I have mainly only worked with Snap-Track (HO) and am planning a major layout expansion using Flex-Track. Now, with Snap you join sections as appropriate with joiners (insulating, terminal, etc.), solder it up and move on. However, there is always this “missing cross tie” issue when trimming and fitting Flex-Track joints. My question: is there a preferred or correct way to trim up and put a tie back in place right where the joint is? I have trouble getting it to look right because the joiner itself always seems to be in the way. Any guidance in this area will be appreciated. Thanks. Geoff
I always just trimmed the ‘spikes’ off the tie, put a dab of glue on the bottom of it and slid it back under the rails. If there was an issue with the tie pushing the rail joiner up, I would file the tie down a little then put it back under the rails.
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I had this brilliant idea. Stagger the joints. Pull the one or two ties under the joint off the rail being joined and leave the ties attached to the rail not being joined. After completing the joint, heat it up a bit and push it down onto the ties so the joint molds into place.
What I was trying to do was to provide some sort of attachment to the ties under the joint. Plus, staggered joints are more realistic, I thought.
It was a lot of work, and it didn’t work too well. I’ve stuck with what the above post suggests.
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MOST of us just trim off 2 or 3 ties from the end, and let the rail joiners hold the track - but that looks bad.
Reusing those ties looks better, but the rails will be pushed up the thickness of the rail joiner, and Filing down 4 - 6 ties is WORK.
I now buy a package of wood strips the thickness of the ties (cheap), cut them with a razor blade, and slide them into place. A few taps with a hammer sets a slight indentation in the wood to eliminate any ‘bumps’. (Plastic ‘ties’ dont take a set).
Most of the work with flextrack is on curves, because one rail gets longer (and one shorter) as you bend. Careful trimming counts. Maintaining a perfect curve with 'Super’flexing track is also tricky
What Jeffrey said. I also use N scale joiners on HO so they don’t stand out like a sore thumb.
I will give credit to Chuck (tomikawatt) for this very useful and important tip: before you make the joins, use a good metal file to bevel the very ends of the rails so that flanges don’t encounter a sharp and unyielding surface when they cross the join. Make it a habit to do this to every single rail end and you are unlikely to have any wheel hops, even at speed.
What you do is bevel the inside edge of the rail head where the flanges run, and also round gently the surface of the head on which the tires of the wheels and drivers run. It only needs to be just visible, not a heavy bevel such as the kind that Walther’s does on their indexed turntable bridge track. Those bevels go all the way to the other side of the rail head, thus making a rather sharp tip.
Thanks to selector, I don’t need to mention treating the part of the joint in contact with the wheels - so let’s look at the opposite end of the rail web.
Atlas flex comes with ties all the way to the ends of the rails. IT IS NOT NECESSARY TO CUT ANY OF THEM OFF!!!
I use a sharp blade to cut away the plastic ‘spikes’ and tie plates, to a level below the rail base. Then, slide a bit of fine-grit sandpaper under the rail (grit side down) and sand off a few thousandths of the plastic web where the rail joiner will rest. Done on both sides of the joint, this eliminates tinkering with cut ties and results in constant tie spacing. (The loose rail can be slid out of the way, greatly simplifying the tie modifications.)
When laying curves, I always put the fixed (to the ties) rail to the outside. Sliding the loose rail clear allows bending the fixed rail to the desired radius. Sliding the loose rail out of the tie strip allows it, too, to be pre-bent. Where the rail joints stagger, I find the location of the joint and treat the ties accordingly. The same applies to providing rail gaps for signaling, with the added item that plastic joiners are much thicker than metal ones.
In my experience, it is possible to give an entire length of flex track a pre-bend that will allow it to assume and hold a reasonable curvature without stressing rail joints or track anchors. Typically, the length will have to be bent to a radius about 1/4 the desired radius to convince code 100 rail to hold the curve.
All of this assumes that the final location of the track has been established with certainty. I work to a line along the outside ends of the ties - much easier to see than a centerline, which can only establish positive locations at the track nail holes.
Hope this has been helpful.
Chuck (modeling Central Japan in September, 1964)
I’ve found that the best way to take off the “spikes” that hold the rail is to hold a piece of 120 grit sandpaper rough side up on the workbench, then rub the ties face down on the sandpaper. The “spikes” and a little of the top of the ties are quickly erased and it will slide easily under the rails. A dab of glue holds it in place.
What I do is to remove any ties that get in the way of the railjoiners. Connect the flextrack sections together, lay the track and then use spare plastic ties with the railspikes cut off and “thinned” with an exacto blade in the area where the rail fits over tie. I slide thes under the rail and they look fine especially after painting and ballasting. - Nevin