Received Atlas FlexTrack Today – How do I connect them! - NEWBIE Question

[Anonymous]

Ok, so please be gentle in your response. I’m a newbie.

I just received 30 feet of Atlas Super-Flex HO track that I plan on mounting in my son’s room.

The track looks great, but I seem to be missing the “ties?” …that connect each piece of 3’ track together.

I really don’t want to solder each piece together, so what would be the correct name of the components I need to lock each piece together?

I’m guessing it’s a small metal “clamp” that goes on each rail that locks them together.


I need to know the correct name for them so I can purchase them on the internet.

Much appreciated!
Mike

[Anonymous]

They are called rail joiners. They, well, join the rail. Many people will then solder the joiners, especially on curves, to help prevent kinks. There are threads with instructions for that if you search.

[joeyegarner]

Yep, and here is a link to walthers if you can't find them elsewhere.
http://walthers.com/exec/search?quick=rail+joiners&quicksrch_butt.x=34&quicksrch_butt.y=8

[loathar]

Flex track is used for a more permant layout. (not a temporary one) The rail joiners as mentioned above connect the rails together(simple, right?) With flex track on curves you really need to solder the joints together.(and nail the track down to a wood base board) After cutting and fitting the track together on a semi -permanant layout , you will have "scrap " peices of track left over. Simply take a knife and cut the ties of the "scrap" peices and fit the ties under the gaps on the semi- permanent track.
This is basic info-Don't be afraid to ask for more help if you need it.
GOOD LUCK!

[dave9999]

Flex track is a tricky thing. In order to avoid kinks and the rails from separating, you
almost have to solder the joints along with using joiners. You will also have to cut
the rails to length. Curves will cause the rails to become uneven.

Soldering sounds intimidating at first, but it's pretty simple once you get the hang
of it. Good luck, Dave

[dave9999]

Loathar,
I see you're a little quicker with the typing[:D] Dave

[Anonymous]

THANKS!

Found'em! I'm guessing that the plastic versions will do nothing for conductivity.

Once you gave me the correct name of the component, I found 144 of the Atlas brass/nickel rail joiners on eBay for $7.00 including shipping. ...Buy it Now.

You guy's rock! Seriously! All of the local hobby shops in my area have closed. There is nowhere else for me to go for help.

Thanks for your Patience!

OB1 (read:forums) ... you're my only hope! .... :)

[dave9999]

The plastic joiners are for isolating sections of track. You will need the metal
joiners. And seriously consider the soldering suggestions. Good luck, Dave

[Anonymous]

Copy that! As soon as I received the flex track in the mail, I bent the first piece. It became obvious that I'll need to "trim" the rail down a bit.

This brings up a good question, Since only one of the rail "moves" when you bend the track, what should I use as the inside rail on turns, or doesn't it matter....

As an FYI.. I DO plan to tack the track down in a permanet layout. One Big Square/Circle around the perimeter of my son's room. ...but I'd like to do this without soldering...if possible.

Thanks again for the help!
~Mike

[dave9999]

I hate to beat this to death[:)] But, the rails need to be soldered while straight and then
bend the radius that you need. You will also need to remove a few ties from each piece.
You can slip the ties back under after you have the track in place.

If you don't want to solder, you may want to consider some sectional track for your curves.
This way you will avoid the kinking and the soldering. But it also limits you to the curves available.
Good luck, Dave

[DavidJ611]

A few thoughts:

You don't mention whether your flex track is "nickel silver" or brass, but if it's new, it's most likely NS. Anyway, although brass rail joiners will work ok with NS track and vice-versa, you'll be best to stick with NS joiners for NS track. Why? Corrosion resistance. NS is track clearly superior to brass in that regard, and less troublesome to keep clean for smooth operation of your trains. The rail joiners will oxidize over time, just like the rail, and especially if you do not solder the joints, this oxidation can dimini***he electrical conductivity of the track between the power supply and the locomotive. For a large loop, this effect can be more pronounced. A simple no-soldering-required solution is to provide multiple feeder wires to the track around the loop, but I digress...

