Soldering track joiners

[floridaflyer]

Don't believe the track expands or contracts very much. The benchwork on the other hand can move quite a bit as humidity changes. I painted the benchwork with oil based enamel to help reduce the effect of humidity.  

[hornblower]

I would think that wide humidity changes mainly affect the benchwork while high temperature swings (what I experience in Fullerton, California as does Mel in Bakersfield) affects both the benchwork and the track itself (rail expansion/contraction).  Either way, the result is trackwork that gets pushed around from where we originally placed it.  I hand lay all of my turnouts and found that I had to cut wider gaps at the frogs due to rail expansion during high temperatures closing the original narrow gaps cut with a razor saw. Fortunately, using the razor saw to recut the closed up gaps during a high temperature period solves the problem on turnouts already installed on the layout.  Once I discovered this problem, I cut the gaps of all newer turnouts using a mini hack saw with a slightly thicker blade prior to installation on the layout.

Instead of soldering all of the rail joiners, I prefer to use N scale Code 80 joiners on my HO scale Code 83 track and solder power feeders to every section of track.  I also try to account for rail expansion/contraction at all rail joints.  Instead of a "standard" rail gap for all joints, I have to take into account the temperature during the time I install my track work (my layout is located inside my finished but not temperature controlled garage).  If the temperature is cool during track installation, I use larger rail gaps to allow for rail expansion in hot weather.  If it is hot during installation, I use smaller gaps so the gaps won't grow too large during cool weather when the rails contract.

 

[RR_Mel]

charlie9

My lifelong experiences have led me to believe that wide variations in humidity are much more of a problem than changes in temperature.

Be happy in your work.

Charlie

 

I’ve never lived around high humidity, I think someone should do a like post and inform new layout builders the do’s and don’ts of humidity problems.

 

I ended up replacing a lot of destroyed track from the constant expansion and contraction of the rails of which also involved a lot of scenery too.

 

I think any advice one can give first time builders would be a great help.  Learning the hard way is tough!

 

Mel

 

 

Modeling the SP in HO scale since 1951

 

My Model Railroad   

http://melvineperry.blogspot.com/

 

Bakersfield, California

[SouthPenn]

I usually solder all my rail joints. But, none of the switches have the main or diversion tracks connected to their respective tracks. There is a gap on both rails. As my railroad is in the basement, I think these gaps have helped eliminate most track walking issues. This wasn't by design, it just worked out that way.

South Penn

[richg1998]

charlie9

My lifelong experiences have led me to believe that wide variations in humidity are much more of a problem than changes in temperature.

Be happy in your work.

Charlie

 

I live in New England where we have cellars. The humidity can get quite high without humidity control and raise havoc with track on Homasote.

Rich

[charlie9]

My lifelong experiences have led me to believe that wide variations in humidity are much more of a problem than changes in temperature.

Be happy in your work.

Charlie

[RR_Mel]

 

I feel the need to relate my experience of soldering track joiners to model railroaders new to the hobby.

 

First I will say that I started my HO scale hobby in 1951 with paper route money and I’ve learned many lessons over 64 years, usually the hard way.

 

I built several layouts in that time frame learning what works and what doesn’t work each time.  Finally after moving to Bakersfield California in 1987 I designed and built my "perfect model railroad layout".  The garage became Mel’s Train Room.  The house we bought was the model home for the tract where we bought our house.  It had all the goodies including a finished garage.  The garage was the tract sales office, carpeted with textured walls and ceiling.  The first owner had removed the air conditioning ducts and carpet so the garage was no longer temperature controlled, after all who needs to cool the garage and a carpet for their cars.

 

I proceeded to build my perfect layout.  I only worked on my layout in the garage when it was workable.  Bakersfield gets anywhere from 100° to 115° for highs from May to October and 20° to 30° for lows from December to February.  The closed up garage would get as hot as 117° during the summer months.

 

I soldered all of my Atlas Flex Track joiners and while I didn’t glue the track down I did use track nails to keep it in place.  Everything went very good for many years, then it happened!  The severe temperature changes over time did their thing to my track by way of expansion/contraction.  I experienced derails everywhere.  Expansion of the rails had broken the plastic rail spikes on the ties on most of my curved track.

 

I wanted to express the need to use expansion joints on layouts located in areas without some type of temperature control.

 

Our garage is now temperature controlled between 58° for the low and 88° for the high.  I added an additional R30 insulation to the attic and reinstalled a small HVAC outlet, enough to keep the temperature variation from 85° before to 30° now, much better than the 30° to 115° it had before.

 

To add a bit of embarrassment to this post, I’m a graduate EE and knew better but I still had to learn the hard way.  I guess I had my MRR hat on at the time.

 

Mel

 

 

Modeling the SP in HO scale since 1951

 

My Model Railroad   

http://melvineperry.blogspot.com/

 

Bakersfield, California