# How to fix track mistake



## Bkubiak (Oct 20, 2013)

It's me again, I have about 2/3 of my track down and I decided to hook up some power and run a loco and a couple cars back and forth, I did that and now have an issue
I decided to use to rerailer power sections and now find that even going as slow as possible the locos want to derail going into the rerailer. I want to remove the rerailer and replace it with a regular section of track with out ripping up a lot of my work. Any clues or tricks to just remove that piece and replace it with a new piece of track. I just ordered some 18R track section from Model train stuff along with a couple of terminal rail joiners.
I was wondering if I could just open the rail joiners and lift out the rerailer and just replace it with a track section and pair of terminal rail joiners.

I did some practice rail soldering today with a few pieces of my old copper tracks, it came out pretty good


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## Brakeman Jake (Mar 8, 2009)

I believe you're using sectional track.The easiest way is to take a small screwdriver,open the rail joiners at one end and lift the rerailer out.Then remove the remaining joiners.

Then simply drop the replacement sectional track and solder the four joints OR gently remove a tie from each end so that you can slide new joiners completely in,drop the track in place and then slide the joiners outwards onto the adjoining trackage.Finally push the removed ties back under the track.


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## Bkubiak (Oct 20, 2013)

Brakeman Jake said:


> I believe you're using sectional track.The easiest way is to take a small screwdriver,open the rail joiners at one end and lift the rerailer out.Then remove the remaining joiners.
> 
> Then simply drop the replacement sectional track and solder the four joints OR gently remove a tie from each end so that you can slide new joiners completely in,drop the track in place and then slide the joiners outwards onto the adjoining trackage.Finally push the removed ties back under the track.


Great tips, it was easier then I thought. I am using Atlas flexible snap track but the rerailer power strip was a sectional piece. Since I won't have the nickel track sections until next week sometime I just stuck in a brass section and wouldn't you know it the brass section was about a 1/16 longer then the piece I took out. Had to head to the bench grinder to make a few precision adjustments.
I never thought about the sliding joiner back, I had to cut the little pieces that hold the track to the ties on the flex track and then I just pushed the tie down a tad into the foam track bed to slide the joiner forward, Not that easy since I sorta squeezed every joiner a tad to make them tighter, but I did it, thanks so much, the derail problem just vanished, when I get the correct track section here next week I will make the joint permanent

The solder iron I have is a Weller SP-23 hobby iron, it has a screw in tip, I can see I have a need for a thinner pointier tip


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## D&J Railroad (Oct 4, 2013)

I'm wondering why the loco was derailing when going onto the rerailer. 
What make and model was the loco. Did it have oversized flanges on it?
Did you check the end of each rail to be sure they were properly inserted into the rail joiners?


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## Bkubiak (Oct 20, 2013)

D&J Railroad said:


> I'm wondering why the loco was derailing when going onto the rerailer.
> What make and model was the loco. Did it have oversized flanges on it?
> Did you check the end of each rail to be sure they were properly inserted into the rail joiners?


The loco is an old, diesel made by life like, China, don't know the model number, it has traction tires on it, it's a Santa Fe red and silver with the numbers 3500 under the cab window, no idea what you mean by oversized flanges?

The rail joiners were on correct, I made sure of that on every connection

It has horn hook couplers on it, don't know if that matters or not


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## Northern Route (May 12, 2014)

D&J Railroad said:


> I'm wondering why the loco was derailing when going onto the rerailer.
> What make and model was the loco. Did it have oversized flanges on it?
> Did you check the end of each rail to be sure they were properly inserted into the rail joiners?


If the track is code 100 the flanges would not be a problem except on a switch since the flanges are not rp25, sounds more like wheels are out of gauge.


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## Bkubiak (Oct 20, 2013)

Northern Route said:


> If the track is code 100 the flanges would not be a problem except on a switch since the flanges are not rp25, sounds more like wheels are out of gauge.


Since I pulled out both rerailers, both of which on on a radius, the derail issue has gone away.

Just finished the track this morning and I tried my hand at soldering track joints and I found I am pretty good at it. On this one long turn of a figure 8 that goes up a 3 degree incline I soldered the sections together as I went along, 4ea. 3 ft sections of Atlas Flex track and the bend at the joint is absolutely perfect, I even found that if I had a small gap in the track joints I could fill it in with solder and file it smooth with my jewelers files. Now I see why everyone is telling me to solder all joints, I did my best not to have any gaps when I soldered. I soldered the track sections while it was straight and when the bend was put in the joint made a perfect bend, most of the curves in my layout are in the 20 to 22R with just a few in the 18R. I am so impressed with my self that I am standing besides myself with happiness and joy.