I cannot emphasize stongly enough how important it is to avoid kinks in the track joints. Kinks and gaps in the rails are two of the most common causes of derailments. Derailments are at best an unwelcome annoyance [:(!] which spoil the fun of "playing trains" and at worst, a catastrophe that could sent a prized locomotive or rolling stock tumbling to an early death on the floor. [xx(][:(] If you want to avoid soldering, I highly recommend you consider Dave9999's advice to use snap track for the curves. Not to discourage you from using flex track, but if you're just starting out, you'll very likely appreciate the ease of snap track (at least for the curves).

If you do decide to try your hand at laying the flex track in the curves, you can lay it with the sliding rail on either the inside or the outside of the curve. However, I find it's easier to keep the sliding rail on the inside. That way there's less trimming of excess ties. You will need a good razor saw, rail nippers or a motor tool with a cutoff wheel to cut the rail and a small file for deburring the cut rail. A good sharp hobby knife comes in handy for trimming ties.

I hope this advice is helpful to you. Good luck, and Happy Model Railroading! [:)]

-Dave

[selector]

See http://www.handlaidtrack.com/ for an hour and fifteen minute downloadable video that you can watch on your computer. The video is about making your own turnouts, but you will learn a great deal about soldering.

I hope this helps.

-Crandell

[chateauricher]

If you plan carefully to avoid any joints on a curve, you can avoid having to do any soldering. Most kinks only occur at joints on curves which is why they should be soldered.

[rolleiman]

That's going to lead to some pretty tight curves, to the tune of 18" radius.. Not the best situation since one of the locos he asked about was a 4-8-4... Once you have Northerns on the brain, it's a tough thought to shake.

Jeff

[chateauricher]

QUOTE: Originally posted by rolleiman
That's going to lead to some pretty tight curves, to the tune of 18" radius.. Not the best situation since one of the locos he asked about was a 4-8-4... Once you have Northerns on the brain, it's a tough thought to shake.

Where does he mention running a 4-8-4 ??? Or any locomotive, for that matter ? I've read over all 3 of Mike's (Defiantly) posts in this thread several times, and I don't see any mention of any locomotives of any kind.

Using a single 30" piece of flextrack to form a 90 degree curve will result in a radius of 19.09". While it is tight (particularly for HO), its not totally unusable.

---

EDIT: I should have based the calculations on a 36" piece of flextrack, not 30". [#oops]
For a 36" piece, the answer is : 22.91".

[rolleiman]

In his other threads where he is asking about the trains themselves.. You know you Can click on the users name and see what else he/she has posted. It isn't that difficult. HO flex track by the way is 36 inches long unless you are talking Shinohara which is (or was) sold in 1 meter sections.. 18" radius was a quickie guess, I didn't get out the calculator to actually figure it out.. A quick guess based on 25+ years of experience building layouts. I did not say it was unusable, just tight for some of the trains he had asked about.. Read his other threads and you'll discover that he wants to build a loop around his 3 year old son's room. A case which affords the oppertunity to set up wider radii.

[chateauricher]

QUOTE: Originally posted by rolleiman
In his other threads where he is asking about the trains themselves.. You know you Can click on the users name and see what else he/she has posted. It isn't that difficult.

Yes, I know how to do that.

But since he never mentioned anything about any locomotives or rolling stock with his question in this thread, how are we to know ??? If the size of his existing equipment is going to impact the geometry of his tracks, he should have included that information. We can only work with the information provided — we're not mind-readers.

QUOTE: (...) I did not say it was unusable, just tight for some of the trains he had asked about.

I do agree with you that an 18" radius curve is tight for HO.

QUOTE: Read his other threads and you'll discover that he wants to build a loop around his 3 year old son's room. A case which affords the oppertunity to set up wider radii.

