I am at a stage in my ho layout (code83) where I think I would like to solder some track together. I have never done this nor have I ever seen it done. Does anyone have a source I could go to in order to learn how to do this?
tom
I know of no source right off hand, but what I did when I was using flew track was to join the sections together as usual, put a small dab of solder flux on the outside edge of the rail at the rail joiner, touch the tip of a hot soldering gun to area and as the flux ran, tough the solder to the joiner. The solder would instantly follow the flux along the side of the rail, onto the joiner and into it, welding the entire joint together. I would then wipe area off with a cloth that had been dipped in white vinegar to remove the excess flux. This worked well for me then and still does now with the Bachmann EZ track that I use exclusively. I solder all my rail joints, including the turnouts.
There is a good demonstration of soldering techniques here. It is a streaming video with sound that you can find easily enough.
You may hear a variety of opinions on whether it’s a good idea to solder many joints.
Some folks solder virtually every joint; others solder some; still other don’t bother at all.
If you will have separate power districts or signalling districts, you’ll need insulated gaps between those blocks.
If you will have some sidings or other stretches of track that you want to be able to turn off, you’ll need insulated gaps for them as well.
Some modellers have had problems with expansion and contraction of large stretches all soldered together.
Replacing a turnout can be fairly difficult if it’s soldered to all three tracks.
What a lot of us do is, solder two 3-foot pieces of flex track together before installation. It’s pretty easy if you put the track on the workbench, either on it’s side or upside down. (The only time I solder more than that is if I have a curve more than 6 feet long.) After installation, we solder track feeders to each 6-foot section, and every other piece of rail. That’s probably overkill, but much easier to do when laying track than adding them a few years later – because where you need to add them is always in the hardest place to reach!
If you’re going to solder. Use a big enough iron that you can get in quick, hit it with the solder, and get out before the ties start to melt. Put the soldering iron on the inside of the rail. When hot enough apply the solder to the outside of the rail. Apply just enough to flow around the rail joint. Once the solder flows on both rails. Remove heat and blow on the joint like mad to cool it down.
I just soldered my flex track this weekend and I found it pretty easy. To add to the above advice, I laid my Code 83 flex track with caulking, leaving the last 1&1/2" to 2" where the joints met uncaulked (and straight in the case of curves). It’s easier to solder track on curves with the track straight.
After the solder was cool, I used a file where necessary to smooth out the rail and then gave it the “caboose test” by running a car (a new caboose I just bought) over the joint a few times to make sure there were no potentials for derailments.
I then applied the next bead of caulk along the cork roadbed and laid the next section of track. I was surprised on how quickly I was able to work. The caulk held the track firmly in place but still allowed me to tweak it as needed and I had no issued of the soldered joint breaking as I curved the flex track.
Rob Carignan
Portland, Maine
I’ve not started laying track yet, but the Kalmbach trackwork book reccommends using wet tissue paper as a heat sink to avoid melting the ties–I’ll probably try this when I’m starting out; would guess that as one gets more experienced it’s probably not necessary.
Jim
I just got back from my LHS and we talked about that very thing! I had left a three to four tie gap when I was soldering and I only slightly melted one tie. He suggested wet cotton balls.
A small metal alligator clip on each side of the spot to be soldered, or even a small length of waste rail laid across the tracks will help. Wet cotton balls or tissue paper would undoubtedly work, but it is more…well,…wet! I have even used the large, and rather heavy, steel points filing jigs from Fast Tracks. They are great for weighing down track to be glued, holding down gaps to be soldered, and any other number of uses besides their prime purpose.
I also use wet cotton balls to keep the rails from overheating when I’m soldering joints.
Wet paper towels, one on each side of the join, give me plenty of time to mess with it and not worry about melting ties.
I built a good sized layout, 8 by 24 in my garage. Although I have heat in the garage, when I am there and working on the layout, it is unheated otherwise. I had some beautiful trackwork, with long stretches of soldered track. After a cold winter, I discovered in the spring, a lot of buckled trackwork, because of expansion and contraction. I have repaired the damaged sections, and do not solder anymore track. I have left small gaps, less than a 1/16 of an inch at the joints now. It doesn’t effect the performance of the trains, and I have had no more trouble with buckling track. Unless your layout is in a heated building, with fairly constant temperatures, I would not recommend soldering track joints.
Wow! Thanks for all the great tips. I think I will tackle this job this coming weekend. Just to let everyone know, It is in an inside room that has heat/ac when needed. I’ll let you know how it turns out.
Thanks, to all,
Tom
More important to solder feeder wires to each section of track than it is to actually solder the track together. Let rail joiners do what they were intended to do, which is hold track in alignment and not really a good job of conducting electricity on the slip joints.
With soldering, practice will really improve your results. There are some basics. The rails must be clean - I use 250 grit sandpaper to shine the botom of the rail for feeders and a dremel mototool with wire brush to shine up rail ends for soldering joiners. Electronics-type solder flux also makes the solder flow much better. I am using Atlas code 83 track, and the plastic ties seem very resistant to the heat. I don’t use any type of heat sink. My iron is a temperature controlled 24 watt Unger. For decoder installation, I use a small tip and turn the temperature down. For rail, I use a medium tip and crank the temp up to 650-700 degrees. There are lots of old threads explaining techniques, so try a search on “soldering”.
Jim