Happy Holidays!
I have two (only two?) different questions:
How high to solder code 83 ME flex track once I connect the two pieces of track? Wilson’s book on tracklaying shows that he soldered from top to bottom of the track. He then curved the track, which is what I want to accomplish. Any advice on curving flex track and soldering?
What to use to seal the seams between the foam sub-roadbed? I thought to just use paint cement.
Cheers,
Lee
As far as soldering track. What holds the track together is soldering the rail joiners. Soldering the butt joint where the two rails join is possible but doesn’t contribute all that much in strength. You want to put the iron to the rail joiner and get it hot enough to melt the solder. Then capillary action will suck the solder under the joiner yielding a good strong joint.
As far as fill the joints between sheets of foam. Just painting and sprinking HO scale grass (sawdust or ground foam) onto the wet paint covered up maybe half of my joints, the ones that were nicely fitted. I’ll make up some grass/earth colored putty or goop to fill the larger seams. Some green grass, some color tint, and work in some sheet rock joint compound or latex spackling putty.
Soldering will give you a more solid and reliable track joint. This is particularly important for electrical connectivity, but it helps when joining sections of flex-track to keep it from developing kinks.
If you have large gaps in the foam, you can bridge over them with plaster cloth. I use Gypsolite for my ground base, and that covers over the joints so they’re invisible. But, make sure that the foam is securely mounted to the benchwork. Otherwise, it may shift later and you’ll develop cracks in your scenery.