Super Detail Track Idea.

[Santa Fe buff]

In the Model Railroader Special Issue, How to Build Realistic Reliable Track I noticed he used a spike head made from flattened wire for a feeder connection. That was pretty ingenious. I came up with an idea I wondered if anyone would could try. I don't have the supplies. Here it is:

Remove the ties from a section needed to be soldered. Use a fair gauge wire (Lowest possible you can use.) and solder it to the rail for a feeder, but have it run directly under that rail, with nothing but solider coming out the sides. File down the sides to perfect shape were they look like they should. Then, test your connection. If it works perfectly, great. Then go to Details West. They sell joint bars for jointed rail. They are plastic, apply them with CA to the rail side over your solder area. On both sides too. Make sure you filed the inside if necessary. Paint the rail, and test the connection. Even better, paint the joint part before installation. If all goes well, your feeder is now a joint. Slightly file a cut in the top over the joint middle to look like connected rails if needed.

Cheers,
Joshua

[RAM]

I don't know, but it sounds like a lot of work.  I know some model railroaders who solders the wire to the bottom of the rail. drills the hole for the wire and stalls the track.  I just lay the track and solder the wire and try not to melt too many ties.

[pdlethbridge]

I always found it easier to solder feeder wires to the bottom of rail joiners. Drill a small hole for the wire directly under the rail joiner and your done. I have never melted a tie as I do the rail joiners separately.

[jward]

i am not a fan of soldering the wire to the underside of the rail. if the bond breaks how will you resolder?

i like the idea of using rail joint bars to mark hidden solder joints. it seems to me that the guys in model railroader spend too much time thinking of ways to hide the feeder wires and not enough time wondering how they will work on them when the joint inevitably fails.

[jonathan]

I must be the laziest modeler in the world.  I bought ALOT of those rail joiners with feeder wires already attached (terminal joiners?).  Covered them up with ballast and/or "rusted" them to blend in.  I only solder rail joints together if/when I get a weak electrical connection.  My thinking was to allow for expansion/contraction from seasonal changes.  Works so far, but don't do it like me.  I know I'll end up soldering every joint before it's over.

Regards,

Jonathan

[jward]

i always solder my rail joints when i lay the track. often when you ballast the track, glue seeps into the joiners and it can disrupt the electrical connection. i prefer to take steps now to minimize problems later. it keeps the frustration levels down. soldering joints is one of those things that takes only a couple of minutes now but can save hours of frustration down the road. trying to find an intermittent open circuit in your track can make you wonder why you're in the hobby in the first place.....

[CNE Runner]

Oy...the joiner/feeder debate. I, also like to solder all conductive rail joiners ('tough to solder the insulated joiners). This can come back to bite you in the nether regions. In the General Discussion board I have a thread: My New Micro Layout. In the latest post I detail what happened when I installed a Peco crossing BEFORE testing it thoroughly on the bench. Now I am left with the daunting task of unsoldering the conductive joiners and installing a new crossing. [Of course the crossing is in the middle of a rat's nest of trackage!] Having said that, I still think soldering conductive joiners is the way to go...definitely forestalls trouble later.

As to feeders: I have tried soldering feeder wires on the underside of the rails. The results are great...until one of the little buggers detaches from the rail (good luck trying to resolder it to the same place). Following that procedure, I then tried soldering feeders such that a feeder was always to the back (non viewing side) of the layout. This means that one of the feeders has to be on the inside of the rail (not a problem with clearance as long as you don't use huge wire and 'gobs' of solder). As the years flew by, I began to realize that ballast does a great job of hiding the wire connection - making the time and effort of inside-rail soldering unnecessary.

In closing let me say that one of the best acquisitions a model railroader can add to their tool collection is an inductive soldering station. I use the American Beauty model and am extremely pleased with its performance. The results are good solder joints with no melted ties. Yes, these tools are expensive...but well worth the expense.

Regards,
Ray

[mabloodhound]

good answer Ray.  I wondered if the inductive soldering was good for this.   I just don't have the bucks right now, but I'm not laying track yet.

[jward]

ray,
i handlay track, so i don't have to desolder my joints when i make changes, i simply cut out the rails and build a new section. for those using prefab track i can see how this would be an issue.

inductive soldering would probably help me a bit, with trying to attatch feeder wires to the frogs i just soldered together. a way around that is to use two different types of solder. the one with the higher melting point is used to solder things like frogs, guardrails and rail joints. the lower melting point for feeder wires. this helps minimize the risk of unsoldering something you've worked hard to get perfect.....

for the record, do not confuse an inductive soldering outfit such as american beauty with the cold heat soldering tools, which are totally worthless in model railroading applications.

[CNE Runner]

jward - You make a good point of not confusing cold heat soldering (a oxymoron if there ever was one) to inductive soldering.

Since you are experienced with 'cutting out rails' I have a question: I plan on using a cutoff wheel to slice through the rails of that defective crossing. I am extremely trepidatious about using a spinning (toothed) wheel near my old bod. Naturally, I will be wearing safety goggles while cutting...is there anything else I should be aware of (I will be using a cutoff wheel that is designed for hard materials)?

The plan for reconnecting the new crossing is to open up any required connective rail joiners; then reform and solder them to the rails of the crossing. For those connections that require an insulated joint, I will glue in a piece of styrene and trim it to the rail profile. God willing I should have power on both legs of the crossing. Then, just maybe, I can actually begin the ballasting process...

Ray

[jward]

i don't like to use the cutting wheel because it sometimes can grab the rail and rip it right out. of course, my rail is only spiked every 4th tie, but i've seen the wheel rip with such force totear the copper cladding off pc board. another reason i don't like the wheels is that if you are using them in a dremel tool your cut won't be vertically straight. there is no way to keep the wheel perpendicular to the track as the diameter of the wheel is less than the diameter of the dremel tool.

i prefer to use rail nippers to get in there and make a vertical cut, then i clean up the cut with needle files.

if you do use the dremel, i'd suggest keeping the rpms as high as possible. that seems to lessen the chance of grabbing the rail. and by all means, never cut rails with a dremel without safety glasses.

one last point. if you are cutting out a crossing and trying to replace it with an identical piece, do not make your cuts at the rail joiners. trying to unsolder the stub of a cut rail joiner is a headache you don't need. i'd make the cut an inch or so closer to the frog of the crossing, and trim down the new piece to match.

[CNE Runner]

Ah Jeff...great minds think alike! I, also, have had a cutoff wheel 'grab' the rail and rip it out of its fastenings (think: flextrack). I have also had a cutoff wheel go 'zinging' past my head as it tried to become suborbital. I have also notice the impossibility of having truly square cuts - if the track is already fastened to the layout. All this time I thought I was doing something incorrectly. Thanks for sharing your experiences.

Since my usual 'weapon of choice' are rail nippers; I will use them in this application as well. I had already planned to 'nip' the offending crossing's rail a little way back from the end...then unsolder the connective joiners and remove the small piece.

To reassemble the crossing I will substitute (where necessary) a glued in piece of styrene in place of an insulating joiner. The conductive joiners will be modified by removing the rolled up sides on half the joiner and then soldering it to the crossing when all is in place.

Thanks for the suggestions.
Ray