What we layout builders could really use!

[Gandy Dancer]

Wouldn't it be nice if ... anyone ... produced an unobtrusive electrical connection for track leads?

Yes but in order to get the wire to connect to it, I don't know how it could be unobtrusive.  The smallest possible wire holding screw or pinching apparatus I can think of would still be enormous in terms of the scale.  Even the 1-70 screws I use for powering Atlas frogs look large and out of place.

Perhaps they could come up with a small nickle-silver snap clamp that you could easily solder or otherwise affix the lead wire to, and then press fit the clamp to the underside of the track.

I am having a hard time imagining what is being described.  Do you mean something like a scissor spring thin enough to go between the rail and the plastic under-ridge, or is this something that would be used "between" ties where the under-ridge has been removed that grips both sides of the bottom of the rail?  LGB makes some of these for G-gauge but in terms of scale they are enormous and anything but unobtrusive.

track joiners could be made to incorporate a lead wire.

However, from what I read, they want $2.75 for two leads (code 83) and that is way too expensive for the 100 or more that a medium size layout would use.  I would rather see some small clamp like devices that you could buy in bulk and attach your own color/size wire to.

Those have existed in some form or another since before I got into the hobby around 1960.  No one in their right mind pays full retail for such an item.  One has to hunt around for better "street" prices and sales.  A few years ago I picked up a case of them (about 1 gross) at at a LHS for less than $0.05 each because they were brass rather than NS.  

When I was in N-scale I would thread a wire through the rail joiner roll (loop?)on the top beside the rail before I pressed the tracks together.  It worked great, the wire held the joint tighter than it would have without it.  This of course means the joiner can never be used a second time.  Once it is taken apart the joiner has to be thrown away.  I don't know why this wouldn't work for HO as well if the wire gauge was big enough (20 gauge?) to fill that little roll on the joiner.   I've just aways found soldering so quick and easy, I've never tried it.

[rayw46]

I'm really surprised at the "negativity" this post has gotten over a simple suggestion that might help in the building a layout.  Usually, I have found fellow model railroaders to be open to suggestions, and typically would build on them.  

Mobilman44  

Counter-suggestions are not an indication of negativity.  The fact that most of the responders didn't really see a need for what you are suggesting is not a sign of negativity either.  To be perfectly honest , every suggestion that someone may offer doesn't necessarily have merit or offer something to build on. So keep working at your ideas, you may just come up with the better mousetrap.   

[ndbprr]

I am building a corridor layout of the PRR that is six tracks wide per the prototype and 20' x 40' so I understand your wanting to  find a fast and dependable way to connect leads.  It ain't easy!  I am drilling through the web of each rail and soldering from the outside before installing using telephone wire.  I think  that will be easier to find and fix a bad connection rather than soldering to the bottom of the rail.  That level of work is apparently required for trouble free DCC operation.  It takes a little longer but hoepfully will prove worthwhile.  As to a quick method you could always use Atlas terminal tracks and screw the wires to them. 

[MisterBeasley]

Take a short piece of track, maybe 6-9 inches long.  A standard piece of Atlas snap-track is fine.  Make sure the ends are clean and even.  Slip a rail joiner on each end of each rail.  Place the track upside-down on your workbench.  Take a foot-long piece of #22 wire, strip about 3/8 inch off one end and place it crosswise on one of the rail joiners.  Solder it in place.  Repeat with the other 3 joiners.  Wait for them to cool off, and repeat.

Do half of these with black wires, and half with red.  In a short time, you'll have a pile of rail joiners with feeder wires, for a fraction of the cost of the Atlas ones.  And yours will be color-coded, too.

[loathar]

If you made some kind of under rail clamp, you'd still have to cut some of the webbing between the ties to get at the metal rail.  No negativity here. I personally haven't found a need for anything simpler than a soldering iron.
I wish they'd come out with a more realistic looking scale rail joiner. Something that looked like a tie bar with little bolts on it.

[mobilman44]

Actually, I've been in the hobby since the mid-50s, but did not get into HO until the mid 60s. 

And yes, I certainly can attach wire leads to track connectors myself, and I have actually done just that.

And as far as soldering to the bottom of the rail, well you still have to cut out a piece of the tie strip to do so.

I'm really surprised at the "negativity" this post has gotten over a simple suggestion that might help in the building a layout.  Usually, I have found fellow model railroaders to be open to suggestions, and typically would build on them.  

Mobilman44  

[loathar]

Mobilman44

I believe that those are Atlas Joiners. You mentioned you would need a hundred or so for a medium layout? Is that not overkill?

