen their fastrack section. good stuff. some basic, but good pictures and applications and new ways of using tried techniques…i like it.