Considering his question in this thread was on how to connect sections of flextrack while avoiding soldering, the location of the layout really is of little importance.

---

[#oops] Correction : I miscalculated the radius for a 90 degree curve using a single piece of 36" long flextrack. The correct radius would be 22.91" (not 19.09"). That is a more workable radius, depending on what you plan to run.

[rolleiman]

QUOTE: Originally posted by chateauricher


Yes, I know how to do that.

But since he never mentioned anything about any locomotives or rolling stock with his question in this thread, how are we to know ??? If the size of his existing equipment is going to impact the geometry of his tracks, he should have included that information. We can only work with the information provided — we're not mind-readers.

Same way I knew.. He's made 15 posts total to date.. Not that difficult to look at them and see what else he's asked..

QUOTE:

---

[#oops] Correction : I miscalculated the radius for a 90 degree curve using a single piece of 36" long flextrack. The correct radius would be 22.91" (not 19.09"). That is a more workable radius, depending on what you plan to run.

With Easments??

[chateauricher]

QUOTE: Originally posted by rolleiman

QUOTE: Originally posted by chateauricher
Yes, I know how to do that.

But since he never mentioned anything about any locomotives or rolling stock with his question in this thread, how are we to know ??? If the size of his existing equipment is going to impact the geometry of his tracks, he should have included that information. We can only work with the information provided — we're not mind-readers.

Same way I knew.. He's made 15 posts total to date.. Not that difficult to look at them and see what else he's asked.

I'm not going to argue any more, Rolleiman. I provided information and answers based on the information provided with the original question. If the person posing the question doesn't include some (critical) information, then I cannot be held responsible for the usefulness of my answers.

It just goes to show, that if you're asking for help and advice, provide as much information as possible (the scale used; the size and type of locomotives and rolling stock used; the time-period being modelled; the roadnames you prefer; the control system (DC vs DCC) being used (or comtemplated; etc.)). The more information you provide, the more useful the answers we can offer. Do not assume we know what scale you're using or the type of equipment you run on your tracks, etc.

QUOTE:

QUOTE:
[#oops] Correction : I miscalculated the radius for a 90 degree curve using a single piece of 36" long flextrack. The correct radius would be 22.91" (not 19.09"). That is a more workable radius, depending on what you plan to run.

With Easments??

You really want to confuse the poor man ?!?! Remember, he's a newbie and probably doesn't know what an easement is, or how to calculate one. You'll note that he began this thread to learn the name of rail-joiners, having originally referred to them as "ties" and "clamps". So I suspect he may not know what easements are.

So, no, I did not include easements. The 22.91" radius would be the largest radius possible to make a 90 degree curve with a single 36" piece of flex-track. To go with a larger radius would require more than one piece of flextrack, and would require joints along the curve. Since using rail-joiners doesn't guarantee kink-free track on curves, soldering such joints is recommended. However, Mike (Defiantly) would rather not do any soldering. So, he's left with a dilemma : (1) use curves with radii that won't suit the equipment he want to run; or (2) use rail joiners to allow for larger radii curves and risk having kinks.

[selector]

We can perhaps extricate ourselves by merely suggesting to our asker that the rule of thumb in model railroading is to use the largest radius you can possibly fit into your track plan. It permits a wider selection of steam locomotives to run on them, and more importantly, trouble-free. Unfortunately, that will, of necessity, require at least one soldered joint.

If you do the soldered joint to get nice wide curves (very highly recommended!!!), align the two pieces on some cork by pinning them into place. Bend down and sight along both rails to ensure they are perfectly aligned. If so, solder them as best you can, but you will do yourself a favour by watching the video I mentioned earlier. Once soldered, you can safely bend those two rails into a nice broad curve. It is what we all do, sooner or later, so might as well get the learning over with now.

[waltersrails]

one word railjoiners only way unless your a soldering expert you can find them at any hobby shop.

[icmr]

I vote Rail Joiners.



ICMR

Happy Railroading.[swg][swg]