Smooth Joint Rails?

[Daylight4449]

Hello, after a long absence i have returned, i am doing the final planning for the layout i have decided on (took awhile) I was Thing, might it be possible to solder the rail of each section of track to one another like they do on current lines in real life for a smoother rail and a better electrical connection.

[richg]

You will still need gaps to allow for expansion and contraction depending on how well thee humidity is  controlled in your train room.
If the track is on foam. maybe not an issue. if on Homasote, definitely will need gaps every so often. Happened to me.
Plus gaps if you use DC block control or gaps for DCC districts depending on the size of the layout. Also you will need gaps for reversing sections.
I assume you have soldering experience and the proper soldering tools.

Rich

[richg]

In case you are not familiar with welded railroad track, below is one link from a Google search on this issue.

http://www.grandadsez.co.uk/railways/continuous-rail.html

Rich

[Daylight4449]

I use block control but that is not a problem, soldering experience is something I have as well but as it will be placed in the garage, the expansion and contraction is not something I had thought of, would it work if the gaps to allow for this were every few pieces? The problem I have is that I use a lot of older stock and locos therefore the smoother the track the better.

[jward]

soldering rail joints is pretty easy. the only critical thing is to get the rails properly aligned. if you are using new joiners they hold the rails pretty well, but ones that have been used tend to spread open and not hold the rail as tight.

you will want to take a file and slightly bevel the ends of your rail before you lay the track. this will help guide the wheels through slightly misaligned joints. align the rails as best you can before you try to solder. you can often correct slight misalignments during the soldering process by holding the ends of the rails in alignment while soldering, and keeping the pressure on the joint until it cools. this works especially well for vertical misalignments.

regarding expansion and contraction, this is where your choice of subroadbed makes all the difference. note that expansion and contraction affect flexible and handlaid track more than sectional track like ez track. i handlay my track so i can't use foam as subroadbed. homasote, as has been mentioned, expands and contracts quite a bit, especially in a damp or humid environment. i've had sections of track laid on homasote which i had to constantly go over and fix. when i tore out the homasote and replaced it with white pine lumber, i had no further problems due to expansion. plywood should be similar to pine, if harder to spike into.

it should be noted that even if you are using homasote in a dry environment, most of us use water in making scenery. plaster is mixed with water, and most scenic cover such as ground foam and ballast is secured with water based glues. homasote will absorb these.

as a final note on soldering, once your joints cool, be sure you smooth them with a file. stray solder blobs sometimes get on the running surfaces of your track, and filing will eliminate them. solder is much softer than the rail so it should only take a couple of swipes with a file to smooth things out.

[mabloodhound]

Do NOT solder the joints.   Another member here is now trying to relocate some track on is layout that he soldered all the joints, not an easy job.   Not to mention the expansion problem from Rich.
You will get smooth running if you use the joint connectors properly and wire drops to your buss from each section will give you the best conductivity.

[richg]

Lay the track on a smooth surface and you will have minimal issues. Make sure curves flow smoothly. There are all kinds of jigs sold for laying track correctly for straight and different radius curves. Even parallel tracks.
Don't use Homasote in a garage if you have wide swings in humidity. Been there, done that, have the T shirt.
Some use two inch dense foam from Lowe's or Home Depot.
Others will have comments.

Buy a tool that is a clear plastic frame on two trucks that you roll on the track t check the track you just installed.
Patience and proper planning will do a lot.

No idea if three foot sections of track or Bachmann NS stuff which might be better for a garage layout.

Rich

[richg]

Keep asking here for this layout. Many others  here have more experience than me. Try to give details of exactly what you have for track and turnouts.

Rich

[Jim Banner]

... Another member here is now trying to relocate some track on is layout that he soldered all the joints, not an easy job ...

Dave,
There are easy ways to salvage used track that has the joints soldered:

-  For flex track, use rail nippers and cut out the joints.  Full lengths become 35" instead of 36" but that is no problem.

-  For sectional track, flex the sections up and down slightly.  The joiners soon snap and can be flicked off with a hot soldering iron.

-  For sectional track with base (like E-Z Track) run an Atlas Hobby Saw through the joints.  Half of the joiner ends can be flicked off with a hot soldering iron.  The locked on ones can be heated and the solder flicked out with a quick wrist action (NOT over the wife's rug!!)  Then the remaining joiner piece can be peeled off just like it had never been soldered.

Sure there is some work involved.  Then again, there is some work involved installing a drop wire for every 4-1/2 inches of track.

Jim

[jward]

or.....
you could just unsolder the joints. that's not hard to do. heat up the joint and pull one of the rails out of the joiner.

[Doneldon]

4449-

By now you can surely see that opinions and experience are all over the map. I suggest that you go ahead and solder your joints, but not all of them. Just how far you go will be a function of your construction (EZTrack sorts of products or track which has no attached manufacturered roadbed) and environment. You have lots of information about those here. One caution: Garages tend to have wide swings in temperature and humidity so where you live (both part of the country generally and specifically, like on a river or lake) must be a significant factor in your decision about how to proceed.
                                                                                                                             -- D

[Jim Banner]

or.....
you could just unsolder the joints. that's not hard to do. heat up the joint and pull one of the rails out of the joiner.

You make it sound so easy!!  I do this with hand laid rails where I can work one rail at a time but have never had much success with sectional track.  I have tried heating up one joiner and pulling one rail out of it but usually end up twisting the other rail sideways enough that the track goes out of gauge or a rail pops out of the ties.  I have also tried alternating between the joiners, heating each enough to pull the rail out a little bit each time without damaging the other rail.  Working back and forth eventually gets the tracks apart but with so many heating cycles, I find it is very easy to melt the ties.  This was the origin of the techniques above i.e. cutting the joints for based sectional track and breaking them for un-based sectional track.

Are you willing to share your secret?  Or do we put it down to what works for one guy does not necessarily work for the next?

Jim

[jward]

one of my secrets is to use heat sinks on the rails, either side of the joint. heat up each side then work them out. heat sinks can be as simple as alligator clips from radio shack. or a kakee coupler height guage ssset across the rails. or even wet cotton balls placed either side of the joint. but the clips work best.

one other thing, i don't worry that much about a melted tie here or there. they can be easily replaced with ties cut from a scrap piece of track. or cut from strip balsa or basswood and coloured with a brown sharpie.

i don't have alot of money to spend on the hobby, like many people. reusing track and track components is one good way to stretch a dollar.

[jonathan]

One of the reasons I was reluctant to solder joints, when building my layout, was the concern how to get everything apart when it's time to dismantle.  A terrible thought to ponder, but every model railroad has to come down some day.

I went ahead and started soldering anyway... smooth running trains became too important over time.

I had hopes of asking our forum experts how to unsolder track when the time came.  Now I see it can be a challenge even for the experienced.

I had visions of using a rail nippers and filing the ends to make the track reuseable.  As I have somewhere in the neighborhood of 350-400 feet of track this issue has my attention.  My sidings and yards are not soldered, so that track will be easy to salvage. 

So, let's figure I'll have a 75% success rate at separating soldered track from the mainline.  Along with other issues, perhaps I'll manage to save around  80% of my track.  Every little bit helps. 

Also, I didn't glue down most of my cork roadbed, rather nailed it down with brads.  A pro layout builder I trust has said to me more than once; most of the scenery is held together with water soluble adhesives.  If you spray enough water on your layout, most of it will come apart without too much trouble.  If we can get the track apart as easily, there's every good reason to expect to reuse most of the benchwork and trackwork we started with (I'm hoping) .

Regards,

Jonathan

[jward]

i'd think you'd be able to salvage more than 75%, based on my experiences.