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Can't find answer; need advice....

Started by John Murphy, March 25, 2007, 11:46:06 PM

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John Murphy

I'm trying to build a Christmas Layout and need advice w/Bachmann EZ Track/turnouts:
I'm planning a straight DC oval w/2 passing tracks on the curves, 18" radius curves, and a 2-track siding on a 40"x6 1/2' foam board.  Since it'll be DC and not DCC, and I have moderate to severe disability, I need to add plastic railjoiners - or something equally simple, since it takes time for me to cut plastic -- I can, but I don't want to wait 'till Christmas '08 to see it running.
Anybody got any good ideas?  The track is purchased, as is everything else.  Railjoiners are the only sticking problems, and I want railjoiners to keep track alligned.
John Murphy

LD303

do you mean you want plastic railjoiners to insulate certain sections of track?  the brass coneectors will work with ez track to keep it alighned, if you wanted to use plastic ones to just join the ez track so it stays alighned, i think youd like the brass or nickle steel joiners better.

SteamGene

John,
That's fairly small for HO, even with 18" radius curves.  I'm not sure what you are looking for.  You need metal railjoiners to carry current throughout the layout.  As a DC layout, you will need to isolate your passing sidings and provide them with power which can be turned on and off if you are going to have two trains running with one on the main and one on the siding.  That's where you will need the plastic railjoiners.
Gene
Chief Brass Hat
Virginia Tidewater and Piedmont Railroad
"Only coal fired steam locomotives"

jayl1

Atlas makes plastic rail joiners - very low cost.  Since EZ track is code 100 they should just slip on.  That will cut power to that section of track.  Also you may want to add structure (base)  to the foam board so it doesn't sag.

John Murphy

I'm planning both passing sidings to be isolated, and each activated by 2 Atlas Snap Relays (one for the track blocks, one for four track signals - both the relays and both EZ track turnouts will be activated by one Atlas turnout switch).  Both siding tracks will be isolated.  All isolated track will be seperately powered as per standard DC wiring.
I know I need extra bracing, and am working on keeping it light yet strong;  and yes, 40"x6'6" is a bit small, but it IS a Christmas Layout which will be stored 9 months out of the year, and there is limited space both in the living room and the room where it will be stored.
I love steam, so all locos are versions of the inexpensive Bachmann USRA 0-6-0 -- one is the old Yuletide Special - with the Combine having seats and passengers inside, the other will be the Smokey Mountain Express relettered for the Christmas theme and pulling four 67' Harrimon cars, one converted to baggage/RPO, one a chair car, one a sleeper, and the tail-end car a diner/lounge -- all but the baggage/RPO have appropriate interiors and passengers....
I tried the Atlas Plastic Railjoiners and all they did was nearly pull the rails out of the EZ Track base....
I've been into model railroading on and off since age 13 (1964) [1952 if you count the Lionel Hudson my Dad put around the Christmas Tree at age one plus and "O" gauge 5'x9' layout he built to get me standing as therapy at age 9], so I'm no slouch at wiring, esp. since Dad and I built a pair of CDS's for N gauge turnout snap-motors, NJ Int'l snap-motor activated semaphores, and block detection circuits for a 24"x~60" reversing loop to reversing loop/oval 2 level "N" layout he and I built in the late 1970's-mid '80's (semaphores automatically showed main-line polarity in relation to reverse loops.  Unfortunately, dad's health started to deteriorate mid-'80's and I had to give up railroading 'til now.
Hope to hear ideas about plastic railjoiners and EZ Track, because it should be possible to add isolation blocks wherever needed.
JM

Woody Elmore

Atlas most definitely makes plastic rail joiners. Alternately, if you have a small hobby saw or dremel tool, you can just cut a slot in the rail. I have done this in the past and then I fill the slot with a piece of  thin plastic and some epoxy. A few licks of an emery board and you have an insulated joint.

It is not even necessary to buy plastic - I use the stuff that comes with new shirts.

Craig

#6
I've installed plastic joiners on EZ Track turnouts and I can tell you that aligning the rails and KEEPING them aligned can be a huge pain, especially if you have multiple turnouts at a given location. The track on EZ Track tends not to be well secured to the roadbed at the ends, especially on turnouts. A few drops of glue and a clamp can solve this but my advice is to do what Woody suggested. Use QUALITY, thick metal joiners at each turnout joint and then, at a more stabile location on the turnout, cut gaps as needed. Fill them with whatever suits you (plastic, styrene, epoxy...) and solder some feeders.

Craig

John Murphy

Thanks sincerely for help -- I finally got smart and called my local hobby shop - which I've dealt with since 1972 - and they may have plastic rail joiners which may work.  Keep you posted if you want.  I've also come up with another trackplan, so if one doesn't work, the other might.  At least with the new trackplan allows 2 trains to operate at the same time....
JM

Paul M.

Make sure that the plastic rail joiners are Code 100... NOT Code 83, 70, 55 etc.

-Paul
[
www.youtube.com/texaspacific

John Murphy

Quote from: Paul M. on April 11, 2007, 06:57:16 PM
Make sure that the plastic rail joiners are Code 100... NOT Code 83, 70, 55 etc.

I'm using the recommended railjoiners and still nothing works.  Looks like straight DC is dead for me.  The Christmas Railroad Display is going DCC.  That'll simplify wiring, and a lot more....

Virginian

What is not working?  I am not real familiar with this product, but doesn't it have the contact strips in the plastic that contact the bottoms of the rails?  If so, plastic rail joiners aren't going to isolate anything.
"What could have happened... did."

John Murphy

Quote from: Virginian on April 13, 2007, 08:44:55 AM
What is not working?  I am not real familiar with this product, but doesn't it have the contact strips in the plastic that contact the bottoms of the rails?  If so, plastic rail joiners aren't going to isolate anything.

The EZ Track designers seem to have forgotten that plastic rail joiners require either a cut-out or a slightly deeper groove through the first track tie so the thicker plastic joiners don't pull the track out of the molded railbed.  I've used Atlas HO sectional and Atlas and Rapido N sectional (I use sectional because it's easier for me, as a permanently disabled person to set up....).  Anyway, I should've bought one each of several manufacturer's sectional track to see which was best....  (sigh)  Live and learn, even at age 56....

John