Howdy all,
Long time 3-rail toy train guy here, recently started working on an On30 layout. 30"x48" modules…2" pink foam subroadbed with foam roadbed. HO Code 100 nickle silver track. Track is ready to glue down for the most part. I’m looking for some input in areas that I didn’t expect to have trouble:
-
Cutting track…how do you do it efficiently!?! This ain’t like taking a hacksaw to some old tubular tinplate! I’m currently rough cutting with a Dremel cutoff, then squaring and doing fine work with a file.
-
Soldering power leads. I’ve soldered a lot before - breadboards, micro circuits for relay control, RC aircraft power systems…but how in the world do you solder to HO track without ruining the ties?? I’ve tried soldering to the bottom of rail joiners then installing - track joints get wonky. Using #22 copper wire. Ideas?
-
Should I solder my track joints? I don’t expect much expansion/contraction with foam, so would be most interested in best electrical continuity.
Just so you’ve heard it from a die-hard 3-railer: you HO guys are fabrication masters. N scale guys must be gods.
Looking forward to your input! Cheers!
Hi, and [#welcome] to the Forums!
-
Rail nippers. They’re specialized cutoff pliers with one beveled side and one flat side. Face the flat side toward the part of the track you’ll be keeping, and you’ll get a clean cut. If your rail joiners tend to be tight, you may have to file a bit, but not much.
-
How do you solder to HO rail? Very quickly! [:P] But seriously, ladies and germs… bend your wire to the shape needed to fit into the web of the rail, clean both the wire and the rail, pre-tin both sides, hold the wire in place, and touch the soldering iron to the rail just long enough to melt the solder together. If you have a chronic problem with tie-melting, maybe you’re using too high wattage of a soldering iron. Use a pencil-tip iron of 15-25 W.
-
Most of them, but you’ll get track expansion and contraction with temperature, so leave a few joints unsoldered to allow compensation for that.
Good luck with your new scale modeling adventure!
Welcome.
Rail nippers such as Xuron, are the cheapest and easiest way to cut rail, and I’ve found it still usually requires a bit of filing to get a nice flat end rather than slightly pointed, which is how I’ve found the rail nipper leaves it.
I still tend to use my Dremel a good deal as it gives me more control over cutting the rail precisely and more cleanly. I used the thicker cut-off disks as they are much less prone to shattering. As always, eye protecion is advised.
Rail can hot when cutting with the Dremel so I still often clip on a heat sink to avoid a nearby tie from possibly melting.
You can solder wire derictly to the rail. Since tie melting is a common issue, I use heat sinks which virtually eliminates tie melting when used in conjuction with a clean tinned soldering iron and application of a bit of flux. You can actually not solder any joints and solder the power feeder wire to the bottom of rail joiners and run power feeds to every other joint (for example). All joints can expand and contract and the likihood of a dead rail is extremely low if you have frequent power feeds.
The heat sinks I use are a set I got from Radio Shack many moons ago, but you could get some alligator clips and clip them on - which should work almost as well - to draw heat away from the area affected.
Cheers, Jim Fitch
Xuron makes all kinds of cutting tools. They make a track cutter for vertical cutting and one for horizontal cutting. There are other brands too, so you should be able to find something that fit your needs.
You might want to consider using an electrical joint compound on your rail joiners if you are not soldering your joiners. I use Burndy Penatrox-A. Besides making an excellent electrical connection, it might also help stop glue from getting in the joint if your are going to add ballast. Apply with a tooth pick or some other similar tool.
Welcome aboard! You’ll find this a great forum invaluable for addressing most anyhting related to trains.
You posted great questions and probably have plenty more. To address them, consider getting starting a library of books. Two common ones are Jeff Wilson’s book on starting out in modle trains. Religiously reading his book is criitcal to enjoying the hobby. The other one to get is John Armstrong’s on operations.
To your questions:
-
Get rail cutters from Xuron and when cutting rails, hold them at a 90 degree angle to the track and look away when cutting.
-
Get some hook-up wire from Radio Shack or another electronic store. Soldering is a struggle for me, so I feel your pain. WHen I solder wires together, them down with tape. For connecting wires to track, remove the plastic cover tin the copper and bend it at a 90 degree angle to solder on the track. Before soldering, us a tooth pick to put rosin flux on the track.
-
Some solder tracks and others don’t; it’s your call based on need, time, etc. I don’t solder mine except when I connect curved track.
[#welcome] SilverSanJuan!
For cutting HO scale track, Xuron rail nippers are my go-to tool. If it is already laid, Dremel with the fiberglass reinforced cut-off disks. (Occasional “dressing” with a file after either, just so that rail joiners slide onto the rail easier.)
Soldering power leads: I trim the tie spacers under the rail, slide the ties together on both sides of the trimmed spacers, creating a gap in the center. I then tin both the wire and the rail, and then solder together. For a heat sink, I take damp towels and drape them over the rails where I slid the ties together. Only ever melted one tie this way.
Soldering track joints: I do not, except on curves, and then only on flex track that tends to spring back straight. (Atlas is one that comes quickly to mind.) Any temperature/humidity swings, track buckling can occur if there is no room for expansion/contraction. That is a pain to fix. I avoid it, by only using joiners to maintain alignment, no power issues if you solder feeders to every rail. If you solder joints together, always leave some undone. If joints are soldered together, you can have only one feeder wire every 6 feet or so per rail, but, some joints must remain unsoldered to allow for expansion/contraction, and you will need feeder wires per rail there. Even though you are using foam, if the foam is attachted to wood benchwork or framing, you will still get expansion/contraction issues.
You can cut track with rail nippers or any wire cutters which are NOT dykes (diagonal cutters) because dykes leave an angled cut. I use a pair of wire strippers which leave a straight cut.
I hate to solder so I solder the wire onto rail connectors on a little jig on the workbench first where I have easy access to it. I never melt ties because the track is in the other room. You can also buy rail joiners with wires already soldered onto them.
As for soldering every rail together…. There was a whole other post about that recently. You should read it. As for me, I don’t solder any rails together but I use wood for roadbed instead of foam, and use new rail joiners and make sure they are snug.
j…
Xuron makes a track cutter for making a vertical cut. They are great for trimming track that is already on the layout.
Before I had a Xuron track cutter, I used a Dremel moto tool with a cut off wheel. That was/is extremely effective, but also dangerous to use (eyewear a must).
In either case, you still will benefit by a final smoothing with a file.
Some of the videos in the Video plus section are actually free. I can’t find the video at the moment, but it’s either in the Rehab my railroad series or Cody’s Office series. Either he or Dave mash the very end of the wire and bend that as well so you are soldering a flat piece rather than a circle (which you probably cut with a diagonal cutters and is not flat)
Edit: Wow that was quick, another post is gone and the abbreviation for diagonal cutters is a censored word. [:'(] Too late, I have a new vocabulary word.