So I need to get to laying my HO scale Atlas code 83 flex track, and I have a question on laying curves with flex track and not having a perfect fit within the curve. So I was wondering if it's okay for me too just start a curve with a full piece and then continue the curve onto the straight without having to cut the last piece at the end of the curve. Thank you
T-bird_the_Great So I need to get to laying my HO scale Atlas code 83 flex track, and I have a question on laying curves with flex track and not having a perfect fit within the curve. So I was wondering if it's okay for me too just start a curve with a full piece and then continue the curve onto the straight without having to cut the last piece at the end of the curve. Thank you
Assuming that you mean the piece of flex is longer than you need for the curve, can the "excess" portion of the piece of flex be made straight: of course!
Dante
I think you're thinking about flex like it was sectional track -- and it's not. Of course, just continue onto the straight with the flex. There's no reason to cut it and introduce more potential for a derailment at the beginning/end of the curve. In fact, it's better to continue the flex uninterrupted once things straighten out and make the joint with the next section somewhere other than at the end of a curve.
Mike Lehman
Urbana, IL
In short, yes. I do it all the time, part of flex track is in the curve, and part is in the straight. In fact that is where I make the easement or transition part of the curve per John Armstrongs book where the curve spirals from a fixed radus of say 32 inches to a straight tangent, with a section that is broader than 32 inches. Real railroads do it and it also makes for a smoother transition for model trains into a straight section of track.
Rio Grande. The Action Road - Focus 1977-1983
Are you talking about the one rail that is longer on the flex track after it has been curved?
South Penn
Whenever possible, I make it a point to have solid flex in the entirety of my curves, all the way from tangent to curve to tangent. I even go so far that if a single piece of flex is insufficient for an entire easement and curve, I will solder 2 or 3 together before I lay it to avoid kinks at the joints.
If I cannot make it around a curve with a single piece of flextrack, I cut the two rails to the same length, remove a couple of ties on the first piece and the second length, solder the two lengths together and continue to bend the second length around the curve into the straight section. Shave the ties you removed thinner so they can be replaced under the joint.