laying flex track

what tips does anyone have to laying nice curved flextrack, how to prebend it ? or what method do u use?

thanks

Hello I found a German web site. A lot of pictures may be helpfull also amke it like myself look at Google to get some tips. www.modellbaustudio-wilke.com/Tipps-und-Tricks-Modelleisenbahn/gleisverlegung.html

I use MTL flex track exclusively in my modeling. I often solder two pieces together before laying one end and securing with CA. I work my way around the predrawn center line where my track will go. As the track curve gradually forces ties together I cut some of them out or slide the ties down the rail for freedom of movement and later go back and cement sleeper ties under the rail joint. Just be careful not to get any kinks in the rail joints as you curve around the turns. Flex allows one to put rail where you want to and not in a prescribed curve like sectional requires one to do.

I've used mostly Marklin flex track and have found cutting out a small gap in between every other tie on the inside part of the curve works well and looks good. Definitely key to have a good pair of track cutters or Dremel to even up the rails for a clean joint to the next section of track. As long as your curves are no tighter than the smallest radius sectional, the flex track allows for nice smooth transitions. Also I have been very successful in using cork roadbed and Marklin track spikes to fix the curves in place.

very kool thanks, is it prefered to use ca , instead of using caulk or adhesive like in larger scales? i was planning on trying roadbed. i think some one also has used white glue also?

thanks much be back soon

I have always used CA to secure my track to cork roadbed. Having worked with CA for over 40 years,I have a pretty good working relationship with CA. On occasion, I do get 'stuck' but still have all my fingers.

I believe that if one works with a certain product long enough, they get pretty proficient at it no matter what anyone else says. Also, 'if it ain't broke, then don't fix it' is sometimes true also.

It certainly doesn't hurt to try other techniques in any building project, but in some cases there is an obvious best choice amongst the options.

Loren, Steve (& everyone) could probably use a few more tips for working with CA. So when CAing flex track, where do you apply the CA. I mean, we don’t slather the bottom of the track with CA. Sooooo, every 2 inches, every 5 inches, every tie, etc. Does it depend on the tightness of the curve? Do you use track spikes in addition to the CA? Do you like to use the gel or the thin watery CA? Do you ever need a CA accelerant in track work? Do you use any particular method of seamlessly joining the flex track with the MTL turnouts to make it all look natural? Etcetera. And one has to be certain you’re talking about CAing ONLY AFTER you have your track work laid down as a test and have ties cut where they need to be, and all looks right with the world, etc.

Joe

Hi Joe, Wish I could do a picture tutorial on laying flex, but it would take many pictures and half a book to explain it thoroughly. However, in a shorter narative, here are some fine pointers, but before I do, let me say that just because I have worked with CA in my dental lab for over 40 years, doesn't mean I use CA because I am very familiar with it. I simply do not want to use something else that would require using weights, pins, or anything else to hold the track down while the adhesive sets. I'm impatient when it comes to laying track. I like it to be 'there' quickly and soundly.

I usually solder two MTL pieces together before proceeding to secure my first piece to the cork roadbed. If I am going to be laying a curve, I will remove a couple of ties on either end of the soldered rail to allow for the bend, and then go back and cement 'sleeper' ties under the track joint when I'm finished laying track. The sharper the curve, the more the ties will shift on the rail.

I use light bodied CA exclusively unless I really have to 'anchor' down a joint that might be prone to kink. I always apply CA from the outside of the rail and let it 'wick' under the ties.

Going back to the beginning, I draw my track center line where the track will be laid and simply straddle the line with my track. I love using flex because I am not required to follow a set radius and as long as I have drawn my track center line in a workable configuration, I am good to go.

I hold the end of the first piece of track down flat and let light bodied CA 'wick' from the outside of the ties and secure with accelerate in a spray bottle. I use enough to 'soak' the cork a bit.......it does soak into the cork at first. Too much and it will fill the space between the ties and then adding ballast in that area will not be as easy because of the thickness of the CA.

I usually apply CA every 2 inches or so and work my way around. Allowing enough loose track to be moved slightly, I add another piece of track and solder the rail to the preceding piece before securing more of the track down. Think of an assembly line.....feeding more track before the track laying machine, (me) follows with the CA.

The trick is to flow enough CA under the ties that when you do spray the accelerate it holds enough before moving down the line. Not enough and the track won't stick, but too much begins to puddle up more than you want.

When I have several feet of track down, I go back and add more CA to different spots to make sure the track doesn't move. Adding ballast and white glue/water mixture later will firmly hold anything down tight.

