There has to be a better solution for connecting Realtrax

[SleeperN06]

I am so tired of fighting and repairing this track every Christmas season. I have to pull apart and reassemble my Christmas layout every year and I want to be able to just align it up and plug it in separately somehow. I can essentially break it down to 3 assembled sections for one line and possibly 2 or maybe 3 on another.

I bought some crimp on wire connecters and I can solder wires on to the track, but I’m not quite sure how to properly align them so they don’t move. So i'm looking for some ideas.

[AF1963]

Have you considered a modular lay out along the lines of the 1960s AF All Aboard sets?

[SleeperN06]

AF1963

Have you considered a modular lay out along the lines of the 1960s AF All Aboard sets?

No I haven’t. I would have to rebuild the whole thing and it would be too much. I just wish I could replace the Realtrax with Fastracks if it would fit, but unfortunately I would have to build new bridges and one is a 6ftx6ft curved bridge.

[rtraincollector]

Have you concidered Gargraves 37" flextrack you would be able to bend it to the curves you already have.

[SleeperN06]

rtraincollector

Have you concidered Gargraves 37" flextrack you would be able to bend it to the curves you already have.

You know I bought 4 or 5 sticks of that stuff about 4 years ago and I couldn’t bend it very well. I ended up damaging every stick and just gave up. At the time I wanted to build a wood truss bridge over my town to run a train on the second level, but since it’s a Christmas village based on fantasy anyway, I didn’t care so much about how realistic it looks and decided to go another way with the Realtrax.

So anyway today I’ve been playing around with ideas and I’m now thinking of connecting everything up the usual way, but when I take it all down in January, I’m going cut predetermined sections in half with a fine saw. Then I have to come up with a way to install alignment pins in the plywood so I can just push them together using the pins to align everything and connect the wires underneath this way I can glue down all the track pieces to the plywood and not ever deal with those stupid connections.

Now I actually like the track very much and I suppose if you only had to connect them once it might be OK.