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## Brakeman Jake (Mar 8, 2009)

A word of caution here...soldering all joints is ideal for electrical reliability indeed but...be sure that your layout is never exposed to temperature changes.Not having expansion gaps may have surprising results.I've seen pictures of a few layouts that had been seriously damaged during a power failure.

I soldered many joints on my layout but also made sure I have expansion joints every three feet or so.Here in Quebec,temperatures can vary from -30C to +30C during a year.I cut staggered expansion gaps with a Dremel saw to be safe.


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## Bkubiak (Oct 20, 2013)

*uebed then down here in florida*



Brakeman Jake said:


> A word of caution here...soldering all joints is ideal for electrical reliability indeed but...be sure that your layout is never exposed to temperature changes.Not having expansion gaps may have surprising results.I've seen pictures of a few layouts that had been seriously damaged during a power failure.
> 
> I soldered many joints on my layout but also made sure I have expansion joints every three feet or so.Here in Quebec,temperatures can vary from -30C to +30C during a year.I cut staggered expansion gaps with a Dremel saw to be safe.



I think you may have more of an issue with temp fluctuations in Quebec then we do down here in South Florida.
The other day I was at "Ready to Run" trains in North Miami and inquiring about what I needed to get to run DCC on my new layout and they stressed that DCC needed to have Soldered Joints for the best conductivity and you can not mix copper and silver nitrate track with DCC. I have about 1/2 of my joints soldered now and I do have a mix of track and my Loco's run great.
I seem to get mixed signals each time I ask about something.


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## Brakeman Jake (Mar 8, 2009)

How many degrees (rise or drop) is required to cause damages to trackage is hard to tell and probably is different from a layout to the other.However,tracks do shorten and expand all the time with temperature changes,so you can have issues just as bad in the upper range as in the lower range of the scale.


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## CTValleyRR (Jul 26, 2014)

Since you painted your benchwork with exterior latex paint, I don't think you'll have an issue with expansion and contraction. While nickel silver and brass do expand as they get warmer, they don't expand enough to cause issue on the amount of track you have.

The derailing at the rerailer track is an odd issue. I'm glad you solved it, but you might want to spend some more time with that issue until you know what caused it. Otherwise, it may rear it's ugly head again (unless the issue was mis-alignment that you solved when you replaced the track sections.


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## Bkubiak (Oct 20, 2013)

CTValleyRR said:


> Since you painted your benchwork with exterior latex paint, I don't think you'll have an issue with expansion and contraction. While nickel silver and brass do expand as they get warmer, they don't expand enough to cause issue on the amount of track you have.
> 
> The derailing at the rerailer track is an odd issue. I'm glad you solved it, but you might want to spend some more time with that issue until you know what caused it. Otherwise, it may rear it's ugly head again (unless the issue was mis-alignment that you solved when you replaced the track sections.


I think I figured out why it was derailing, I have hook/horn couplers and as it went over the rerailer the little gizmo that sticks down (don't know what that is called) got in the rerailer and I watched as it moved to the side and since the couplers are mounted on the diesel truck when it was in the middle of the rerailer the front wheels of the truck tried to turn in the opposite direction of travel and lifted off the track. 
I ordered some kaydes along with some track and some power track connectors to see if I can do something, they will not be here until the end of the week.


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## MtRR75 (Nov 27, 2013)

Bkubiak said:


> I think I figured out why it was derailing, I have hook/horn couplers and as it went over the rerailer the little gizmo that sticks down (don't know what that is called) got in the rerailer and I watched as it moved to the side and since the couplers are mounted on the diesel truck when it was in the middle of the rerailer the front wheels of the truck tried to turn in the opposite direction of travel and lifted off the track.
> I ordered some kaydes along with some track and some power track connectors to see if I can do something, they will not be here until the end of the week.


Horn/couplers should not catch on the rerailer - if the coupler is at the proper height above the track. It might be hanging down too low. Also, the rerailer surface should not extend above the tops of the track.

Perhaps someone has already said this to you, but you should get an NMRA (National Model Railroad Association) gauge. It is a flat piece of metal that has lots of notches and marks on it that allow you to check the height of couplers, the width of tracks and wheels and lots of other specs that are important to smooth train running. It is the first thing I reach for when I get a derailment.


