# Unanswered Question about track



## kix662003 (Mar 8, 2013)

In a former post about my new layout, I asked if soldering Flyer S gauge track is a good idea or a no-no. In two of my model railroad magazines, there are articles or photos of soldering rail joiners or track connectors on HO track. I assume that Flyer track was designed to strictly use the steel pins to join the pieces, with fiber pins to isolate track power when possible shorts or polarity is a problem. The 16b transformer I just purchased on eBay will probably take care of any speed issues and accessories slowing the engine down, but I'd still like to know the why or why not. I guess you could call me Curious George!


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## The New Guy (Mar 11, 2012)

I solder some joints, and all power drops. 

HTH CG


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## gunrunnerjohn (Nov 10, 2010)

I solder tubular track all the time. For joints, I recommend a small piece of wire across soldered at the ends, don't solder the actual joint. This makes it easy to take it apart if necessary, and also the flexing from heating and cooling won't crack the solder.


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## kix662003 (Mar 8, 2013)

Any particular gauge or type of wire? How long would you think a small piece would be on postwar Flyer? I imagine that I would need to use flux and solder on the very bottom or underneath?


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## gunrunnerjohn (Nov 10, 2010)

I use either #20 or #22, it's only about 1/2 inch long. The track pin is there as well, but the wire makes sure the joint is truly low-resistance.


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## Aflyer (Nov 10, 2010)

Kix,
I think Gunrunner John has a great method for soldering the track sections, but I don't currently plan to solder mine.

I have had good success so far with bending the pins as we already discussed and on my current layout build I will have an 18 gauge power feed every 3 to 5 feet or sections, connected to a 14 gauge bus that goes to the transformer. 

On my old layout I had two 690 track clips on opposite sides of each loop on a 5X10 layout, that is all, and I saw very little voltage drop.

So my plan is to start without soldering track sections, and if I have any problems I have that as a backup option.

Aflyer


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## gunrunnerjohn (Nov 10, 2010)

I had soldered my original layout, it was two 4x8 tables with O27 track. It was decommissioned when I realized that most of the cool locomotives I wanted to acquire wouldn't run on it!


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## sjm9911 (Dec 20, 2012)

Not to distract from the thread, but on my O Guage layout I used a rust inhibitor/ electrical conducting gel on my pins, I do not know the long term effects ( I couldn't see a downside to not using it). I have two loops separately powered, all accessories and switches on different power sources and I only used two lockons on each loop. Almost no power drop. The layout is 2 sheets of plywood about 40 prices of track in each loop. I bought it at hd. So far 6-7 months in no problems.


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## shaygetz (Sep 23, 2007)

sjm9911 said:


> Not to distract from the thread, but on my O Guage layout I used a rust inhibitor/ electrical conducting gel on my pins,...


Since it looks like I've a large cache of S scale track to use, when I put up my ceiling trains, I was thinking of dielectric grease myself, yours would seem to work along those lines.:thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup:


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## gunrunnerjohn (Nov 10, 2010)

I use DeoxIt D5 on connections.


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## Nuttin But Flyer (Dec 19, 2011)

There might be two ideas being discussed here, so I want to clarify. Are you trying to determine whether it would be helpful to solder the track joint or are you considering the method of soldering wire connections to the track, perhaps at the joint or otherwise?

Like Aflyer, I have never had a problem with power dropping between track sections -- that's not to say it doesn't happen. The use of the solvents mentioned above will probably help a lot to prevent any drop in voltage.

If you are looking for a method to attach the wires to the track by means of soldering, they can be soldered directly to the bottom of the rails. The rails are rolled into their "rail shape". With that process, there is a seam along the bottom of the rail that can be pried open slightly. A wire can be inserted in there and soldered to provide good contact. You could also just solder the wire to the bottom without sliding it into the joint. Do this on each side and repeat in regular places along long runs and you should be fine. Just be sure to maintain correct polarity as you proceed. Route the wires through a hole to the underside of the layout and connect them to your main bus. They can be hidden by any ballast you add to the track later.


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## kix662003 (Mar 8, 2013)

Model Railroader Magazine sent me a sample issue and included their Workbench Guide. One of the 7 topics in the Guide is Soldering. There's good info on how to make good wiring connections, processes, equipment & care, and soldering rail feeders. I always see welding on new style track for N & HO, but not on on O or postwar S. I was wondering why and if it should be done on Flyer track. Gunrunnerjohn filled me in on his methods and experience with O gauge, and others said they've added power ports and repaired less-than-perfect connections by soldering AF track as well. 

Usually, I see that .025" rosin-core solder is being used (on the smaller scale tracks) with a 40-Watt iron. I'm wondering if .032" rosin-core solder should also be used on S and O gauge, and if a 40-Waltt iron will heat the larger track enough to get a good joint? After I had to remove the crossing piece from my original plan because the engine had so much trouble crossing it, I wonder if I could have added some connecting wires between pieces of track, or added another power terminal. I like the new layout, though, and my question is more for knowledge and not to solve a current issue (I hope). Still don't have track on the board yet, but making progress in general.

Thanks to all who have shared their remedies and experiences so far.


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## daveh219 (Sep 16, 2012)

Gunner, Kix, Shay and others...suggestions on soldering feeder wires to AF track. Having trouble getting a good connection between track and wire...


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## gunrunnerjohn (Nov 10, 2010)

If you clean off the track and do a bit of scraping with a flat bladed screwdriver, I can't imagine having trouble soldering it. You do need an iron that delivers enough heat, my track tool is the Weller 100/140W gun.


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## kix662003 (Mar 8, 2013)

You may need some paste flux with the hotter iron. Heatsinks using angled needle nose pliers with rubber bands holding them tightly shut on either side of the solder joint will help keep heat localized. I was afraid that the "extra" heat would ruin something else. I saw where someone attached the wires to the steel pins like the fed rail joiners that Atlas has for HO. I'm using a set of those on my HO board. I doubt that you'd need a soldering gun on the pin. I don't know if he notched the track ends for the wire, but I doubt it. He put the feeder wire right in the center of the pins, so the wire is between the pieces of track. It looked like single strand 22-gauge. Hope this helps.


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## kix662003 (Mar 8, 2013)

There's a great article on 'The art of soldering' in the Aug 2013 Model Railroader on Pg. 17 written by an Instructor for U.S. Army R&D. He dispels a lot of myths and mistakes that magazines print about soldering. I wondered about the "new" flux that's out today!!! He covers it. Only about 9 paragraphs, so it can be read while standing at a magazine rack at the store.


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