I thought that too, but when you figure the rule of thumb is a drop every 6', then that's only 600' of track. I consider my layout small and I'll have about 250' when I'm finished.

I guess most people are just comfortable soldering their own.

[dehusman]

Perhaps they could come up with a small nickle-silver snap clamp that you could easily solder or otherwise affix the lead wire to, and then press fit the clamp to the underside of the track. 

Why not just solder the wire to the bottom of the rail and cut out the middleman?

Dave H.

[mobilman44]

Gee guys, I'm trying to suggest an improvement here!   

To answer your comments:

I don't care to snip off unneeded connections as at best they are unsightly.  So, I de-solder them, and then re-weather that spot. 

I consider my layout medium size, and its wired for DC.  It is 15x11 with 3 levels.  I have 44 blocks (I prefer most sidings to be a separate block).  So with just one set of leads for each block, you would need 44 pairs - or 88 separate "connectors".   In addition, the larger blocks have 2 or 3 connections to eliminate voltage drop.  So using 100 or so connectors is not out of the question.

As I understand, those using DCC like to have connectors every 5 or so feet, with a couple of folks stating that every track section (I assume that to be 3 ft flex) has a connector.  This came up a couple of times in forums concerning DCC usage.

Note that up until the last few years, I strongly felt that the only good connection was a soldered one.  However, I've been convinced that there are a lot of new (to me) solderless joiners and suitcase connectors and such out there that work just fine.   In my recent rewire I used a lot of these, and tested each one with a meter, and they all worked fine.

Anyway, it was only a thought - and as I'm not going to design and manufacture the thing, it doesn't matter to me.

Mobilman44

  

[don7]

Mobilman44

I believe that those are Atlas Joiners. You mentioned you would need a hundred or so for a medium layout? Is that not overkill?

[tomikawaTT]

What brought this on was that yesterday I was finishing up my rewiring project and had some leads I had to "de-solder" and reconnect elsewhere.  I finished the job, and all went well, but it could have been a lot easier/faster to accomplish.

ENJOY (and thanks for the "lead"),

Mobilman44

"'De-solder' and reconnect elsewhere?"

In the unusual event that I have to de-activate a rail drop I simply use an end cutter and snip it off where it comes through the underside of the subgrade.  A substantial percentage of my drops are imbedded in the solder of frogs and turnout guardrails, not exactly practical sites for a de-solder job.

IMHO, soldered rail power connections are the only way to go, so I won't be using those rail joiners with soldered-on leads - not even the ones I got free.*

*My sister, a yard-sale junkie, frequently picks up unwanted train sets (and, occasionally, better-quality items) for peanuts, then gives them to me.  This has provided me with a boxful of cheap power packs, a bunch of trade goods and some useful kitbash fodder.  Sectional track with Code 100 N/S rail becomes donor material for my hand-laid specialwork.  I have several sets of those wired joiners in my uncataloged junque.

Just my .  Other opinions may differ.

[mobilman44]

Well, that is one answer, and I sure have not seen those before.  

However, from what I read, they want $2.75 for two leads (code 83) and that is way too expensive for the 100 or more that a medium size layout would use.  I would rather see some small clamp like devices that you could buy in bulk and attach your own color/size wire to.

I wrote Atlas with the suggestion, and who knows, maybe they will latch onto it and produce such an item and advertise the heck out of it.

What brought this on was that yesterday I was finishing up my rewiring project and had some leads I had to "de-solder" and reconnect elsewhere.  I finished the job, and all went well, but it could have been a lot easier/faster to accomplish.

ENJOY (and thanks for the "lead"),

Mobilman44

[steinjr]

 

You mean like these ?

http://www.walthers.com/exec/productinfo/150-553

Smile,
Stein

 

[mobilman44]

Folks,

As an HO layout builder since the 1960s, it just hit me yesterday that there is one item we lack that could make our life a bit easier. 

Wouldn't it be nice if the good folks at Atlas, (or Walthers, Peco, or anyone), produced an unobtrusive electrical connection for track leads?  Yes, I know that some of the "toy" sets have electrical hook-ups, but for those of us using flextrack or handlaid track, they are unacceptable. 

Perhaps they could come up with a small nickle-silver snap clamp that you could easily solder or otherwise affix the lead wire to, and then press fit the clamp to the underside of the track.  Or, perhaps track joiners could be made to incorporate a lead wire.  And, this would be a help to both the DC and DCC operators too!

Hey, I can solder as good as the next guy, but if I had something like this available, I would quickly retire my iron..................

Your thoughts??????????

ENJOY,

Mobilman44