Like Wayne I'm a DC operator. I have been soldering all my rail joints within each electrical control section (commonly called blocks) for 50 years now.
Some blocks are 50-60 feet long.
Because all my block feeders on the mainline run thru inductive dectectors for the signal system, installing feeders every 3-6 feet like many people do with DCC would be very impractical.
My layouts have always been in climate controlled stable environments and expansion/contraction has never been an issue.
I say solder all or nearly all, and possibly make some allowance for expansion.
You can allow some expansion joints and still solder flexible jumpers around those rail joiners.
Shedlon
Keep in mind though that some may say they solder every joint and that they have never had a problem with expansion and contraction issues, that may not be "you". As Diry Harry said: "do you fee lucky"? Think of it as insurance to leave a enough joints unsoldered on straight track to allow for it if it does happen.
Rio Grande. The Action Road - Focus 1977-1983
I solder all rail joints to ensure good conductivity, and have never had a problem with expansion of track or changes in benchwork. The layout room is neither heated nor cooled, as it's well insulated, and a dehumidifier is in use year-round.
When necessary, I have moved or removed soldered-in turnouts easily....simply heat the area where the joiners are located, and when the solder liquifies, use a small screwdriver or the tip of an X-Acto knife to push the joiner clear of the joint - either onto the turnout's rails or onto those of the adjoining track.
Since my layout is DC, I do create gaps in the rails to allow isolation of locos and trains where necessary, but always fill the gaps with ABS plastic, secured with ca and shaped to match the profile of the rails.
I have about 300' of mainline, not counting the double track through seven of the on-layout towns, nor the industrial tracks or those in the five staging yards.
These two wires power the whole shebang...
I clean track, in the conventional sense of that task, only after ballasting track or adding scenic materials near the track. Otherwise, track cleaning is done with my shop vac, fitted with whatever attachment is most suitable for each area - that's usually only once a year, at most.
These methods were recently labelled "old school" (which they are), but they work just fine for my requirements.
Wayne
i don't believe an unsoldered rail joiner is a reliable connector over time (years).
but unsoldered joiners and isolation gaps allow for expansion, both metal and wood.
a feeder can be soldered to every other joiner and that joiner soldered to both rails or ~3 ft sections of track that is soldered together
if a joiner can't be soldered, a wire can be soldered to both rails around it (back side out of sight and where is won't interfere with wheel flanges)
greg - Philadelphia & Reading / Reading
cedarwoodron After laying track I inspected all rail joiners to ensure they were properly fitted. Should I solder those rail joints as well for electrical connectivity? Cedarwoodron
After laying track I inspected all rail joiners to ensure they were properly fitted. Should I solder those rail joints as well for electrical connectivity?
Cedarwoodron
Should is a matter of opinion and circumstance.
IMO, properly fitted joiners holding two tracks snuggly is fine for connectivity. The issues with this are;
Is every joint properly fitted?
Will expansion and contraction of the layout benchwork cause some joiners to become nonproperly fitting down the road?
Will ballasting create diluted glue in the tiny gaps between the base of the rail and the joiners? It doesn't take much.
Will you paint the rails, and therby want to paint the joiners?
There are probably other hazards.
I would say that while unsoldered joiners can work for a long time or even forever, there is greater risk that the connection might be compromised based upon other weaknesses in the layout or other tasks down the road.
I have also soldered joiners after they were compromised with glue and paint. The heat tends to allow the melted solder to replace the goo. So there is no real problem with just doing it as a problem arises down the road.
So its not really an emergency to solder now, but it might hard to figure out later what joint or joints mught be the culprit.
So I would recommend soldering them if you have the time.
Also, some like to not solder turnouts for various reasons. Notably because if a turnout fails, it might be harder to remove and replace it.
I have decided to set aside that concern and will solder every joint on my layout, keeping a few gaps to allow for expansion if the benchwork expands with humidity changes.
I failed to provide for gaps before, and the resulting buckling that can occur to the rails is pretty amazing when you see it.
- Douglas
You will get as many answers here as you get replys; thats typical here.
I solder only the curves and leave the straight sections unsoldered so they can float a bit as insurance if there is any expansion/contraction. I don't expect it but who does? Generally it's most likely when there are swings in temperature and humidity.
I am putting feeders every other joint of 3' flex track. I just installed an 11 track staging yard and if I put feeders on every joint, I'd have a couple hundred feeders to install! That's nuts. I want to make progress.
Soldering isn't just going to improve electrical conductivity. At the very least, I'd recommend soldering any joint on a curve, or one connected to a turnout, for the sake of maintaining alignment, I solder almost every joint, save for a few on straight track that I leave for expansion and contraction.
Rob Spangler
Cedar,
My rule of thumb is that all track either has a feeder or is soldered to a piece of track that has a feeder attached. I dont solder everything to leave some expansion points in the track.
Most track works great when it is laid down but time and scenery glue and paint will degrade electrical connections to track that doesnt follow the aforementioned axiom. It is a bummer to have to go add feeders to dead sections later when you get things looking great with ballast and scenery in place (speaking from experience).
Opinions will vary,
Guy
see stuff at: the Willoughby Line Site
cedarwoodronAfter laying track I inspected all rail joiners to ensure they were properly fitted. Should I solder those rail joints as well for electrical connectivity?
If you depend on long runs of rail without feeders, as in the old version of common-rail wiring, the soldering may bring down effective resistance across the joints, and more importantly assure good conductivity over time, where corrosion or dirt might affect the relatively constrained contact between joiner and rail.
You do not need a great deal of solder or fill the joint to get the advantage for conductivity. But be sure to use a good no-clean flux to ensure good contact.
As noted, soldering is not strictly needed if you made sure your joiners were well-aligned and tight as final-installed. I do believe, though, that soldering them in curves is wise in any event.
I for one believe in the liberal use of feeders, and soldering any joints leading to rail sections without a feeder.
Note instructions in other threads about 'best practices' to make insulating gaps, if you decide to have them.