Is there a product (i.e. solder) used to film small gaps in the rail connections, especially on curves that are a bit crooked?
Welcome to the forums.
I am presuming you mean "fill in small gaps." You can edit your post by going to it and clicking edit, which will appear for you just to the left of the reply spots at the end of your post.
Not quite sure I understand your question. Are you refering to the spaces between rail ends on the pieces of sectional track? Do you have your rail joiners in place? Though I am not familiar specifically with Kato sectional track, any sectional track that I have seen with built in roadbed holds the track in alignment. Kato is highly regarded, so I would expect it to have a good system to hold the sections together and in line. Any gap should be small and not effect the running of the trains.
If you are not using the track in a pre-designed plan, are you stretching or jamming connections due to a slight misalignment It can happen easily. I used regular sectional track with cork and had to be very careful to use the right length pieces so as not to kink the joints. Even a slight misalignment can cause problems.
I don't think soldering would be a good idea, as it would be difficult to keep the plastic roadbed from being damaged by the heat. Not sure, but have never heard of anyone doing it. Not that it can't be done.
Good luck,
Richard
I have a oval layout with a couple of turnouts and a yard all using Kato Unitrack (N-Scale) and I haven't had any problems with gaps. The roadbed joiner do a great job of snugging the rails together. The only problem I have experienced is a slight height mismatch in the rails, not enough to cause any problems, just noise.
Thank you, Richard. I did indeed mean "fill" and not "film". I guess I don't truly have an issue as the Kato unittrack certainly joins together fine, but there are two instances where I had to place the track slightly askew and there is say, maybe an 8th of on inch separation and I notice the slightest glitch when one of my engines rolls over it. I thought maybe there was some liquid metal to drop in there. Oh well. Thanks for th erply!
Rather than fill the gap, take a very small facet out of the corner of the railhead so there's nothing for a flange to catch as it rolls by. the facet should be about 3mm along the rail and no more than about 0.5mm wide between the top and side of the railhead.
Due to climactic conditions, my layout has numerous rail joints that open up to 1/8 inch or more. That tiny bit of metal removal has made derailments a most uncommon phenomenon, even when the rail gaps are widest early in the morning in January. (In midafternoon in August the rail ends are solidly butted together!)
Chuck (Modeling Central Japan in September, 1964 - in a Mojave Desert garage)
garypcohentruly have an issue as the Kato unittrack certainly joins together fine, but there are two instances where I had to place the track slightly askew and there is say, maybe an 8th of on inch separation and I notice the slightest glitch when one of my engines rolls over it.
Because of the limits of sectional track a little fudging is often necessary to make everything line up.
Reduce the affect of the of skew by speading it among a number of joints instead of at one.
I tried to sell my two cents worth, but no one would give me a plug nickel for it.
I don't have a leg to stand on.