Insulating material for track

[Anonymous]

I am getting back into the hobby after a 45 year break. I want to make some insulated track sections, and need to know what best to use for the insulator. I would prefer not to tear up a piece of existing track to do this.

Thanks for your help.

ME.

[FJ and G]

ME,

Me too.

Check out: http://www.trains.com/community/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=58173

I dumped some JB Weld on the rail. Seems to work ok but now gotta sand it down some.

Tonight I'm going to experiment with epoxy too.

Let us know how it turns out!

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I just realized that you might be meaning a different kind of insulation. Such as connecting sections together. Just hacksaw or jeweler's saw thru whatever section you need and epoxy a piece of styrene in between the sections and trim the excess with a file or dremel.

[darsenau]

A very easy to get an insulated track section is to use a section of K-line Super Snap or Shadow rail. These tracks have the outer rails isolated from each other, and all that is needed to use insulating track pins on one of the outer rails.

They are a lot easier to implement than modifying a section of ordinary sectional track.

[Dave Farquhar]

Through the years it seems they've used a variety of materials. Postwar track used fiber insulators; modern insulators are almost paper-like. I've heard of lots of different things being used: bits of cardstock cut from file folders the color of the insulators you already have, black electrical tape... I've cut strips from a paper grocery bag, folded them over a few times to give it some thickness, and used that. Can't get any cheaper, and it insulates just fine. So there's no need to cannibalize other track.

The main thing to be concerned about is to crimp the tie back on tightly enough to hold the new insulator in place while not crimping so tightly as to pierce the insulation.

It gets easy once you've done a few. I can make one in a couple of minutes now.

[lionelsoni]

I use pieces cut from a black pasteboard report folder. The material seems very similar to what the track manufacturers use. I put a hard object (a 1/4"-20 nut) directly under the tie and below the rail before trying to recrimp the rail, to avoid deforming the tie.

[Anonymous]

Thanks for the help.

ME.