Jim;
Wahl's is good, I think, for that application.  I use it mostly behind a 'Bright Boy', and a little goes a long way.  Too much, and we have problems.

RIch C.

Like Brock, Jeffrey, and others opine, ditch the fibre tie stuff:  It is three-foot grief!!  On oiling; WD-40 contains petrol distillates that may attack whichever plastic compound the body (TIES) consist of.  My opinion: use an oil specifically for the purpose intended; or even Wahl's clipper oil.  Be judicious!
Also, as Brock mentioned; ****can the brass-it is going to give you much agita.  As a conductor, brass has less resistance than nickel silver, BUT.......  As Brock also mentioned...

Rich C.

I have built several; one in particular was built from parts from an Eastern Car Works caboose.  Doing these little projects are actually a lot of fun; and, when installed, painted and "blended" into the tender, can give the builder a great deal of satisfaction.  I don't believe one has to be a "real modeler" to do this; just, as Roger said, some styrene-or even ABS-sheet, a pencil, scale, and an exacto knife will probably do the trick.
If you would like to try your hand at this, I encourage you to do so, and discuss your progress here.

Rich C.

Ken; Now THAT is a post worth reading!  Thank you.

Rich C.

A "pigtail" IS what you call a "feeder".  Look further back for P.C. ties.

On30;
Sounds like a job well done.  Now...Brock...If you are soldering wires to the tops of the rail AFTER you first form it to your needs, the track will stay reasonably stable whilst you are installing it.  The wire (and I do hope you figured it out that you should be using wire like phosphor Bronze, as it is tenacious enough to hold its shape-and you remove (de-solder??) the wires when completed with said task.  Of course, the other option would be to use the ties made from PC board, as I had previously mentioned.  Although the better option, Both ways have justification for being used.  Just for the record, use rail joiners for connectors; do NOT rely upon solder to hold the rails together; and use pigtails (wire leaders from track to buss) about every six feet.  I make nine out of #18 stranded, usu.  THWN, MTW, et al.  A lot of guys use t'stat wire.   That is probably OK per application; I just prefer stranded conductors.  Do NOT use anything smaller...

Rich C.

It also says; "De-solder when through"...  Would you care to borrow my specs?

R-read it, Brock.

Rich C>

Trainman;
If you can't find one, why not scratch it? 

Rich C.

Roger;
The main selling point -to me-is that flex-track will conform to meet the demands of a particular configuration.  If you have a transition from one angle to another, flex- as you know, will fill the bill; but if you want stability if, say for some reason, you have something to do before the transit goes down, securing the configuration will help you.
From my angle, one could just as well solder pieces of wire to the tops of the rails, de-solder when through, and just clean up the excess.

Rich C.

Hi, all;
I haven't done this-in fact, I just thought of maybe trying it:  Clover House et al sells ties made from PC board, with a gap in the middle of the tie for insulation.  As you get the curves you desire into the flex track, why not remove a couple of plastic ties and solder a couple of these ties in their place?  The added stability would certainly work in your favour, keeping the configuration in place.  Your thoughts?

Rich C.

Yeah-right...

Rich C.

Martin;
I really like what you have done. 

Rich C.

Roger;
I spent some time in SEA-before the standard issue was boots with canvas (or whatever that was ) uppers.  Standard leather boots, given the rigors of what combat troops (I wasn't) had to do, boots practically rotted right off their feet.  A lot of guys started wearing sneakers.
Anyway,
Humidity does come into play, even here, in the lower fifty, and if not properly sealed and finished, wood can really deteriorate in that kind of environ-and I am referring to hardwoods like poplar, cottonwood, oak, etc.  Yellow pine holds up, given it's make-up.  it is hard to work with, though.
OK, enough of all of that.   The last word is that it is the modeller's cash, time, and sweat; hence, their choice.

Rich C.

Roger;
If you live in areas like the humid south (not up north, like us hardy souls...)  I would strongly recommend a sealer on that plywood.  Most cabinet grade plywood is put together with glue that tends to turn to glop  come apart in a moist environment.  I am not sure why they don't use aliphatic (well, maybe by now they do) resin glue (maybe they are afraid of it...) but to my knowledge they do not.
That idea is a great one, however, on it's own merit.  You are right about that AC grade ply.  It is a royal pain.

Rich C.