I take my track pieces and with them dead straight solder the joints together. Then I lay the rail in any radius I want. This will give you a complete straight joint and I have never had a problem after getting it laid. I have been doing this this way for the last 50 years that I have been in the hobby. It was a teaching from a master molder that was in the first club I was ever in.
Excellent job, and I agree with everything you did. My layout is OO 1m wide, so very tight, which in its self causes issues. I found the curves would become curved angles ish. Then I watched a channel Chadwick Model Railway presented by Charlie. He advised that where a joint appears on a curve you should stagger the couplings on each rail so as not to be opposite each other. It's too late for me, I thought. After time, I never got around to ballasting because of this issue. It was time to stop this stall and move forward, so up came the track. I took two lengths of Peco code 100. Pulled the rail out of one side by 500mm. I did the same to the other length of track. I then cut a short amount on one end as it got bent, filed it so it would easily slide into the other sleeper in the other length. This meant each rail supported the other rail. It worked really well. Family life has held me back from completing the full installation, but it clearly is the way forward. Regards Steve
@montparkmodelrailway300 I have a still image video soon to be released on my channel about how I did it, nothing special, but my attempt to show my process.
@gppsoftware My layout has improved because of staggered joints, bringing an end to derailing, so it's a win win allowing me to move forward with scenic work.
Hi, Can I ask you have you actually modelled a layout on the 'Mont Park line'? I've done a fair bit of research on it in recent years and remember seeing the branch line whilst travelling through Macleod one sunday in 1985. A very interesting line.
In name only unfortunately. I to was fascinated by the old branch line to Mont Park, from Macleod, and it is relatively local to where I live. Even though some my family see the synergies to my layout and when Mont Park was a lunatic asylum.
I take my track pieces and with them dead straight solder the joints together. Then I lay the rail in any radius I want. This will give you a complete straight joint and I have never had a problem after getting it laid. I have been doing this this way for the last 50 years that I have been in the hobby. It was a teaching from a master molder that was in the first club I was ever in.
Excellent job, and I agree with everything you did.
My layout is OO 1m wide, so very tight, which in its self causes issues. I found the curves would become curved angles ish. Then I watched a channel Chadwick Model Railway presented by Charlie.
He advised that where a joint appears on a curve you should stagger the couplings on each rail so as not to be opposite each other. It's too late for me, I thought. After time, I never got around to ballasting because of this issue.
It was time to stop this stall and move forward, so up came the track. I took two lengths of Peco code 100. Pulled the rail out of one side by 500mm. I did the same to the other length of track. I then cut a short amount on one end as it got bent, filed it so it would easily slide into the other sleeper in the other length.
This meant each rail supported the other rail.
It worked really well.
Family life has held me back from completing the full installation, but it clearly is the way forward.
Regards Steve
Certainly Charlie's method of staggering the rail joints would be a more effective and less troublesome, thanks Steve
@montparkmodelrailway300 I have a still image video soon to be released on my channel about how I did it, nothing special, but my attempt to show my process.
@gppsoftware My layout has improved because of staggered joints, bringing an end to derailing, so it's a win win allowing me to move forward with scenic work.
@gppsoftware I thought you meant on model railways. I do appreciate your comment as I don't know everything.
well done -a video to the point (not making a 15-minute story out of "nothing")
Hi, Can I ask you have you actually modelled a layout on the 'Mont Park line'? I've done a fair bit of research on it in recent years and remember seeing the branch line whilst travelling through Macleod one sunday in 1985.
A very interesting line.
In name only unfortunately. I to was fascinated by the old branch line to Mont Park, from Macleod, and it is relatively local to where I live. Even though some my family see the synergies to my layout and when Mont Park was a lunatic asylum.
They are rail joiners, Not fish plates as you stated..
Correctamundo 😃...
And the sleepers as you call them are actually RAIL ROAD TIES...
should NEVER have a track join on a curve track joiners are straight so will ALWAYS be a slight straight if used on a curve