help with laying track ( HELP! )

[Drew]

Hi,

I tried my hand at laying some Atls flex track today. First time
doing so.

I know you have to cut ties off the ends so you can get those
rail joiners to fit on... But now you have a 1/2-1 inch gap.
And the orignal ties that I took out don't fit back in because
the railjoiners make the rail wider so the ties to clip in.
How do I fix this problem?

Help!

Thanks!

Drew

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[Donald J Kinney]

Drew wrote in message ...

>I tried my hand at laying some Atls flex track today. First time
>doing so.
>I know you have to cut ties off the ends so you can get those
>rail joiners to fit on... But now you have a 1/2-1 inch gap.
>And the orignal ties that I took out don't fit back in because
>the railjoiners make the rail wider so the ties to clip in.
>How do I fix this problem?
>Help!
>Thanks!
>Drew

Take some of the cut off ties and place back under the rails, a
little glue will hold them when you ballast the track.
-----------
Donald
http://members.xoom.com/djkinney/index.html

[Paul Soutar]

Be sure to trim the spike heads off the ties before slipping them under
the joint.

[go...@escape.ca]

Try taking a razor saw that you cut rail with and under cut the ties,
by putting the saw between the bottom of the rail and the top of the ties you
want
to cut back, the thickness of the saw blade will give you enough room to slide
in
your joiners, and you will still have your ties in place.

Drew wrote:

> Hi,

>
> I tried my hand at laying some Atls flex track today. First time
> doing so.
>
> I know you have to cut ties off the ends so you can get those
> rail joiners to fit on... But now you have a 1/2-1 inch gap.
> And the orignal ties that I took out don't fit back in because
> the railjoiners make the rail wider so the ties to clip in.
> How do I fix this problem?
>
> Help!
>
> Thanks!
>
> Drew
>

[EBTBOB]

Drew,

I have been reading your questions with interest over the past few days.
Keep the questions coming, that is how you learn.
Concerning flex track, let me give you some tips that work great for me.
1 - when flexing track, do not cut the ends even. Leave an offset between the
joiners. There is no need for the joiners to be side by side. By having an
offset, at every joint, especially on curves, you will have one rail with no
joiner, helping to support the joint.
2 - As others have said, just cut off the nubs that represent spikes to side
on the rail joiner.
3 - Save all ties that you might remove. These are used to slide under the
rail wherever you need them. File off the nubs and they slide right in under
the rail without raising the rail.
4 - never cut rail with cutting pliers. Only use rail nips or a Dremel tool.
Drew, email me with a phone number or to get mine, and I will be glad to
talk model railroading with you personally and try to answer your questions. I
am particular to laying flex track that is extremely reliable.

Bob Rule, Jr.
www.Linsjunction.com
www.gatsme.org

[Don Dellmann]

I have an old bag of "Mil Scale" wood ties that I slip under the joint and
paint to match the Atlas plastic ones. Once ballast is down, the difference
is not really noticeable.

You can also "chisel out" a bit of the Atlas ties you cot off to make them
fit.

At one time I believe Atlas sold plain plastic tiels for just this
application.

Don

--
Don Dellmann
don.de...@prodigy.net
http://www.geocities.com/don_dellmann

--
moderator WisMode...@onelist.com

Drew <hookup30...@home.net.invalid> wrote in message
news:0b57e2e4...@usw-ex0103-019.remarq.com...

[Dave B]

In article <0b57e2e4...@usw-ex0103-019.remarq.com>,
hookup30...@home.net.invalid says...

> I know you have to cut ties off the ends so you can get those
> rail joiners to fit on... But now you have a 1/2-1 inch gap.
> And the orignal ties that I took out don't fit back in because
> the railjoiners make the rail wider so the ties to clip in.
> How do I fix this problem?
>

> Help!

Good question Drew.

I take the ties that I cut off (sometimes 2-3 ties) and start by scraping
off the track "spike" heads that are molded on. Then I sand the bottoms
of the ties a bit to thin them. Now they should slide under the rail
joiner. Leave some of these cut off ties at full height rather than
sanding them, since the rail joiner doesn't cover the whole length of
rail where you removed ties. You want them to fit snugly.

You can either leave the loose ties alone until you ballast (the glue in
the ballast will anchor those ties) or you can test fit the ties first,
and once you're happy, add a bit of white or carpenters' glue to the tie
bottom before you slide them in place.

Hope this helps you.

Dave

[Fred Ellis]

Drew wrote:
>
> Hi,
>
> I tried my hand at laying some Atls flex track today. First time
> doing so.
>

> I know you have to cut ties off the ends so you can get those
> rail joiners to fit on... But now you have a 1/2-1 inch gap.
> And the orignal ties that I took out don't fit back in because
> the railjoiners make the rail wider so the ties to clip in.
> How do I fix this problem?
>
> Help!
>

> Thanks!
>
> Drew
>
> * Sent from RemarQ http://www.remarq.com The Internet's Discussion Network *
> The fastest and easiest way to search and participate in Usenet - Free!

Drew,

Here is how I solve that problem.

After I have laid all my track, I take a small jeweler's flat or 'equal'
file and enlarge the 'slot' between the plastic spikes on the ties. I
use the file to widen and deepen the 'slot' so a track connector will
fit into it. As a way to check if the slot is large enough, I use a
short piece of rail with a track connector on the end of it. Once I see
that the connector will fit flush into the slot between the plastic
spikes I can now install the ties into the track work. Thus filling the
gap.

Once you have painted and ballasted your track, you'll never know the
difference.

Fred Ellis
--
Who do you serve. . . . And who do you trust?
(To e-mail me, remove the X from my address)

[Drew]

Thanks!

Drew

Drew <hookup30...@home.net.invalid> wrote in message
news:0b57e2e4...@usw-ex0103-019.remarq.com...

[Leroy Deubler]

Just take a few cut off ties and sand the tops of them smooth and so that
they are slightly less in height. Glue them back in place under the joiners.

[Bob May]

For the metal railjoiners, I warm the rail with a soldering iron and
melt it all into the ties. This also helps in keeping the rails
aligned and a quick pass with the xacto knife gets rid of any melted
plastic that wells up. Don't get them too hot but just enough.

--
Bob May

Don't subscribe to ACCESS1 for your webserver for the low prices. The
service has
been lousy and has been poor for the last year. Bob May