Rail joints

[colvinbackshop]

There seems to be conflicting views regarding the soldering of rail joints. The expansion/contraction issue.
I'm wondering how many of you solder each and every joint, some joints, or none at all.
The reason I ask is:
I have a five turn, double track helix with EVERY joint soldered and have never had a problem and yet have had a problem on a straight run of about 16', also soldered solid, that did a "bulge thing" this fall.
Maybe I need to cut a few expansion joints??!!??

[barrydraper]

I started out soldering rail joints until I found that that lead to kinks in curves with humidity changes. So, now I only solder if it is a short add on rail. If you have an electrical feeder to each section of rail soldering is unecessary and I've nad no kinking problems on the newer track with unsoldered joints.

Barry Draper

[selector]

I would guess that the curved rails on your helix had enough deflection permitted by the way they are adhered to their roadbed that when they expanded they did not have to kink. However, since they expand linearly, when several pieces are aligned in a straight line, and soldered, they have no place to go but sideways.

If you are worried, solder every two, and leave the third joined only by a joiner. Feeders properly placed to the "joiners only" rails will look after continuity if the joiners get too loose.

[Leon Silverman]

If you look at previous topics regarding soldered rail joints, you wil find that contraction and expansion due to humidity is a problem. One solution is to paint the wood ( this is not a problem with foamcore). What may not be obvious is that the wood has to be sealed on All sides, top and bottom, to avoid the movement. Another solution is to avoid a perfectly straight 16' run. If the middle of the track is laid two trackwidths from the ends, this slight curve would be enough to absorb the roadbed movement. Thirdly, this is also a non issue when modelers use latex caulk to attach the track to the roadbed. There apparently is enough give in the caulk to allow the track to self-adjust without kinking.

[HAZMAT9]

I have many switches on my layout which I don't solder in, so I don't have a problem with expansion/contracton issues. The "floating" switches allows for expansion/contraction of the layout. I guess you can leave a very small gap as well when soldering rail joints together.

[2021]

I had this same concern some time back and got the following reply from Andy Sperandeo of MR magazine: solder all rail joints in curves but do not solder them in straight sections. He uses the edge of the NMRA gauge to space his unsoldered track.
Hope this helps, Ron K.

[waltersrails]

i solder some just on one peice of curve on the four corners.

[MickEnright]

Good info here. What are the advantages to soldering joints? Better electrical conductivity? Feeders to every feasible section of track should eliminate that need. Is it to help with aligment/guage issues? Seems that good tracklaying should negate that one, too. So again---sincere question---why should joints be soldered?

Mick

[dacort]

I solder most of my rail joints, but leave some unsoldered in straight sections to allow for expansion. I also make sure to leave a bit of a gap between the rail ends if I'm putting the track down in warm weather. I haven't had too much trouble with this, but I live in an area with a fairly mild climate, too, so that may be a factor.

I think it also depends on the type of flex track you use. If you have the kind that will hold a curve on its own, then soldering may not be strictly necessary. On the other hand, if you have the kind that continually wants to straighten itself, then soldering is the only way I've found to keep it from kinking.

Soldering also helps improve electrical conductivity, though you could also just use separate feeders for each length of unsoldered rail.

[nedthomas]

The club I belong to does not solder rail joints. We solder a jumper wire around every joint so the rail can move with temperature changes. We cut the heat back to 50 degrees when the building is not occupied. The jumper is made from #24 wire and is 2 1/2 inches long. They look like the bonding wires used on the prototype railraods.

[cmrproducts]

I solder all of my joints and have had no kinks in my 2700 feet of track. It has been down now for 5 years and if I were to have problems they should have showed up by now!

I use is 7/16 OSB (Orientated Strand Board) for my subroadbed. Now I know that this just goes against the norms but then again I have had no problems. I also use Homasote on top of the OSB and then use cork under most of the mainlines and passing sidings.

The OSB is painted on the top and sides with the moisture barrier on the bottom. The Homasote is also painted. Now why don’t I have the normal problems that others are having?

