First off I’ll never buy Peco code 83 flex track again. Worst to work with. Even though this is my first layout. Seems the rail ties disconnect very easily from the rails and is no joy trying to rethread them back onto the rails.
Second thing, their rail joiners are impossible to work with. It says their rail joiners are for 70/75/83 track. Maybe these are just too tight for code 83. I’m simply trying to join three 3’ flex tracks together for testing. 3 hours later I only have 2 rail joiners installed and soldered. These rail joiners are so tight you simply can not get them on without screwing up the track. I’ve given up on the other two for now as it is too frustrating.
Any suggestings as to who many have better rail joiners and/or a trick on how to install rail joiners? These 3 sections are not attached to the benchwokr at this point. I’d hate to have this problem if I were gluing the track down.
No experience with Peco track, but I dress the ends of M.E. track with jewelers file putting a very slight taper on rail to joiner surfaces. I pre-stretch the joiners by sliding them onto a piece of rail held in a vice, a block of wood is handy to coax them onto the rail (saves cut fingers and joiner damage).
I’m actually switching TO Peco Code 83 track, because of the finer detail and the wide variety of turnouts to match. Plus now matching Code 70 I can use for sidings.
I have not had any more difficulty with the few sections and handful of turnouts I got to experiment with than with any other brand I’ve tried. In some ways, Peco is easier because the ties at the ends have space already left for the joiner to fit, no need to cut off the end most ties, then file them down to fit back in place. Previously unused joiners are almost always tight - some wiggling should get them to slide on. I prefer to not chew up my fingertips, so usually I will use needle nose pliers or anotehr piece of track to help. For test fitting track, I’ve always had a selection of joiners that have been used and reused several times - they fit loosely, so it’s easy to attach sections to test fit and mark where cuts have to be made, I then repalce the loose joinsers with fresh ones to actually install the track. If you’re going to solder the joints, it’s not as critical that the joiners be super tight - workign them on and off a scrap piece of track, or just opening them up slightly with a flat screwdriver should help.
That was our experience at the club. We bought Peco rail joiners a while ago because the Atlas joiners were out of stock at the time. Everyone had a great deal of difficulty installing the Peco joiners. There were more than a few bloody fingers so we gave up.
I have a drawing somewhere that shows a couple of tricks to mounting the rail joiners as they would indeed be tough … the rail joiners by Peco are mild steel by comparison to the Nickel Silver rail.
To use the joiners, you need to undercut the sleepers and the “spikes” so that they fit underneath. Because the rail joiners need to be split from each other, they will also need cleaning with a needle file as well as the ends of the rails.
Peco is quite flexible but tends to hold its shape unlike Atlas track which is very flexible and will spring back reasily. When I find the diagram or draw another one, I will post it up including the shape of a small tool to help which you can make…
I have used both Peco Code 100 & 75 joiners and yes some are a bit tight so I use a spare piece of rail filed to make a taper & feed that into the joiner to open it up a bit. Of course any rail that has been cut should be checked to make sure no burrs are left.
One UK modeller has made his own devise to open up joiners - you maybe able to see this
I use Atlas code 83 flex track but not Atlas joiners. I prefer the Peco joiners for there aesthetics. I like their low profile look much better than the larger Atlas joiners.
They can be difficult to install but as Peter suggested tapering the bottom edges works pretty good. Like Randy I use a small section of track as a tool to ease the install.
As for Peco track I prefer the Peco turnouts over all the other turnouts on the market. The Peco spring makes them work better electrically than the rest.
I also prefer the Peco PL-10 switch machine over the Atlas and half the cost of a Tortoise.
Wonder if code 100 would work better with code 83 track. The ones I have cover codes 70, 75 and 83. Maybe these are on the smaller/tighter side of code 83. ???
We ended up using Atlas Code 83 rail joiners despite the fact that we had to wait several months to get them. The five month delay was very frustrating, but we couldn’t get the Atlas turnouts that we needed during that time frame anyhow so we were stalled on the layout in any case.
If we had been more diligent we might have figured out how to use the Peco rail joiners by spreading their ends, but I have a problem with products that don’t perform as advertized right out of the box. IMHO, the Peco rail joiners need to be redesigned.
I went through the exact same thing as you when I first started out about 7 years ago. I could not get Peco, Microengineering, Walthers, alll those joiners where way too tight.
My solution is I use Atlas universal joiners code 83/100. They fit a bit on the loose side, but I solder all joints so its no problem.
I also had issues with flex track rails coming loose from ties. Its not just Peco, a lot of other brands do it too. You just have to be careful with it, you can’t be whipping it around much.
I ruined $30 switches, damaged flex track. Its all part of the learning process.
I have no idea why these companies all have joiners that don’t fit. Very frustrating!
Also if your are soldering joints, which I think you mentioned. Make sure you put the solder on the outside edges of the rails. I use to solder on the inside, and then have to file the solder down.
They were designed to be that tight, just likew Shinohara’s were. You need to spread them a bit ussually (I juse a flat blade screwdriver for that vand a quick twist). You think those are tight, try some of the old AHM one’s when they are brass colored. I plan out track with sectional junk before I run the good stuff to make sure everything will look right and no mistakes.
I learned about the tight fit of Peco joiners some years ago. I just got used to dressing the flanges with a needle file before attempting to shove the joiner into place and then the other rail into the joiner. Saved me the odd bloody fingertip.
I think, if you just accept that you need about 30 seconds with each rail end and a flat needle file, and dress up both the top and nether surfaces of the flanges for about 1/8" back from the tip, that the Peco joiners go on rather nicely and predictably. Happened to me.
While I can’t offer advice on Peco, I can with tight-fitting rail joiners. On my 1st layout, I used ME and they were so small and tight. Even opening them slightly with a hobby knife didn’t help that much. While larger, Atlas joiners are far easier.
Yes, the Atlas joiners are fose withce they actually had different joiners for Code 83, but now they only have the one. They are a pretty loose fit on Code 83 track. Not sloppy, at least when new, but not eactly tight.
Thing is - we WANT tight rail joiners. Both from an electricla and a mechanical standpoint. Solid electrical contact requires a tight fit, but so does keeping the two rails nicely aligned, both horizontaly and vertically.
Back when Altas was selling their code 83 rail joiners, I found I liked them much better than their universal joiner, which works well on both code 83 and code 100. The old code 83 joiners are much less conspicuous than the bigger, taller universal.
The Atlas code 83 joiners were harder to put on, but with practice, I was able to get them to work well. I liked them so much that when Atlas discontinued them, I hunted them down at train shows and collected enough to build my last layout. When I tore it down, I saved as many as I could for re-use.
Anyway, for a beginner, I can see why tight fitting joiners might be frustrating, but if you like them, you deveope techniques for working with them and getting them on the rail, such as filing the end of the rail a bit, and spreading open just the end of the joiner. There are tools you can get that aid in inserting them. I think Atlas makes one as well. Check Micromark.