I use a fingernail trimming type of electric hand piece with .007 thick cutting disks to cut rail carefully when I need to adjust rail length. .007 is very fragile, but being that thin, it is easier than using a thicker cutting disk. Steady hands is definitely a requirement in order to avoid breaking disks. it takes practice and patience to develop this technique.

You will notice that I don't worry about track expansion until all my track is laid down. I can go back and cut expansion joints anywhere I so choose later on. If the expansion cut is on a curve, I will then often use thicker CA to really beef up the holding power on a curve.

The whole process goes pretty quickly and only when you come to joining the last piece to the first, do you have to carefully cut to length the last rail and I slide a rail joiner back on the last piece, lay the rail in place and then join the two pieces by sliding the rail joiner back to connect the two ends before soldering.

As you go around a curve, one rail will always 'grow' in length and that is ok as it is better to not have rail joiners opposite each other on a curve anyway. This forces you to remove more ties initially and replace more with sleepers. OR.......I do not worry so much about rail joiners side by side on a curve IF I am careful to eye ball the curve as I secure it and make sure I have not 'kinked' the track at the joint.

I do use a track gauge to make sure I'm doing a good job at the joints.

Regarding 'sleepers', I use a small round bur to relieve some of the plastic on the tie top surface to make sliding the sleepers under the previously secured track work easier.

I do not use MTL turnouts, but rather Peter Wright turnouts which match MTL flex beautifully. Unfortunately, Peter Wright turnouts are no longer available and one must use Fast Tracks turnouts if he wishes to make it look uniform.

I don't pre test my track work to see where it will go, I just follow my center line. My railroad does not incorporate a lot of turnouts, rather I have a lot of track work winding through mountains, and have not yet built any modules with yard work which would require more initial planning.

Perhaps my 'maverick' method of laying track is not for everyone and one can definitely get 'stuck up' if not careful. I've had to carefully cut two fingers apart which got glued together when I was a bit careless.

An interesting and maybe shocking side note to all this. I have not ever cut any expansion joints in any of my track work and I have one module with 26 feet of track without a joint of any kind. And the worst part is that I have stored my modules in my trailer in freezing AND scorching weather before and never had any rail issues. Call me lucky or stupid or whatever, but for me, this has worked.

I also do not solder 'feeder' wires every two or three feet as some do, but usually only two sets of feeders on any track section.

So far I have not gone DCC although I do have the NCE package and plan to as soon as I have my modules set up in my new train room.

Well, hope this 'mini' book has helped a bit. Likely it has confirmed that I am crazy for this technique, but for this kid, it seems to work fine.

Maybe I should make a full length 'feature' film of the whole process..........NOT A CHANCE.

Loren I think your cork is the expansion factor needed as even with AC used to hold track to cork there is allot of give in the cork itself,and it is quite temperature stable over a wide range of temperatures what are you using to secure your cork and what do you have under the cork that you are securing it too? That will give me more of an idea of the whole system you are using.

thanks Garth

Loren, do you make your own CA accelerant and if so, what's your recipe? And where do you find squirt bottles for the accelerant? I assume you use a small size bottle like I do, however I have problems finding small spray bottles with a large enough atomizer to allow baking soda particles through after they have settled a bit. (Assuming your recipe uses baking soda.)

Joe

First to answer Garth.......I use door skins glued to 1x4 frame for the layout top and I use 1/8" cork cut in strips and cemented to the wood with contact cement.

Joe, I use the hobby shop accelerator from the bottle. A bit of a cost, but so much easier to work with than mixing a formula.

Any more questions.......fire away.

thank you for the long write up i appreciate the time you took i will experiment and see what i like too . what exactually do u use to cut the tracks with i started to try to find something thin but looks like you have a nice tool . what is it exactually ?

also what methods do u do to install turnouts. i am using fastracks too . with roadbed.

I regret that I can not explain something in 25 words or less to make understanding easier, but it is what it is. If I could bind it in leather, I could sell the book. :o)

You can find different styles of electric finger nail files they are called on Ebay and other places. They aren't as powerful as the Dremmel rotary hand pieces, but their smaller diameter allows you to place the tool closer to the track for a more vertical cut.

If interested I can sell mandrels and a dozen cut off disks to those interested. As I believe I mentioned earlier, these disks are only .007 thick and very fragile, but I like the thinness of the cut.

I have yet to purchase the Fast Track system to make my own turnouts. I am using up a supply of Peter Wright turnouts made in England. These turnouts work perfectly with MTL flex track.