Soldering Flex-Track used on curves?

I was reading some posts from 2009 on soldering flex track and several posters where saying to stagger the soldered joints. Do,es this mean that you slide the one rail out of the ties say 10",s and then slide the rail of the second piece of track into the ties of the first and then solder together the track at the two points thus having a 10" seperation between the rail joints???

Also when I attach my feeder wires should I solder them at the soldered rail joints or at some other point on the rail? And should they be soldered to the bottom or outside of the rail?

I know that there is several questions here but trying to limit the posts on my track questions. Thank You for looking and a Big Thank You for any and all replies.

Ron

If you bend flex track, one rail will either stick out or pull in depending on whether the movable rail is inside or outside. On the next piece, just put the movable rail on the same side and slide it in to meet the other. That will naturally stagger the joints.

Obviously soldering to the bottom of the rail is least visible, but it is also the most tricky. If you use very light feeders in a dark color you will probably not notice feeders soldered to the outside of the rail. If you paint and ballast they will be even more invisible. Don’t use too much solder. The big bulge is not only obvious and unattractive, but it is not needed.

It is a good idea to stagger the rail joints when they are going to be used on curves. I do not know of any specific distance. I solder my feeder wires at the rail joints. That does not make it right, but it is simpler. One can always solder feeder wires to the under side of the track which then hides them from view. I tend to solder my feeder wires to the side of the rails. Between weathering and ballasting, they are not readily visible.

By the way, ask as many questions in the Forum as you need. That’s what this is all about. We all have strengths and weaknesses with respect to our modeling skills. So, ask for help or advise when you need it. And give advice to others in areas that you feel that you have some knowledge.[:D]

I’m on the other side of the fence, I never stagger the joints, I trim them even. It’s easier, quicker and in my 40+ years of experience I have not seen any electrical or mechanical advantage to staggering the joints and once painted and ballasted, barely visible. I fasten the flex track following the centerline, at the end of each section I trim the rails so they’re even and add the next section. In curves, I connect the new piece while it is straight, (to avoid kinking at the joint), solder the joints and then bend it into the curve, fasten it (I glue the track) and repeat, etc.

I use 20 guage stranded wire for my drops, (you can use solid wire, no diff). I strip off about 1/2" to 5/8" insulation, twist the strands tightly together, pre-tin it, bend the last 1/8" into a “L” and solder the foot of the L to the side of the rail. I then pull the wire thru the hole next the rail so the inulated part of the wire is below the roadbed surface. Once painted and ballasted, you’ll be hard-pressed to find that drop again.

Just another way to do things.

Staggered joints are very important on the prototype but less so, and maybe not at all crucial from a mechanical standpoint, on models. Appearance wise however they go a long way to improving realism and that is one of the glories of hand laid track, where the rail can continue right on through a turnout for example.

If you solder the flex track together when it is straight, as it is curved you will naturally stagger the joints a little bit.** But you keep forcing out a longer rail at the ends. Obviously you cannot “pre-solder” an entire layout’s worth of flex track! (But I bet someone has tried!). At some point discretion becomes the better part of valor and you almost have to just to snip off the longer rail and have it meet a tangent piece with even joints. Otherwise you would be staggering the joints around the entire layout – which can be done of course but involves slipping the rail into the little cast on nubs and is more work and bother than you likely care to put into it.

** Footnote – soldering the joint when the track is straight and then bending it also involves there being some resistance to bending at the joint and in my own case that is when I use a Ribbonrail curve template, run it through the curve over and over and eventually the joint will take on the even curve.

Dave Nelson

The point of soldering flex track is a curve is flex track likes to be straight. It will try to return to that state. The way most commonly used to solder flex track is to do so while it is straight. Then install it in the curve. This stops the track from moving once laid. Myself I like to put the slid rail on the inside of the turn. You can bend flex track past the dia. you intend to install it at. Delaying the tendency of flex track to straighten itself out.

Thank You All for the replies, I now have a much better understanding of what the old thread I was reading meant about spacing on the soldered joints on the curves. Jay your description and the gauge of wire you use was invaluable,Thank You thats one less dumb question I have to ask.

Ron