Could it be the OSB (due to the large wood chips with the grain set at many different angles? Maybe it expands in all directions and now just one as with dimensional lumber.

But the main thing to remember is that it is working. I run a dehumidifier in the summer and try to keep the humidity below 70% and in the winter I try and keep it higher than 50%.

BOB H – Clarion, PA

[selector]

QUOTE: Originally posted by cmrproducts

I solder all of my joints and have had no kinks in my 2700 feet of track. It has been down now for 5 years and if I were to have problems they should have showed up by now!

I use is 7/16 OSB (Orientated Strand Board) for my subroadbed. Now I know that this just goes against the norms but then again I have had no problems. I also use Homasote on top of the OSB and then use cork under most of the mainlines and passing sidings.

The OSB is painted on the top and sides with the moisture barrier on the bottom. The Homasote is also painted. Now why don’t I have the normal problems that others are having?

Could it be the OSB (due to the large wood chips with the grain set at many different angles? Maybe it expands in all directions and now just one as with dimensional lumber.

But the main thing to remember is that it is working. I run a dehumidifier in the summer and try to keep the humidity below 70% and in the winter I try and keep it higher than 50%.

BOB H – Clarion, PA

Bob, I see it all pretty much your way. [:)] In fact, with three layers under the tracks, it probably permits all kinds of latitude for the changes that make tracks kink. Each slips and accommodates a bit, leaving the track to stay where it's at. And yes, painting the first two layers probably does a fair bit of good, or at least it slows the ingress and egress of moisture...not that a humidifier would allow that. In my case, on Vancouver Island, we begin to get windy rain storms coming off the Strait of Georgia about the end of October, and they happen every other day until end March. The ground is sandy, but it is always moist, so you can imagine how the basement would be after three weeks of the storms. I have used a small dehumidifer for the past 11 months, and it works wonders. For example, if I neglect to run it for a couple of days, I can't lift my access hatch in the middle of my "lake"...or I can't replace it. Once the machine has run for ten hours, in it slips, nice and flush.

-Crandell

[fwright]

The only justification I have for soldering rail joints is that if I don't I end up with kinks at the rail ends on curves. Bending that last inch or so of rail - whether hand-laid or flex track - in a smooth curve is all but impossible for a man of my limited skills. Before soldering my joints, I ended up with a mess of spikes at the rail ends trying to force a smooth curve.

I attach a feeder to every rail so electrical connectivity is not the issue.

The result is that curved track has soldered joints, straight track doesn't. Works for me.

yours in tracking
Fred

[rolleiman]

I solder all of them except where I want gaps for electrical isolation.. I don't really care what anybody thinks of it, this method has worked for me for years.. I've never had a problem with expansion and contraction.. That, could be, because the layout is in a temperature controlled environment though.

Jeff

[Texas Zepher]

QUOTE: Originally posted by colvinbackshop
I'm wondering how many of you solder each and every joint, some joints, or none at all.

Personally, I only solder flex track on curves.

QUOTE: I have a five turn, double track helix with EVERY joint soldered and have never had a problem and yet have had a problem on a straight run of about 16', also soldered solid, that did a "bulge thing" this fall. Maybe I need to cut a few expansion joints??!!??

This is an issue at the club I belong to. They soldered everything. When it warmed up the track kinked. So expansion joints were cut. When it cools down we get gaps in the rails. People see the gaps and want to fill and solder them again. There are a few places that once used to be a nice piece of rail, that now have 4-5 cuts and refills in it.

We did find we had less kinking trouble with the track gluded down really good.

[jecorbett]

Is the potential problem expansion of the wood subroadbed due to humidity or expansion of the rail due to temperature change. I always assumed it was the latter. My understanding is that wood expands cross grain rather than length wise with the grain. If that is true there should be no movement of the rail due to humidity. Now if you are using something other than plywood or solid lumber for subroadbed or you cut your plywood cross grain, then I can see humidity expansion as a problem.