Advice, please: plastic connectors with flex track.

[Anonymous]

Hello, everyone. I have been out of model railroading for over 25 years, but I want to get my children started. We are going to build an HO 4' x 8' foot layout, and I would like to use Code 83 Flex track.

I have perused a number of Atlas layout plans that I would modify to our liking, and I would also use the Flex track instead of pre-cut track. My question: the plans require that plastic rail joiners be placed at certain locations throughout the layout. How do I add the plastice joiners if I'm using Flex track? Thank you for your time. Dan.

[pcarrell]

Same as sectional, with one caution.

On straight track just use them as you would normally.

On curves, make sure your track is WELL secured and will not rely AT ALL on the rail joiner to hold the end of the track in alignment with the next. You will end up with a kink if you don't heed this advise.

Other then that, no problem! [8D]

[Anonymous]

P. Carrell: What if the layout diagram says to insert a plastic connector in a portion of the roadbed that winds up being in the middle of the flex track; do I cut the flex track simply to install the connector?

[MisterBeasley]

I think you'll find that most of the plastic connectors are adjacent to turnouts, anyway, because that's where you would want to have a power cutoff or isolate an area for independent operations.

If you are going with DCC, you will not need to do nearly as much isolation as you have to with DC. You will still need to use plastic joiners for reverse loops and wyes, and you may want to have some sidings you can shut off to completely power down engines, or to turn off the lights in passenger cars when you're not running them.

[Jacktal]

My suggestion...install the flextrack as if there weren't any insulator required.Then,after the track is held firm in place,simply cut a fine gap in the rails with either a fine metal saw,a Dremel cutting wheel or a small file.Insulators aren't necessary once your track is held solid.

I understand your plan is for DC current and block control.If you are to run DCC,most of these insulators (or gaps) won't be required unless you have a return loop or a wye in the design.However,my suggestion is still to cut gaps every three feet or so to allow for possible expansion of your benchwork.You'd then have to install feeder wires to supply current to these sections.My two cents.............

[pcarrell]

These guys are on it!

I will say that I don't cut that many joints for expantion, but I'm climate controled. [8D]

[ARTHILL]

More of same. Modify the plan to put plastic on straight. Use lots of glue and spikes on curves. Adding unsupported gaps after the fact is what I do by acident and it works just fine. Glueing the track to WS foam bed with latex caulk made all the old problems go away. I to am back after 25 years and latex caulk is the best new invention I have found.

[rrinker]

I don't cut any joints for expansion either, because I only solder the joints on curves - before forming a curve I will solder two sections of flex track together. This prevents kinks. I would REALLY try not to have gaps on the curves, or plastic joiners. They just don't have the lateral rigidity of regular metal joiners and it will be VERY hard to keep the track in alignment

--Randy

[roadrat]

I would suggest going with DCC and avoid the gap problem altogether, for a 4' x 8'
layout you could buy the bachman EZ DCC system for less than $75.00 and not have to gap any of the rails.
just my [2c]

bill

[Anonymous]

Thanks, everyone for your great advice. They didn't have DCC when I was railroading. Exactly what is it, how easy is it to use, what components are required, etc.?

[selector]

Gapping the rails COULD be a necessity on any layout if the numbers of locos is high enough that power draws overcome the controller's ability to handle shorts. So, contrary to the gentleman twice above, you probably need at least ONE set of gaps on a small layout. I would suggest you grab a coffee or a beer and commence reading jfugate's excellent clinic on DCC (http://www.trains.com/community/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=36389). You'll soom see that managing shorts in DCC can be a major concern. If it turns out not to be the case for you, at least you will have become educated and answered your questions above in the interim.

Good luck.

[Medina1128]

If you use a Dremel to cut gaps in the rail, make sure you use the thinner cutting disks. The have two different thickness available and you probably won't like the wider gap. I know I didn't. But, I used another MR trick and glued a piece of styrene in the gap with CA (cyanoacrylate) and filed it to the shape of the rail after it had set up completely.

[MisterBeasley]

DCC is Digital Command Control. Instead of "running the track" by applying a voltage according to the speed you want the train to go, you "run the train" by applying a constant voltage, and then sending commands which are only picked up by the desired locomotive. In its simplest form, you need one control station for your whole layout, and a decoder on each locomotive. The "control station" part generally breaks down into separate components: power supply, base module, and hand-held controller.

Before you go any further, you owe it to yourself to try DCC. Maybe find a hobby shop with a layout, or a club, or just a fellow modeller with DCC at home. Yes, it's an investment. The Bachmann offering is at the bottom of the hierarchy - you can get to the 4 or 5 hundred dollar range, too, for a high-end system. The decoders start around $20 MSRP, and you need one for each engine. You can run one non-DCC locomotive at a time, but it will not run as well as decoder-equipped engines.

There are a lot of good on-line references. The best-known around here is Tony's Trains, http://www.tonystrains.com and one of our top-notch forum members has been running a forum-seminar at
http://www.trains.com/community/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=36389

There are many others. Several manufacturers have decoders with sound capability, synchronized to the engine's activity. There are non-mobile decoders for running turnouts, and lights-only decoders for running your passenger cars.

I'd been out of model railroading for 40 years, and I came back around Christmas of last year. I've been greeted by a Brave New World of capabilities, and just as much by a great bunch of new friends, both online and at the train shops and shows. So get your ticket, settle down and enjoy the ride!

[Anonymous]

There are many pros and cons to DCC. Generally better operation of trains, running multiple trains without a great deal of specialized wiring for different areas of the layout, and all kinds of lighting capabilities and possibly sound as well. On the otherhand, there is the cost of the DCC control units, the cost and installation of decoders, and specialized wiring and control for reverse loops and wyes that a newly returned modeler might find daunting for a layout for the "kids"! I would suggest that you get the track down and trains running before a substantial out lay for control.
Will

[Anonymous]

Will: Id I go the traditional DC route, and a year down the road I decide to go DCC, won't I have wasted time, money and energy by not starting with DCC in the first place?
Dan.

[MisterBeasley]

Some of it depends on what you're starting with, and what you need to buy. If you have no locomotives, then you can pave the way by buying "DCC-ready" equipment. (Actually, all modern equipment is pretty easy to upgrade. It's the old stuff that's tricky, because the old motors are typically electrically mounted to the frame, and they need to be isolated.) If you have no power supplies and controllers, though, then you would probably end up buying something for DC that you may not use for DCC. Note that most DCC equipment does NOT come with a power supply, so careful shopping will allow you to buy a power supply that you can use later to power your DCC stuff. (I am powering my DCC box with an old Lionel transformer that I suspect was built in the Truman administration. Seriously.) The biggest saving you'll get from DCC is not having to do complicated block wiring, and you won't need all of those insulators in the rails. On a 4x8 for HO, you probably won't have too much of that to begin with.

So, the short answer is that you can go ahead and start with DC, and upgrade later without too much pain. You can make it even easier if you plan carefully.

[Anonymous]

Plastic connectors work just like the metal ones. You may not understand that you have to remove some ties from the end of the flex track to use either. There is no slot between the rail and ties to slip the connector in. Even on sectional track the slot is not usually big enough for the plastic connectors.

Also, if you use flex track you will have to cut rails. When you bend it for a curve the ends of the rails dont line up anymore. Some tracks have a free floating rail so you can slide it to make one end line up and just cut one rail at the other end.