I recently salvaged some track from my old layout, and the rail joiners are in rough shape. Do I have to use them or can I just solder the track together without the joiners?
IMHO use joiners. New ones are cheap. If you must use the old ones, clean them and then solder. The joiners will make the soldered joint MUCH stronger and less likely to kink on curves. Don't forget to leave periodic expansion gaps. Joiners are good here too.
Karl
The mind is like a parachute. It works better when it's open. www.stremy.net
I'd say replace the joiners. I don't think that butt soldering the track together is practical.
in a pinch you can fake it with a short piece of small, solid copper or brass wire. i tin the wire first and then hold it against the side of the rails at the joint with a modified clothes pin while soldering. a little dab of electrical soldering paste makes for a neat job. if it is on the back side of the track, chances are no one will ever see it anyway.
grizlump
I guess you could get away with just ensuring excellent alignment and then soldering feeders to each length of track. Nothing says you have to use joiners, but they do a really good job of lining up the rail sections for you. Electrical transmission is iffy, but alignment is really, really, good.
Joiners are really inexpensive and they make trackwork a lot easier IMO.
-Crandell
#722I recently salvaged some track from my old layout, and the rail joiners are in rough shape. Do I have to use them or can I just solder the track together without the joiners?
As a practitioner of handlaid track without rail joiners, I would say the others have given some pretty solid general advice. You don't mention what is rough about the rail joiners - blobs of solder, splayed too much to hold rails in alignment, bent in the vertical plane, crimped too many times in an effort to make them work, etc. You also don't mention whether you are re-using Snap Track or flex track. And if it's flex track you are re-using, does it hold the curve or does it spring to a straighter position? All these factors make a difference in the success of laying track without rail joiners.
I see 2 options based on the scanty info:
1) To do without rail joiners you must have a method of holding track in position that is easily adjusted, yet secure. You have to adjust the track until the horizontal and vertical alignment of the rail ends is spot on, and then secure the rails in that position. In handlaid track, the method I used is at least a 2 spikes per tie per rail for the last inch of the rail. Unless you use silver solder, butt soldering of rail is not going to hold against any real stress. Pre-curving of the rail on all curves is critical to avoid stresses throwing the rail end alignment out over time (it's a good thing even with rail joiners, but critical without). Without rail joiners, you also need a wire feeder or jumper to every length of rail.
2) Remove and replace the rail joiners with new. If you solder your rail joiners to the track, you can get by with cutting rail joiners in half length-wise. Again, I believe the key to long-lived trackwork without problems is both getting the alignment right to begin with and relieving any horizontal stresses in the rails (spring in the track) before attaching together.
A final thought - if the rail joiners are in rough shape because of twisting or flexing of the two track sections to get them apart, you need to check carefully for vertical dips in the rails as you re-lay the track. Track rails are fairly easy to kink and bend in both the vertical and horizontal directions. And vertical dips on curves will put your trains on the ties every time. Use a ruler (bendable ruler on curves) as a straight edge against the rail top to check for vertical dips or humps. These need to be fixed to avoid derailments.
my thoughts, your choices
Fred W
fwright #722 I recently salvaged some track from my old layout, and the rail joiners are in rough shape. Do I have to use them or can I just solder the track together without the joiners? As a practitioner of handlaid track without rail joiners, I would say the others have given some pretty solid general advice. You don't mention what is rough about the rail joiners - blobs of solder, splayed too much to hold rails in alignment, bent in the vertical plane, crimped too many times in an effort to make them work, etc. You also don't mention whether you are re-using Snap Track or flex track. And if it's flex track you are re-using, does it hold the curve or does it spring to a straighter position? All these factors make a difference in the success of laying track without rail joiners. I see 2 options based on the scanty info: 1) To do without rail joiners you must have a method of holding track in position that is easily adjusted, yet secure. You have to adjust the track until the horizontal and vertical alignment of the rail ends is spot on, and then secure the rails in that position. In handlaid track, the method I used is at least a 2 spikes per tie per rail for the last inch of the rail. Unless you use silver solder, butt soldering of rail is not going to hold against any real stress. Pre-curving of the rail on all curves is critical to avoid stresses throwing the rail end alignment out over time (it's a good thing even with rail joiners, but critical without). Without rail joiners, you also need a wire feeder or jumper to every length of rail. 2) Remove and replace the rail joiners with new. If you solder your rail joiners to the track, you can get by with cutting rail joiners in half length-wise. Again, I believe the key to long-lived trackwork without problems is both getting the alignment right to begin with and relieving any horizontal stresses in the rails (spring in the track) before attaching together. A final thought - if the rail joiners are in rough shape because of twisting or flexing of the two track sections to get them apart, you need to check carefully for vertical dips in the rails as you re-lay the track. Track rails are fairly easy to kink and bend in both the vertical and horizontal directions. And vertical dips on curves will put your trains on the ties every time. Use a ruler (bendable ruler on curves) as a straight edge against the rail top to check for vertical dips or humps. These need to be fixed to avoid derailments. my thoughts, your choices Fred W
#722 I recently salvaged some track from my old layout, and the rail joiners are in rough shape. Do I have to use them or can I just solder the track together without the joiners?
Sorry about not clarifying what I mean. Most of the joiners have solder still stuck to them, and some are bent beyond repair.
#722Sorry about not clarifying what I mean. Most of the joiners have solder still stuck to them, and some are bent beyond repair.
My recommendation would be to spend the time removing the old rail joiners, and replace with new. There is no easy way to re-use a rail joiner with solder in it. And a bent rail joiner is not going to give a nice drip to align the rails the way a new one would. Solder wicking and suction devices will help remove the excess solder once you get the joiner off the track.
If it's the work in removing the rail joiners that bothers you, then toss the track. With well-bent rail joiners, I'd want to carefully check the track rail ends to make sure they are still properly held in place, and haven't been kinked or bent. And you may struggle to remove soldered rail joiners without melting some ties. Some old track is worth salvaging, some isn't. The decision point usually comes down to your wallet and the value of your time.