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## Bkubiak (Oct 20, 2013)

MtRR75 said:


> Horn/couplers should not catch on the rerailer - if the coupler is at the proper height above the track. It might be hanging down too low. Also, the rerailer surface should not extend above the tops of the track.
> 
> Perhaps someone has already said this to you, but you should get an NMRA (National Model Railroad Association) gauge. It is a flat piece of metal that has lots of notches and marks on it that allow you to check the height of couplers, the width of tracks and wheels and lots of other specs that are important to smooth train running. It is the first thing I reach for when I get a derailment.


I already have the track gauge but I am sorta glad the derail issue happened, the rerailer just did not look right on top of the foam track bed, I used it for the easy electrical hookup. I had one set of coupler connections and used them on an exit from the tunnel and you cannot even see them unless you really look hard. BTW the horn hook on the front of the diesel loco is way low, it is actually bent. Hard to tell without that gauge


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## CTValleyRR (Jul 26, 2014)

Was the rerailer at the bottom of an incline, by any chance? Truck mounted couplers often have trouble there. Replacing with a Kadee will help, but it sounds like you may need to shim the coupler a little. It may just be loose in the pocket. Hard to tell now whether the coupler was already bent, or getting caught on the rerailer bent it.

I think you will be much happier with the feeder wires.

Do you intend to ballast your track as part of installing scenery? That will hide the roadbed.


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## Bkubiak (Oct 20, 2013)

CTValleyRR said:


> Was the rerailer at the bottom of an incline, by any chance? Truck mounted couplers often have trouble there. Replacing with a Kadee will help, but it sounds like you may need to shim the coupler a little. It may just be loose in the pocket. Hard to tell now whether the coupler was already bent, or getting caught on the rerailer bent it.
> 
> I think you will be much happier with the feeder wires.
> 
> Do you intend to ballast your track as part of installing scenery? That will hide the roadbed.


I like the way the track looks on the black foam roadbed, gotta hit the caulking between the ties with some flat black paint to hide the shine, it may dry clear but it shines like glass

I actually had two rerailers, one at each end of the table , one was about 1/3 up the way up an incline in a turn and the other was up on a riser section of flat track but also in a turn.

I have 2 pair of kayde #142 whisker couplers coming, I have no ideas which kaydes I need, guess I will play that by ear, I see on e bay people have packs of 50 kaydes couplers in a bag for sale, all my cars have hook/horn, might as well replace the couplers with decent stuff on the best cars.

I am running the whole 42 feet of track on one electric connection, plan to space it out and have three places the track gets power.

As far as those two Loco's I bought, I figured I would probably have to deal with dried up gear grease on the diesel and a cleaning and oiling on the steamer.


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## DonR (Oct 18, 2012)

Those bags of Kadee couplers offer good value. But be sure you
get them with draft boxes...or at least some draft boxes...since
you may not be able to replace the horn hooks with the 
Kadees in some boxes. 

The most popular Kadees for most cars are their #148 with
the whisker centering. #5's are also popular but they 
use a brass spring 'box' for centering.

And a 2nd reminder. Do get the Insulated Kadee coupler
height gauge.

Don


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## Bkubiak (Oct 20, 2013)

DonR said:


> Those bags of Kadee couplers offer good value. But be sure you
> get them with draft boxes...or at least some draft boxes...since
> you may not be able to replace the horn hooks with the
> Kadees in some boxes.
> ...


Got the kaydee couplers today and WOW those are cool, so tiny and yet fully functional,I also got those two locos, the Athern diesel came with knuckle couplers and the Life Like steamer came with hook/horn, so I decided to make a transition car. Thought I could just pop out a hho/horn and pop in a kaydee, NOPE, NO WAY JOSE I took a truck with truck couplers off a gondola car and did some staring at it awhile and then attacked it with my hobby saw, had to cut away most of the Gear Box, leaving just a bottom surface to attach my new Kayde gear box to.
It lines up almost perfect with the coupler on my new Athern Diesel


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## DonR (Oct 18, 2012)

You might want to consider moving the draft boxes to the bodies
of your freight cars. On most cars it's an easy installation with
the Kadee draft boxes. Assemble them first, then look at
the bottom of a car. Usually you simply glue the draft box
to the car body under frame. The draft box lip should be immediately
forward of the car body. Sometimes you will need to add
tiny washers to the trucks, or file off bolster material to
vertically align couplers. Body mount couplers are less
likely to derail especially when backing a long train.

Don


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