I have a bunch of Atlas Code 83 Custom Line Turnouts that came with rail joiners. I bought a packs of code 83 rail joiners from Atlas. They are ALL lose as heck, got a piece of code 100 and they fit perfect. Does Atlas not make a REAL code 83 rail joiner?
Can I get another brand that is in better tolorence?
I know I have to solder but this is a bit much.
The joiners are also very lose on the Walthers turnouts.
George P.
I haven’t had a problem with the rail joiners that came with my Atlas stuff, but a quick squeeze with needle-nose pliers will tighten them right up.
I had hoped that the tolorence would be better. I made a pair of rail crimpers 30 years ago from my dads needle nose, was not very happy, but it worked. Glas I gound them!
I Use Atlas N scale joiners…Much more snug without being impossible to fit…
It sounds to me like Atlas mis-labeled their rail joiners. If they don’t fit tightly on your code 83 rail, then they are no doubt code 100.
In my experience, trying to crimp rail joiners with needle nosed pliers just makes them get loose quicker. A better solution might be to gently squeeze the rail joiners flatter using broad-nosed pliers before you put them onto the rail. But in the long run, soldering is the only sure way to keep them in place.
Supposedly the latest Atlas rail joiners are sold to work on either code 100 or code 83. Now, any reasonable person can see that the difference is probably too great for one size to fit all.
However, the last couple of packs of joiners I got from my LHS seem to fit plenty tight on my code 83 track. Perhaps they still hae old stock, although they seem to move plenty of Atlas product. I don;t get to pick them myself, that’s one of the things they keep behind the counter. I haven’t had a loose one yet, except for the ones I use (and reuse) for test fitting - I keep those out of the regular pile so when I fix track into position I am using only fresh joiners. I’ve gotten a couple of packs from the LHS, a pack or two from a couple of different train show vendors, and haven’t had this problem.
I expect the Atlas joiners will be loose on the Walthers turnouts though, the rail profile is a bit different. Yet another thing to keep in mind if I switch.
–Randy
This I will try for sure. Since they are smaller then they should blend in better.
Thank You
Funny, my Atlas rail joiners are nice and tight on my Atlas Code 83 track…
Maybe you got a bum batch of joiners?
Mark in Utah
I use ME (Micro Engineering) code 83 rail joiners. And they are so tight, that I made a tool to help spread them a little bit, making it a lot easier to slide on. They’re not loose, but they are not so tight that you drive one under your fingernail when trying to pu***hem on. I made the tool by grinding the end of a short section of code 83 rail into a very sharp point with a long taper. I then cut 2 grooves into a small block of 1x4 that fit over HO scale track. The block serves two purposes. When spreading the rail joiner over the tool, it allows the tool to slide down into the groove, forcing the rail joiner over the rail flange. It also serves to steady rail that’s already in place when cutting it with a razor saw. Not much more frustrating that having your rails break the molded spikes on a piece of track that you’ve already ballasted. [:(!]
Let me ask a rather dumb question.
If you are using flex track and feeders for every track section, why use rail joiners at all? I’ve never used them hand-laying track, and everything worked fine. Don’t have to worry about recessing or notching ties to avoid vertical bumps from the rail joiners. Soldering rail joints is just as practical without rail joiners as it is with - I simply pu***he loose rail end to butt up against a clamped rail end when soldering the joint - or clamp both pieces, then solder.
I did have the advantage of spiking the rail ends through glued ties into a Homasote-like material to hold it in place. Obviously, if you are mounting your flex track to a more yielding roadbed, rail joiners would be necessary where you don’t solder joints. And the number of track joints with sectional track (and resulting number of feeders) might make rail joiners a more efficient solution in that case. Otherwise, …
Support rail joiner freedom! 
Fred Wright
jack of all trades…(you know the rest)
ONE advantage to using rail joiners is that it makes a good mechanical connection, avoiding kinks where they “butt together”. Butting rail ends, unless you have a fully controlled environment (no temperature swings) is not a good idea. As expansion and contraction can cause rails to buckle. And the expansion rate with solder has to be greater with a soft metal like solder compared to nickel silver rail. I use rail joiners solely as a mechanical connection to assure rail alignment. I then solder feeders to each section of flex-track, connected with busses.
Use N-scale joiners they are smaller and easier to hide much tighter. I read about using N-scale in MR a long time ago.
I also use Atlas N joiners for Atlas Code 83. Atlas rail is a thicker crossection than ME rail so ME rail joinres won’t work with Atlas track as well.
Dave H.
I’ve never modelled in N, but for some reason I keep finding N-scale joiners. I suspect that Atlas’s quality control isn’t catching rail joiner mismatches in their turnout packages. I’m finding these with Code 100.
I used to think my pants were the only things that were getting too tight.
I actually haven’t found that to be the case, Randy. The Atlas rail joiners are pretty tight on the Walthers switches, too. Only difference is the height of the rails (Walthers ties are thinner), which is solved with some pieces of .020 styrene glued below the switch.
Walthers code 83 rail joiners work great on the Atlas track. They look like fish plates
(proto type rail joiners). They blend into the track very nicely.
[:D][:D][:D] Yes, just bought 200 of them today and they do look GREAT.
As usual you guys are 1 step ahead of me.