This is a fairly old thread (by forum standards), but I thought I'd throw in my two cents. As an expert at melting ties, and other items of plastic, I cannot recommend a soldering station more highly. I bit the bullet and purchased the American Beauty Induction Soldering Station from Micro Mark and have been completely satisfied with the results. Induction soldering is easy and will result in a much better joint without the more-than-occasional melted ties that ordinary soldering guns produce. I do agree that one of the basic skills all model railroaders need to possess is that of soldering. Why not buy some old brass track at the next train show and practice on that? Atlas brass Snaptrack goes for pennies and is a lot cheaper than using Peco (or whatever) nickel-steel products.
While we are at it: in my opinion it is not advisable to solder turnouts. These are mechanical devices and, friend, they will need replacement. All my turnouts (Peco) are held in place with rail joiners for easy replacement. BTW I have already had to replace one unit...slide back the joiners and pull out the turnout...easy.
While we are at it: in my opinion it is not advisable to solder turnouts. These are mechanical devices and, friend, they will need replacement. All my turnouts (Peco) are held in place with rail joiners for easy replacement. BTW I have already had to replace one unit...slide back the joiners and pull out the turnout...easy.