Hi, I appreciate that you are taking the time to assist me. My husband has a LGB train that runs around the ceiling of our family room and kitchen. Occasionally the train stops and the train guru (who runs the huge outside exhibit at the Morris Arboretum outside of Philadelphia) told him that he should try some clips (?) that connect the tracks tightly to each other since they may be separating slightly (and therefore losing power) from the vibration. I want to surprise him for Christmas and buy these for him … but, since I don’t know what they are called, I can’t find them on the internet. So my first qustion is … Can someone tell me what they are called? Also, the expert said they were brass and very expensive. Since we can’t see the track (it’s over our heads) my second question is … must they be brass or is there another kind? I’m very appreciative of any assistance that you can provide. I’m way ‘out of my league’ on sorting this one out but, I would love to ‘make his Christmas’ with this gift. Thank you.
Hello Noanie,
First of all, did you like the display at the Arboretum? I volunteered there during the summer. I was the teenager there.
Second, I know exactly the clips that you are talking about.
http://www.trainworld.com/split%20jaw.htm 40059 is the number that you are looking for. That is only one box, and yes they are expensive. I bought four boxes. These are brass. There is one other type of clap, Stainless Steel. These are MUCH MORE EXPENSIVE. Go with the brass.
Also, you will need the special screw driver. 10706 is the number. It can be found on the same page as the clamps, which is above.
http://www.trainworld.com/ That is the home page. The shipping is veryyyyy fast.
And there is a forum, two down below this one, that specializes in Garden Railways.
I hope this helps you.
Please be advised, Hillmanns or Splitjaws are brass clamps that replace the stock joiner and should be used only if you intend to replace the rail joiners on every piece of track. This option can be a VERY expensive option, so may I suggest a simple solution prior to the atom bomb treatment:
If you have all LGB track in the overhead layout what you need to try first are THESE:
LGB #11500
They are plastic tie joiners that clip into a notch in the ties on each end of the track section, I have used these both indoors and outdoors and am quite surprised by how well they work holding the track together even outdoors. Plus they are very inexpensive, the train store I went to actually let me have a bag of them for free!
So start with the simplest solution first, if every peice of track is clipped together with these and there are still issues then you may need the clamps, if you have different brands of track mixed together then you will need clamps to tie them together but for the most part you should only need a handfull of clamps, if any.
Have to agree with Mr. Smith on this, start out with the easy and inexpensive approach first. If by any chance the line is made-up with different brands of track, this can contribute to the problem you are experiencing.
Colin, thank you for taking the time to answer my inquiry. And, sorry for the delay in getting back to you, I was out of town.
I loved the Morris Arboretum exhibit – I’ve lived in the area forever but it was my first trip there. It was just amazing. But, the best thing was seeing my 58 year old husband and my 2 year old grand-nephew standing there with the same slack-jawed expression, just mesmorized by the intricacy of the trains and the buildings. We’re headed back in the next week or so to view the Christmas layout. If you’d be kind enough to answer a few more questions for me, I’ll get the order placed:
- Does it take only one rail clamp to join two pieces of track? Or, do you need multiple clamps for each two pieces of track?
- Another responder said that “Hillmanns or Splitjaws are brass clamps that replace the stock joiner and should be used only if you intend to replace the rail joiners on every piece of track”. What does it mean to replace a rail joiner? Does this require taking the track apart? (Just curious - it’s not a deal breaker)
- That same responder suggested that if I have only LGB track I should use LGB#11500 which are plastic tie joiners. He said that they are much less expensive than the brass clamps. Do you have any experience with this product?
- And, how do I tell if I have all LGB track? (Hopefully it’s easy because this will involve me and a ladder – not a pretty picture)
- If I don’t have just LGB track and use the brass clamps that you gave me the link to … do I need to worry about what type of track that it’s on?
Thank you again for your help!!! I’m forever in awe of how many great people are out there on the internet who are willing to share their expertise with you. Joan
Noanie,
If you make full use of the railclamps it will require two clamps to join two pieces of track, one on each pair of rails being connected.
For much better info I’m including the web address for Hillman’s rail clamps. I haven’t looked lately but I think they had a clamp that will go over the existing connectors, if I am mistaken and you do go for the clamps yes you will have to take the track apart to remove the original connectors. It isn’t so much difficult as it just a pain in the tush to have to do it.
The plastic tie connectors are used to anchor the last tie of two pieces of connected track together. Most of the manufacturer supplied track connectors are essentially just a slip fit connector held in place by friction, the tie connector locks into the last ties so they can not move apart.
I believe that most manufacturer names are imprinted into the under side of the ties. As long as you use the clamps I don’t believe that brand name is that critical. I found the Hillman to be a better value, I bought a bunch early last summer. They have a lot of info on their that should also be very helpful to you.
http://www.hillmansrailclamps.com/
Hope all of this has been helpful.