Track Solder Method

[Anonymous]

What are the generally acepted methods to solder Lionel O gauge track joints. Solder the track rails at each track pin? Solder wire jumpers between the rail joints out of the way of the wheel flanges? I have thought of several ways but am wondering what is the prevalent method. What wattage iron should be used? I think the rails would make great heat sinks.

Thanks,

Steve

[Roger Bielen]

Steve, replying to your question with a question. Why would you want to solder the track joints? If the pins are clean and the fit tight there should be no need to permanently join the sections, especially if the track is screwed down to a board. Loose pin joints can be crimped with a set of flush cut wire cutters or pliers made for the job. Otherwise, I used a standard Wheeler (sp?) soldering gun to attach feed wires to Gargraves track, I think its 100W on low and 150W on high, though a 30W or 50 W pencil iron would probably do. Use a rosin core electrical solder.

[SPFan]

I haven't tried soldering track but have gone through many, many pounds of solder in my time. I would use a 100 or 150 watt iron and connect the rails with a short jumper. The rails are tin plated and relatively easy to solder using rosin core solder. The track pins are steel and hard to solder unless you use a more active flux. Acid or zinc chloride fluxes make soldering steel easier but would have to be cleaned off or the rails would rust. You could also use a soldering gun but an iron is easier and faster to use if you have a lot af repetitive joints to connect.
Pete

[Anonymous]

I've used a 40 watt iron to solder feeder wires to Lionel tubular rail.

Tony

[lionelsoni]

I have soldered my (O27) track, without track pins, for some time, with good results. There are two reasons why I do it:

It virtually eliminates voltage-drop problems. Most of the track resistance develops in the connections between the pins and the rails; and soldering eliminates that. I have never had to use feeders.

I can remove a switch or piece of track without disturbing anything else.

I do not use jumper wires. I bridge the small gap between rails with the solder and fill some of the tubular railhead with it. The solder on the outside extends about 1/8 inch from the gap. The biggest problem is aligning the rails, which I usually do by pushing on whichever one seems higher with a screwdriver while the solder is molten. The running rails need to be aligned both vertically and horizontally, but only vertical alignment matters for the center rail. I use an old Weller soldering station, about 50 watts, with a small chisel tip. It has no trouble melting an entire joint. I keep an old Lionel freight-car truck around to check the result for smoothness.

I do not use insulating pins, either. I just leave about 1/16" gap and make sure there is support near the joint. This means sometimes adding a tie to a cut piece of track. When the track is screwed down, the rails can be aligned by bending them while gripping with linesman's pliers.

[Anonymous]

Sorry to throw a wrench in the works here but I've been told to avoid soldering track together for reasons that if the rails aren't allowed room to do a little expanding and contracting it's going to lead to warping and derailments.

however my concerns over track conductivity remain, and I was considering running some jumper wires on the outside of the rails and/or some extra lead wires.

[SPFan]

Bob,
Thats an interesting trick, not using pins. It makes sense though. I have wondered why folks use all those feeder wires. The track itself is probably equal to about 12-14 gauge copper if you take into account the actual cross sectional area and the fact that steel is slightly more resistive. You should be able to run at least 100 feet without significant voltage drop. As for the track warping due to temperature changes that shouldn't be an issue indoors where changes may only be a few degrees. The solder on the other hand may crack as its much weaker than the rails. Bob, have you had any problems with the joints failing?
Pete

[lionelsoni]

Very few failures. Of those, the two or three not obviously due to the flexing of recently dismantling and moving the layout to a new house have been joints with old, corroded switches and uncoupling sections.

I agree that temperature is a very unlikely problem.

I should say that I use 36" K-line track for tangents, cutting it as necessary, to reduce the number of joints. CTT published my saw-less technique for cutting track a year or two ago. If anyone is interested, I could search for it.

[turbine682]

Hi,

I am considering Ross Custom Switches and Track. Simple X-mas layout 4 X 6 oval with siding - manual turnout with Caboose 208S ground throw.

RCS makes a power section, but I think it would be better just to solder the feed wires directly to the track.

Questions:

1. What are your thoughts on purchasing a power section versus solder?

2. Which rails do I solder the feeder wires to?

Thanks in advance, --Ed

[Anonymous]

I had a layout that was 32 years old that I originally soldered the track
together on. No derailments due to thermal movement. I kept the pins
in to keep everything aligned. I soldered the track from the bottoms of
the webs. I built the track(s) up in blocks of several sections at a time,
then soldered the blocks together. I didn't solder the track to switches,
UCS or RCS, or crossings due to maintenance considerations. By
soldering the track together, I had fewer voltage dropouts, fewer track
alignment problems, and smoother running of the trains. When I dis-
mantled the old layout after moving to a new home and recycling the
track for a new layout, all I had to do was melt the joints at each section
and pull apart.

One tip, though, when soldering, make sure that you use ROSIN-CORE
solder and NOT acid-core. Acid-core solder contains corrosives that will
eat up you track and cause HUGE maintenance problems. Acid-core is
for metal-working applications, whereas rosin-core is for electrical and
electronic applications.

Hope this is helpful.

[Anonymous]

I use silver solder on my layout because it is a better electrical conductor and i don't have to worry about corrosion. I use it to solder my power wires to my tracks and my accessories. It is more expensive but it is worth it by not having corrosion problems.

[Roger Bielen]

Ed,

I believe that Ross track is similar to Gargraves. One of the suggested methods for Gargraves is to use crimp on spade connectors on the wires and just force them into the slit on the underside of the rails. If you decide to solder you'll have to remove the black from the center rail.

With GG I pushed a tinned wire into the slit and then covered it with rosin core solder. As to what wire where, the supply goes to the center rail and the common "U" to either outer rail. It's a good idea to switch back and forth on the outer rail wires, or jumper the two rails, so that both are in the circuit. It also helps if you want to make an insulated section, you don't totally break the circuit.

[nitroboy]

Use a good 100W soldering iron and resin core solder. Solder the feeder leads to the underside of the track before you screw it down. If your track is new, you shouldn't have to solder the pins together. If its old, clean out the inside of the tubes and use fine grit snadpaper on the exposed pins.

Dave