# New member, my boys and me



## fergusonbrothers (Dec 8, 2014)

G'day, 

Rowan from Australia. My boys and I started a layout about 18months ago and learnt some lessons the hard way. Now we've started again - a small fairly portable layout. We're keeping a video blog, check it out if you're interested in following along.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_tSsya02bLg

We need to figure out the most painless way to join flextrack on a layout with almost no straight sections, any tips or links are welcome!!


----------



## Bone1977 (Jan 17, 2014)

Cut a small chunk of solder before hand. Join the two pieces of track with the rail joiners and use weights to hold them in place. Preheat the area with the soldering iron, then place the chunk of solder at the seam and heat it up. I join a few sections at a time I can lay more than one sections, then use a good set of straight cut nippers and a file to cut and smooth the ends.


----------



## DonR (Oct 18, 2012)

Rowan

...You are so fortunate to have two fine boys who already know
what they are doing. I was as fascinated with them as the
excellent craftsmanship showing in your layout.

...Maybe I am not understanding your intent when you are
asking about joining flex track 'with almost no straight 
sections'. 

...I think you are asking how to join curved sections of
flex track so I'll go on that. My suggestion is to cut
one rail an inch or so longer than the other on each
section to be joined. Carefully
slip the ties off so that they can, after trimming to fit,
slide back onto the rails. This off set joint will be held
in gauge by the reinstalled ties and will aide in avoiding
kinks. Temporarily pin the joint in place and apply glue
or whatever you will use to secure it.

Don


----------



## Bone1977 (Jan 17, 2014)

Having a helper who can fit inside the helix must be a huge advantage  That fact that is an N Scale helix even more so! Love it!


----------



## jesteck (Apr 15, 2014)

Rowan & Co., welcome to the hobby and this forum. I'm going to assume that your question pertains mainly to the flex track on the helix, as once you've mastered that the rest is almost automatic. What has always worked best and easiest for me (I'm old school and solder all the rail joiners I can) is to start on the flat part of the board and work my way up and around the curve one piece of flex at a time, sliding rail toward the inside of the curve, fastening the track as I go with track nails or thumb tacks. I run a small bead of white glue under it to attach it more permanently so the tacks can be removed later if desired. I cut off the protruding rail perpendicular to the centerline of the curve with a Dremel or rail nips, fit on the joiners, and slide in the next length of flex and solder. Repeat as needed. As long as you work one length at a time and have the previous piece fastened as you go, the flex can and does assume a natural curve, no ties need to be removed (you can shave off the molded in spikes if necessary to accommodate the joiners), and Bob's your Aunt Gertrude. You're up and running. I never try to preform or precut flex; it doesn't like it. I just tack and glue it down on the pre-drawn track centerline and cut as I go. No need to wait for the glue to dry if you work a length at a time.


----------



## fergusonbrothers (Dec 8, 2014)

Thanks for all the suggestions. We ended up going with the one section at a time approach which worked well. When we had to join the final section (to close the loop), I left enough of a loose end on each end so we could join them without running out of elbow room (if that makes sense).

I've added a couple more videos to our channel. I'm trying to figure out how to gain subscribers, if you'd like to help please subscribe to our channel.
https://www.youtube.com/c/fergusonrail

regards,
Rowan


----------



## tjcruiser (Jan 10, 2010)

Excellent family project! Love the videos, logo, kid involvement.

One question, though ...

I thought the Coriolis Effect dictated that helixes rotated the other way around on your side of the Earth?!?



Keep up the fun work.

TJ


----------



## traction fan (Oct 5, 2014)

*Welcome*

Ferguson Brothers;

Welcome to the forum. I watched a couple of your videos; very well done. Looks like the boys are having a great time, and providing good help. Great family project! makes me a bit jealous as I go it alone.
Super-elevation, raising the outside rail on a curve, was done on real railroads to allow
higher speed through the curve. It has no real function on a model railroad, but some modelers include it just for looks. Since you had problems with it you are wise to eliminate it on your new railroad. 
I am curious as to what material you are using as roadbed? (the stuff directly under the track) In the video it looked like pressed wood/particle board. It also looked like it might be warping. Plywood with wooden splines glued to the bottom is my choice for roadbed. This provides excellent support, and resists warping well even when I spray water on it to glue
down ballast or scenery..Highly recommended.
A word of caution on soldering rails together. There may be a problem with expansion if the
railroad room has wide variances in temperature. I favor leaving the joints unsoldered at least
every yard (meter) or so. There are differences in opinion among modelers on this. Some favor soldering every joint on the railroad,some,like me don't. That helix contains a pretty long bit of track. If you think your room temp will vary significantly I would leave some joints unsoldered. Wire can be soldered to the rails on either side of such a joint to ensure good electrical connections. Your choice on these recommendations. I was just trying to prevent another "do over" for you.

Again, nice layout and family! Welcome to the forum.

Traction Fan


----------



## Cycleops (Dec 6, 2014)

DonR said:


> ...I think you are asking how to join curved sections of
> flex track so I'll go on that. My suggestion is to cut
> one rail an inch or so longer than the other on each
> section to be joined. Carefully
> ...


Trimming the ties on N gauge so that they slip back under rail is difficult and time consuming. A better and easier way is to use Peco's "fill in" ties which come depressed sections for the rails so they just slide underneath. You might also find their turnout templates useful, just download them from their website. http://www.peco-uk.com

Nice video. The kids look like they are really enjoying.


----------

