I usually solder to the far/invisible side web of the rail. I use solid 22 gauge copper wire with the bared end kinked two ways....toward the rail and then at 90 deg to run parallel with the webbing.
I force a larger and deeper first bend, the one toward the rail, so that when I push the bared end from over the rail head down, it wants to spring back. It can't because it has butted against the web and up under the rail head, effectively trapped by the web, head, and its own tension. Then, I touch it with hot tip and resin solder for a quick weld, and I'm done.
For economy, I get several such sites ready so that I only need to plug in the soldering iron and heat it once at a go.
Crandell
I use solid wire, soldered to the rail web where it meets the rail base on the side away from the local fascia. (I have very few places on the layout where both sides of the rail can be seen in normal operation.) I also take advantage of such things as guard rails and the wing rails of powered frogs, soldering feeder wires in as reinforcement as well as track power.
If your soldering tool is big enough, solid wire and stranded wire both heat equally fast. Tinning works equally well for both. Another thing I do is add a tiny dab of rosin paste flux. The flux in cored wire solder can be, `Too little, too late.'
I have feeders in service that were installed in this manner in 1980 and have been in continuous service ever since. Since none have ever failed, I must have done something right.
Chuck (Modeling Central Japan in September, 1964)
rrinker Where foam is used for the table, trying to get strnaded wire through a hole to the bottom is like trying to fish wet spaghetti through a nail hole. Solid is much easier to deal with. On my previous layotu that did NOT have plywood under the foam, I didn;t even drill holes for the feeder, the solid wired poked right through. With plywood I have to drill, but I use the smalles bit I cna find. --Randy
Where foam is used for the table, trying to get strnaded wire through a hole to the bottom is like trying to fish wet spaghetti through a nail hole. Solid is much easier to deal with. On my previous layotu that did NOT have plywood under the foam, I didn;t even drill holes for the feeder, the solid wired poked right through. With plywood I have to drill, but I use the smalles bit I cna find.
--Randy
For places where I'm having difficulty fishing wire down through a hole/space (such as your foam) I use a length of brass tube of suitable I.D.
Just insert brass tube where you want the wire to go, then feed wire down through the tube. Once through the foam, ( for instance), simply slide the brass tube out leaving the wire in place.
Thank you very much for all your varied and appreciated replies to my question. Now to give it a try
Michael
I use and like the "track spike" method of feeder wire connection. Years ago, I salvaged a bunch of telephone cables from a trash pile in a vacated commercial building. These cables yielded hundreds of 5' to 10' lengths of 24 gauge solid core wire I have used for various electronic projects over the years. I have found this type wire to be excellent for use as feeder wires as it is of high quality, easily cut and stripped, and easily soldered. I first cut my feeder wires about six inches long (if this length is too short to reach my 14 gauge bus, I extend the bus, not the feeder). I strip the ends of each feeder and then flatten one end of the wire using a pair of small needle nose pliers. I then bend the flattened wire end about 90 degrees to form a hook. I then take a pair of miniature diagonal cutters and trim the flattened end of the hook into a "spike head" shape. I apply flux to the "spike head" and tin with solder. I also apply flux to the rail web where I want to attach the feeder wire and tin with solder. I apply another small amount of flux to the tinned "spike head" of the feeder wire then feed it down into the hole I drilled between the track ties and through the layout deck. I align the "spike head" to nestle into the rail web and sit atop the base of the rail. I then use the back side of a hobby knife blade to hold the spike head against the rail while I touch a soldering iron to the rail and "spike head". Because the feeder wire and rail are already tinned, the last touch of flux will quickly allow the solder on the rail and "spike head" to flow and bond without melting any ties. Since the solder will not stick to the stainless steel of the hobby knife blade, there is no fear of the blade getting stuck in the solder joint. I test the integrity of the solder joint by grabbing the end of the feeder wire underneath the layout and pulling fairly hard. If the wire does not break loose, I am confident it will never break loose on its own. The finished joint looks pretty much like a track spike although its not driven through a tie (some modelers actually drill the feeder wire hole through a tie at the location of the molded track spike but this makes it more difficult to avoid melting the tie during the soldering process). I have found that the solder joint is so small that after painting the track and ballasting, the joint just about disappears. Best of all, the joint is so small and tidy that it doesn't matter whether you solder the feeder to the outside or inside of the rail.
