I’ve been working for most of the evening trying to lay some HO Micro Engineering flex track on a siding. This is actually the first piece of track to go onto my layout. No matter what I do, I can’t get the track to lay straight. When I get down to track level, it looks like a bunch of drunks laid the rails. They are not even close to being straight! I’ve tried and tried to get the rails straight but it doesn’t seem to get any better than this…
(I forgot portrait photos won’t enlarge - Sorry!)
Here’s another view that will enlarge.
Can anybody tell me what I’m doing wrong? I’ve used a metal straight edge to try to align the rails…still crooked. It’s wearing on my last nerve so I quit for the night.
I’d really appreciate any suggestions from the more experienced builders.
Don Z.
Updated on 5/20/06
I took the advice given by the respondants to my original question, and I’m happy to show the results of their advice! A special thanks goes out to Tom Bryant_MR for stopping by to give me a tutorial in the art of soldering and gluing track. In a short hour and half, we managed to solder and install the track shown in this picture:
I’m very happy with the results! I learned if you want to solder the Micro Engineering pre-weathered track, it really helps to sand the sides of the rail to remove the weathering. The solder will then flow into the joint and grip the rail. Without sanding, it’s really hard to get a good solder joint.
Now, it’s time to start getting some scenery down on this module…
The ME track can be kind of cantankerous to work with.
I found that if you stand it on it’s side on a flat tabletop you can straighten it pretty well. Just take your time and work carefully and it’ll come out for you.
I used little brads instead of push pins, leaving the heads just shy of the tops of the ties. I pinned each end of a three foot section till the whole straight section was laid, then tacked the middles of each three foot section, after eyeballing the whole straight end to end. Then I tacked every other hole in the ties, call it every foot, and after sighting again at low level, left the good pins and replaced the obviously bad ones by using an adjacent hole, since holes in the wood sub bed were hard to move.
For final adjustment, you can tap the head side to side in small increments with a screwdriver. I use a pair of sidecuts to pull the nails, and overall, I am happy with the results, but looking at real rails, I’m not sure that perfectly straight track is prototype in a lot of cases.
Get an appropriate-length piece of hardwood and run it through a jointer until it just fits snugly between the rails. That will straighten flex-track. Then lay down the track in place and attach with a few spikes.
I have one I made for laying 40-inch American Models (S gauge) flex track. I tapered one end so it could easily slide into the track from one end – better for a tight-fitting jig. Pressing the jig down into the track from above is tougher to do if you want a really tight fit.
Either my standards are too low or my computer doesn’t show enough detail. That track looked pretty straight to me!
pcarrell’s suggestion always worked for me. As I understand, the ME track is supposed to hold a curve better than other brands without trying to straighten itself out. That can cause the problem you are having. The track gets little bends in it from handling and, since it is NOT self-straightening, the bends stay there until you do something to get rid of them. Standing the track up on it’s tie ends on a really flat surface should help you find and fix all those little bends.
I get the track reasonable straight, then tack down the ends and place a level against the outside of one or the other rails. I hold the track against the level at each spot I’m spiking (or nailing or whatever) into pplace, and the result is arrow-straight track!
Try using a 3’ straight edge. Place it along side one of the rails and spike/nail as you go. I use a yard stick and it works just fine. Good luck, Mike
You’re right, it is hard to work with. I decided to use it so I could reduce the amount of weathering needed on the track system by having it already on the rails. Using the tips I received here on the forum helped me get the 3 rails installed with little difficulty. Since this is my first module on my first layout, I’m hoping that as each stick of track goes down, it gets a little easier and looks a little better.
Getting these results for my first section has me excited and looking forward to laying more track now that I’ve found it isn’t as difficult as I imagined.
