Rail conductivity

[ghelman]

My current Railroad the "Rusty G" is rail powered. It has been up for about three years and I am now in the middle of an enlargement process. In setting up the original layout I used jumpers at each rail connection. This has worked great. But, now that I am enlarging the layout I have temporarily layed some track without the extra trouble of using the jumpers. There seems to be no affect on the running of my trains. Any opinions on going through the extra trouble of soldering jumper wires?


Thanks

[Anonymous]

George
my track has been out side for 5 years and all i do is check and tighten the screws up if need be, or i use split jaw clamps where i have a problem , and i have about 175 ft. of track out side right now and want to add 30 more ft. BEN

[Tom The Brat]

As he has LGB track, there are no screws.

How long has your temporary, jumperless track been down?

Actually, I imagine the joiners will be quite trouble free as they are. You did a very neat job with your jumpers.

[Anonymous]

toby
i didn't see any thing about LGB. I'M not up on it , i have aristo craft. BEN

[Anonymous]

George, consider using Aristo for your new track then you can use the screw fixings, the only solder joint will be on the LGB to Aristo joint. Any future problems in the Aristo track can be solved by clamps as Benny said or by a jumper wire.
Cheers,
Kim
[tup]

[powlee]

George
Should not be any problem with Aristo as you have the screw fixings. I use mostly LGB and has been down for 3 years and some of the joints have lost their conductivity. I have soldered some as you have but it requires a hot day and a hot iron to do the job. Something we have to wait for in the UK.
I am experimenting with 8 BA nuts and bolts drilled through the track and connected with jumper wires. This way I can work in any weather and disconnect if need be. The clamps work out somewhat expensive over here if you have a lot of track.

All the best
Ian P

[Anonymous]

George, my LGB track has been outdoors for eight years and I rely on LGB conductive paste, part #51010. It does the job well.

Regards,
Bill C.
South Jersey

[ghelman]

Thanks for the ideas. Torby your right I do have LGB, but I plan on using Aristo on the new section. The layout really hasn't been out of service for any length of time. I added some switches and I can go ahead run on the old section while I lay the new track. Adding the new switches without soldering is what prompted the thought of not soldering joints because my trains continued to run without any problems. Just wasn't sure for how long. I did buy some Aristo track. It didn't come with any screws. Do you have to buy them seperately or should the track have come with them?

[lgbra]

My LGB track has been out for 9 years, and due to weather expansion and contraction the conductivity between the rails is lousy. My advise is,,,KEEP SOLDERING... I just reccomended to LGB that they sell the railjoiners by the 100 pack. I am replacing all of mine... I also use the paste and hillman rail clamps where needed.

Or, Plan B... go to battery power.. and remote control (I use Locolinc and love it)

[Capt Bob Johnson]

George,
Aristo track comes with the screws embedded in a red wax in the underside of the ties somewhere along the section. You can also buy an extra bag of screws to replace any you lose. You should also have gotten a little hex head blue handled driver for the screws along with the track.

tip: I found that picking up an elmer's glue stick, and just getting a tiny bit on the tip of that driver, would hold the $#^%$#@&% screw on the driver enough to get it started.
While Aristo likes vaseline and the suction it creates to hold the screw, that dosen't work as well as the glue stick if you're working in hot weather!

[Anonymous]

Capt Bob
Thanks for talking about the screws being in the red wax under the ties, I just looked and sure enugh there thay were. being very new to this hobby, I find there is so much to learn about.

[Tom The Brat]

Getting the track screws in is infuriating until you develop the knack. After that, it's just mildly annoying. I second Capt Bob's suggestion of a glue stick and a sack of spare screws.

Typically, there is one screw that just won't go in and takes longer than all the rest combined.

[CandCRR]

I have used the conductive paste and the Aristo screws. I also put a tiny dab of the paste on the hex screw driver so the screws stay in place. I also put stiff white paper under the rail joints I am working on so I can find the screws when I drop them. I will have to try the glue stick idea.

[John Busby]

Hi ghelman
Dont worry about geting the expencive LGB track paste.
Instead go to your friendly Auto parts store and get a good quality graphite grease
its cheeper and works just as well, thats what is on my track joints which are in LGB track that has been down 3 years without problem.
regards John

[ghelman]

Thanks again for all the suggestions. Capt Bob, I did find rthe screws. John the graphite grease is a good idea too. It is Saturday morning here in the US and the weather is suppose to be nice. Hope to put some of these ideas to work. I am enjoying this layout extension project. I have also redesigned the original layout somewhat. Not the track layout it self, but, how I had it layed down. It was pretty much laid on sandcrete foundation around a small pond. Now I have filled in the pond and it is layed on the ground over ballast. I am able to use more live plants this way.
Before

After (In Progress Still)

[Anonymous]

This is one of my favourite subjects. I use LGB connectors and solder all my joins except at points (switches) then I use Hillman clamps. This is recommende by Jack Verducci and everything i have followed of his has wiorked for me.

My track which is in the tropics, has been down for about 2 years and i have no cunductivity problems at all.


Rgds Ian

[ghelman]

Ian, what are you using for soldering? I used to have a Weller soldering gun that worked pretty well. It no longer works. I have tried seberal others up to a 150/450 made by Seras. It looks like I should try and get another Weller.


Thanks