Joining Fast Track turnouts and Atlas track

[tstage]

Greetings! 

I'm in the process of switching out some Atlas #4 turnouts for Fast Track (FT) #5s.  For those of you who have mated FT turnouts with Atlas track, did you have any height discrepancy between the tops of the rails at the joint?  It appears that, although the rail height of the ME and Atlas Code 83 track rail are the same, the FT ties are ~0.002" taller than the Atlas ties.  Hence, the discrepancy.

I would prefer NOT having to sand the tops of the joints to even them out.  (I'd like to keep the rails shiny and unscratched so that they don't collect as quickly.)  However, I don't really see another alternative.  Does the same problem occur when using ME flex-track?

Also, I've noticed that the Atlas rail joiners are a bit loose on the ME rail.  I could flatten the tops of the rail joiners just a bit to rectify the problem.  Do ME rail joiners fit tighter?

I will be using a track bus to power/wire the turnouts.  And I will not be soldering the FT turnouts to their adjacent pieces of track.  The rail joiners will only serve to maintain alignment, in order to allow the turnout to "float" slightly.

Thanks for the help.

Tom

[NeO6874]

I would prefer NOT having to sand the tops of the joints to even them out.  (I'd like to keep the rails shiny and unscratched so that they don't collect as quickly.)  However, I don't really see another alternative.  Does the same problem occur when using ME flex-track?

What about sanding the bottom of the ties or shimming the atlas track a bit?  

[dehusman]

Shim the low track up at the joint.

Dave H.

[UpNorth]

According to FT support site, there is no height difference between FT and atlas code 83 with either their 1/16 or 1/32 PC board ties.  You did not use their Quickties or TwistTies and used something else, I wonder.

[tstage]

UpNorth,

Yea, I read that very same thing on the FT web site yesterday myself but I'm not sure I believe it.  The turnouts did come with the wooden Quickties and I measured them and the Atlas ties with calipers.  The Quickties are ~0.084" tall and the Atlas ties are ~0.082" tall.  The PC board ties - either the 1/16 (0.063") or the 1/32 (0.031") - won't even touch the ground, so they aren't even an issue.

I had thought about shimming.  But does anyone know where I can find shim that thin?  Does Evergreen Products make sheets that one in 2-mil (0.002") thickness?  Paper won't work because it's 4-mil (0.004") thick.  Filing the joints will work.  I would just prefer not to, if I can help it.

Thanks for the help and suggestions so far!

Tom

[dehusman]

I guess one question would be why are you concerned about a .002" mismatch?

.002 is less than a scale 3/16 of an inch.  On a prototype railroad class 3 track rail end missmatch is allowed to be 3/16", on class 4 & 5 track its 1/8".  So you are within one SCALE 16th of an inch of standards permitted on normal prototype mainline track.

If you HAVE to fix it:

1. Use a thinner paper shim (tissue paper). 
2. Spread a thin layer of spackle over the area on the low side of the joint and sand it until the rails line up.
3. Use latex caulk (or white glue) under the track on the low side, and attach the track so the rails line up.  When the caulk or glue cures it will hold the track at the "shimmed" height.
4. Find two shims that differ by .002" (i.e one piece of paper .005" thick and one .007" thick).  Put the thinner one under the tall track and the thicker one under the shorter track.

Dave H.