Follow along as I explain MY sure-fire method for laying flextrack around a curve. Most flextrack will spring back to its original shape once you remove it from the section you're adding. I realize that there are sure to be posters with their own method, but this is what works for me.
Done this way, there are no shiny spots on the sides of the rail where the rail slides along the ties. Clean the railtops with a paper towel dampened with paint thinner.
Marlon
See pictures of the Clinton-Golden Valley RR
Sounds like the key is using CA on the rails to hold the curve.
With Atlas flex, I get the same results by pre-flexing the track so that it will hold the radius I want without using any fastenings of any kind. Also, I paint my track in place, which allows me to work in subtle weathering touches picked up while railfanning my prototype 'back when.'
Painted in place after installation, there won't be any shiny spots, except the railheads. Those had better be shiny...
As for solidly butted rail joints - I laid some track that way about 18 months ago. After undergoing the usual midsummer heat, the side thrust loosened the caulk I use to anchor flex track and developed a slight but noticeable 'side-blister' kink at each outer-rail joint. I had the pleasure (NOT) of re-laying it last month - with appropriate gaps. Solid butting works if your layout is in a room with climate control like an electronics lab. In a non-climate-controlled garage in the Mojave Desert...
Chuck (Modeling Central Japan in September, 1964 - in Southern Nevada)