I use Atlas Code 83 track and Peco turnouts. Sometimes, as I am struggling to fit the flex track into the rail joiners, the exerted pressure will cause several of the plastic spikes on the flex track to break. Thus, the rail is not securely fastened to the plactic ties. Should I just glue to the rail to the ties and weight it down until the glue dries. If so, what type of glue do you recommend? Thank you.
Dan
I have never tried to glue or to repair them, although a determined person could do it, I suppose. If I ruin a section of flex, I replace it…it is relatively cheap considering how important and finicky our wheel-rail interface is in this scale. Besides, a glued section is unusuable in any other configuration from that point on.
In the odd instance where I may have scragged one or two spikes, I will sometimes use track nails beside the rail, but not in places where I can see them clearly.
I think that I would just cut off the section with the broken spikes, if its on the end.
If your going to glue it I would use Superglue and maybe a few track nails just to be sure. make sure the track is still in gauge after you glue it.
bill
Dan, what exactly are you doing tha tresults in this? It sounds just wrong: I’ve certainly whacked up some flextrack in my time, but never just from trying to fit it into the rail joiners… :“Struggling” to get the track into the joiners sounds odd. It shouldn’t be a struggle… Are you using the wrong scale joiners or something? I mean they should be a firm fit, but nothing like that…
I found out a long time ago that the rails on Atlas code 83 flex track can come loose very easily. That’s the main reason I stopped using it.
So what do you use now?
Yup, have had the same thing happen, and, yes CA works fine to hold the track once you’ve respiked it. When spiking flextrack, I used a pin vise to drill holes smaller than the spikes I use to drill through the ties, then press the spike into the hole, then tap it home with a nail set.
I made a removable section of track to bridge across a mainline/module. Normally, I would use a straight piece of sectional track, but this time the track on the module was a siding from a turnout on the mainline creating an unusually shaped piece of transitional track. I connected a piece of flex track to the siding and turnout, spiking it in place. Then using CA at every other ‘spike’, I glued the flex track into shape. Once the glue had set, I put a piece of aluminum foil on a piece of insulating foam, then pinned the track onto it. This keeps the track from being glued to the foam when ballasted. I then ballasted the track. Once the glue had completely dried, I removed the track and put it into place. The result? A removable section of flextrack that’s completely ballasted that looks a lot better than a raw piece of tracking bridging two areas. SO, yes, you can repair flextrack with CA.
I stopped using code 83 altogether. All I use is code 100. Once it’s ballasted and the scenery put in, only the pickiest of rivet counters can tell the difference.
Due to my health problems in recent years, I’ve had to stop using flex track completely and now use the Backmann EZ track with quite a bit of success. When you can’t feel your hands and can’t tell when you’ve gotten a cut, there’s no sense on taking the chance of getting a bad injury. I accidently shoved a 4 inch knife blade all the way thruogh my left hand a few years ago and didn’t feel a thing. I’d rather not take a chance on repeating that experience.
I have ACC’d some rail to Central Valley bridge ties and so far it is holding OK but would not otherwise reommend it. My first several attempts failed for some reason.
I would instead explore actually spiking the rail – drill small holes on either side of the rail and use scale spikes. I use so many brands of flex track on my layout that I am never sure who makes what but at least one make of flex track, I think Micro Engineering (addendum_ nope I checked and it is Shinohara), already has those spike holes drilled into their flex track. You don’t need to spike every tie.
You’d likely want something to hold the track in gauge while doing this … good practice for handlaying track.
Dave Nelson
You might want to try opening up the railjoiners a little with a very small screw driver to allow them to slide on easier.The joint should be soldered anyway. Plus spikes are a good idea too if you’ve already damaged the plaastic ones.
And on top of all this, a number of my passenger cars are derailing on the turnouts (Peco no less!). I can’t get a break!
The rail cutting machines usually leave burrs on the ends of flex track and turnouts. I always use a small jeweler’s file to go over every surface at the end of flex track and eliminate these burrs. This makes it much easier to insert the track into the joiners.
Agreed![#ditto] While you’re at it, chamfer the top inside corner of every rail end, about .01" across the railhead and 1/16 along the length of the rail. It’s amazing how that little act reduces derailments!
Addressing the original question, you can drill the ties and use microspikes to anchor the rails. Be sure to have a track gauge handy while you’re doing so. The other alternative is to shorten the length of flex (not practical for turnouts, unfortunately.) In my case, most of the rail I use to fabricate home-built specialwork has been salvaged from damaged flex track.
Chuck
Any S-curves imparted to the line when this turnout is used? Maybe your cars are getting yanked in two directions when they try to go through the turnout.
I assume the turnout is a true #5 or better…higher, that is? Could it be that your points need filing to get them needle sharp and flat against the stock rails? Anything odd about your frog in this turnout? Have you checked the flange-path with a gauge? Are the guard rails aside the frog too close/not close enough to the stock rails?