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Removing Excess Metal on Rail Joiners
Aaron sent in this tip to share:
“I have just recently gotten into railroading and I love it so much. I have run into multiple issues so far but see them as challenges and enjoy finding fixes for my issues. One thing I would like to share that I haven’t seen on any site yet that you will find your rail joining so much easier if you trim the little excess metal from the joiners after you cut them from the strip. This will guarantee that they don’t use up too much area in the joints and cause a gap. Thanks for letting me share and happy railroading.”
3 Responses to Removing Excess Metal on Rail Joiners
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Hi Aaron,
Never really thought about the excess metal. I guess I have just trimmed it as needed with out thinking about it. Your right, especially when using sectional track there is only so much room for the joiner to slide on. I have been using flex track lately and I usually have that extra rail showing after clipping the end ties off. Happy New Year from Newman
I have been reworking some track issues on a section I had to remove for a Furnace replacement. A change was involved where I needed to hinge the 4 foot section so it could be raised in order to slide out the filter they installed and I didn’t want to tear it all out again just to change that filter. So as I was fitting my rail cut section so it would meet with the rest of the board, I refitted the flex track to that short section and what I found even with flex track, I had connectors hitting the ties non allowing the connector to slide on all the way. The section with the track cut was made out of a piece of Atlas sectional track. and I was only removing enough ties to connect it up. But it was hitting the permanent tie on the atlas piece and the tie on the flex track not allowing a good connection. Trimming did the trick. One thing that also helps on connections is to ensure the track continues straight through the rail connection and just past. Flex track tends to flex clear into the joint and sometimes it can cause derailments where you might not think it would happen. So your right it can be an issue . from Newman Atkinson
I’m going to check my track , this may be why some of my tracks didn’t meet up completely giving me a little gap between the rails ,
Thanks for the Tip ,
Steve