Hornblower
I just use my own version of the Atlas joiners, since I can make a full 48 pack of rail joiners into feeder ones for what one pair of Atlas pre-wired ones cost. No soldering on the layout. Never had a problem, and this is my second layout doign this. Naysayers tell me as soon as I paint he rails, I'm toast as the paint will seep in and insulate the joiners. Well, my rails are painted, and I slop EXTRA paoint around the joiners to make sure it all gets covered and there aren;t dead spots becauseof this.
Modeling the Reading Railroad in the 1950's
Visit my web site at www.readingeastpenn.com for construction updates, DCC Info, and more.
The advantage of the stranded wire is it heats quickly(helps avoid tie damage) and doesn't require pre bending. I and many I know have used it for years. If you tin it properly after twisting there isn't any stray wire issue.
Also if you look at the Atlas rail joiners with attached feeder wires you will see that they use stranded wire too. BTW, many people use those Atlas joiners to avoid having to solder feeder wires.
Richard
LION uses solid wire. Him worries not if it can be seen. Railroads always have cables around their tracks here and there. Him solders to the side of the rail, either inside the gauge or out depending on which is easier to reach. You just have to be careful soldering inside the gauge since a big glob of solder or a proud wire will derail your train. If such happens, just file it down so the wheels will not know that it is there.
1) CLEAN the web of the rail with with a Dremel Brush.
2) A freshly stripped wire should already be clean enough, unless you emulate the LION using 40 year old salvage.
3) Tin both wire and rail.
4) With your left hand, hold the wire to the rail, and with a soldering iron in your right hand, touch it to the joint until the solder properly melts. [if you are left handed, you could hold these things in the other hands.]
5) Tug on the joint to check that it is good, and then push the excess wire under the table. 22 ga wire needs less heat to make the joint than 18 ga wire, but LIONS use the 18 ga because him has lots of leftover snips of this stuff. Use SOLID wire since it has no stray paths to cause problems.
THE LION uses a double hook. First him makes a bend so that there is an 1/8th inch length parallel to the rail, and then another 90 degree bend to point the stock wire down under the table.
The LIONS feeders are about 18" long and lead to the edge of the table where I can connect them to the bus wires (12-14 ga) from the isle. Leave the space under the table for the storage of junk.
ROAR
The Route of the Broadway Lion The Largest Subway Layout in North Dakota.
Here there be cats. LIONS with CAMERAS
Stranded wire can splay out. I use solid AWG 22 wire and bend it to look like a spike. Why? So you can't see it on the track when you are done.
Elmer.
The above is my opinion, from an active and experienced Model Railroader in N scale and HO since 1961.
(Modeling Freelance, Eastern US, HO scale, in 1962, with NCE DCC for locomotive control and a stand alone LocoNet for block detection and signals.) http://waynes-trains.com/ at home, and N scale at the Club.
I don't use hooks, but a few things I have found which help.
1. Use stranded wire.
2. Flux both side of rail and wire. Tin the wire--I do so pretty heavily.
3. Heat the rail side and pretty quickly take the wire to the rail side next to the iron and it should solder right away.
Melchoir,
I think it really comes down to preference more than anything. I solder mine to the bottom side of the rail because it gives me a larger and flatter surface area to solder to. I also like the fact that you can't really see the feeder wire once it's soldered - especially once it's ballasted.
The downside to soldering this way is:
1. You have to do your track laying and soldering simultaneously. I solder the wire to the track then drill the holes through the roadbed/base where the wires will pass through. I also oversize the holes slightly for expansion and contraction of the track. If you've already laid your track, soldering to the side of the rail is really your only option.
2. IF the feeder wire ever breaks or comes loose, re-soldering the feeder again becomes problematic. At that point, I would just drill a hole next to the rail, drop a feeder wire through then solder the wire to the side rail.
With that said, I've never had a single problem with any of my soldered wires coming loose. After I tin the feeder wire, I flatten the end with some smooth-jawed pliers. This increases the surface area of the wire so that it has more contact area with the bottom side of the rail when soldering. And a good-quality soldering iron and flux is a must.
Hope that helps...
Tom
https://tstage9.wixsite.com/nyc-modeling
Time...It marches on...without ever turning around to see if anyone is even keeping in step.
I have two examples of soldering the feeder wire to the rail. One has the wire with a hook fashioned on the end and the the wire is then soldered to the side of the rail. The other has a smaller version of the hook almost like a little spike like hook affair and this is soldered to the bottom of the rail . It gives the appearance of almost like you would have had you spiked the rail. Any comments on which method is better and easier ?