Cut rail joiner or take away tie?

[electrolove]

I can't slide on a rail joiner on my turnout (Walthers/Shinohara code 83) without take away the first tie. So I wonder what is the right thing to do, take away the first tie or cut the rail joiner?

[jwr_1986]

Taking away the tie is the usual way. Just be carefull on the turnout tht it's not one that can throw it out of gauge. If you need to you can shorten the joiner a bit and if it gets short enough that you worry it may come apart youu then just solder it togeter and never have to worry about it again. When your done just slide the removed tie back under so it looks right again.

Jesse

[pedromorgan]

you should be able to just trim the track chair (or what ever you call them over there) you should not need to remove the tie compleatly. if you do you will be left with an unsightly gap in the tie spacing.

Peter

[Anonymous]

Otherwise when you remove the tie you will have to replace it with a slimmer version. I just cut the base plate and thin the tie out a bit. That works for me, it normally stays in gauge nicely. It also depends what scale and product you're using. dd

[TBat55]

I cut rail joiners in half with a Dremel, slide them on, then solder. I think the first few ties are critical on Shinohara 83's, plus I used thicker 0.032" wire instead of 0.025" wire in my Tortoises so the points get a lot of push.

I solder ALL joints just before a turnout so if there's a derailment, it's not the joint. Plenty of other joints that are not soldered (for expansion; with power feeds).

[IRONROOSTER]

QUOTE: Originally posted by TBat55

I cut rail joiners in half with a Dremel, slide them on, then solder. ...

I solder ALL joints just before a turnout so if there's a derailment, it's not the joint. Plenty of other joints that are not soldered (for expansion; with power feeds).

[#ditto] except for expansion joints where I use a full joiner. There i just pu***he ties back on the flex track and put a wood tie under the joiner, sanded to fit.

Enjoy
Paul

[electrolove]

So you mean that you only use a half rail joiner and solder it. In that way you don't have to take any ties away, right?

QUOTE: Originally posted by TBat55

I cut rail joiners in half with a Dremel, slide them on, then solder. I think the first few ties are critical on Shinohara 83's, plus I used thicker 0.032" wire instead of 0.025" wire in my Tortoises so the points get a lot of push.

I solder ALL joints just before a turnout so if there's a derailment, it's not the joint. Plenty of other joints that are not soldered (for expansion; with power feeds).

[Anonymous]

I use a full joiner after carefully removing the plastic ties. Then I place a wood tie or ties, depending on the need, under the joiner, stained to match and sanded to fit.[;)]

[dave9999]

Half of a joiner is fine as long as plan to solder the joint. I did this on my previous
layout and had no problems. I would have done it this time.... my "imatation" Dremel
broke. I really need to buy a real one. That's another bit of experience I learned the
hard way... Don't buy the cheapo, knockoff "Dremel". Good luck, Dave

[bogp40]

It's no problem with replacing the ties. Soldering a railjoiner that close to a tie can damage the spikes anyway. After soldering if needed and laying the track just slip a thinned tie in place. Replacement ties like these only get the tieplate area that would interfere w/ the joiner filed down. File enough off the tie as not to create a hump once fastened down.
Bob K.

[cacole]

Personally, I never solder to a turnout. Turnouts are the only trackwork with moving parts, and will be the first thing to ever fail. They're much easier to change out if they aren't soldered in place.

I use Peco turnouts almost exclusively, and cut out the end crossties to make room for the rail joiner to slide on. Unless you use a full-length rail joiner, it's likely to not hold the rails in proper alignment.

[selector]

Randy Rinker would also advise you not to solder any switches in place. They are the one item of track that can give you problems at any time. So pay attention to cacole!! [:D]

[mondotrains]

Hi,
I used to remove a tie and use a full rail joiner. Then I read somewhere that all you need to do is cut out the "spacing" sections between the ties so that you can slide the end tie on a turnout closer to the next one. After I solder the full rail joiner in place, I then slide the tie back in place...albeit, it will not go back to its original position completely because of the rail joiner being in the way but it's better to have 2 ties close together than to remove a tie completely. Removing the tie completely someties causes the rails at the end of a turnout to pop out of the plastic spikes which can be rather delicate with Walthers code 83 turnouts.

Hope this helps.
Mondo

[loathar]

I like useing N gauge joiners on HO. A little harder to push on but they look better and hold tighter. You can then glue fake bolt bars above them for added realism.

[Anonymous]

I've never soldered the joiners on switches, but I AM a big proponent of soldering joiners.

I'm in the midst of installing 27 Walthers Code 83 switches. Should I solder or not solder the joiners on these switches?

Mark in Utah

[jfugate]

I've replaced my share of turnouts and I also solder the rail joiners on the point end of the turnout (but not the frog end). The way you guys talk, soldering makes it impossible to ever remove things again. It might complicate things just a bit, but the reliable connection is worth it to me and in case you haven't noticed, applying heat to the solder joint will cause it to losen again. [swg]

Actually, I just cut through the joint with a motor tool, then use a soldering iron, metal pick (like a dental tool) and a solder wick to clean up the remnants of the half joiner that's left on the track that remains, then a little bit of filing to finish it off. It's not been that hard for the few times I've had to replace something.

Out of 120 turnouts on the Siskiyou Line and the almost 15 years of the layout's existance, I've replaced maybe 3 turnouts. That is, until my latest project, which involves completely replacing the Medford staging yard ladder with modern DCC friendly turnouts (6 turnouts). In Medford staging, I just cut all the rails with a motor tool and pulled up the board with the yard ladder on it.

I'm carefully relaying and testing the new ladder at the workbench, will attach the tortoises to the turnouts at the bench, then just drop the new ladder in place and reconnect up the tracks with fresh rail joiners, and then resolder the joints.

[jfugate]

And by the way, electro, I always cut 1-2 ties off the ends of each track section and turnout to allow room for rail joiners. Then I come back in later and add new ties (thinner than normal, to allow room for the rail joiners) in the gap. Makes working with the rail joiners very easy, even later if necessary.

[electrolove]

Joe:

Thanks for the answer. One more question.

Someone wrote something about cutting first tie or ties can throw the turnout out of gauge. What is your opinion on that? Is this something that I must watch out for? I'm planning to cut the first tie on my Walthers/Shinohara code 83 turnouts to make room for the rail joiner but I want to be sure before I do it so I don't destroy anything.

[jfugate]

electro:

Cutting just one tie off the end of the walthers turnouts should not be a problem. As long as there is at least one or two ties past the points or frog on each end of the turnout, you should be fine.

In fact, I often cut back the track on the ends of commercial turnouts to get everything to fit. I'm doing that right now on my Medford staging ladder redo project. I'm rolling the video cameras and one of these days may put the step-by-step video of what I'm doing on this project together.

We'll see ... I have several Model RR video project irons in the fire at the moment.

[electrolove]

Joe:

Ok, I will cut the turnouts, one tie only.

I hope you will release some of the video projects for us. I would love to see them. Thanks.

BTW: I just looked at your trackplan, awesome. [bow]