Get Perfect Track With NEW ProTrack Rail Aligners (156)
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 19 ธ.ค. 2020
- Getting perfect alignment of track a model layout or module joints can be something of a challenge. And it is very important to be able to protect your rails from damage when separated, especially if they are moved around a lot. However RailAligners from ModelTech make the job easy and reliable, providing quick and prefect alignments each time they are connected. Plus they can be used for track connections on permanent layouts where lift out sections are employed. So watch as I share with you the ease with which these can be installed even on existing track on my modules.
www.modeltech.uk - แนวปฏิบัติและการใช้ชีวิต
Wouldn’t you want the model tech aligners NOT glued to the board? To me, it makes sense to have the last inch of track, where the aligners are, able to have that very limited flexibility to lock in place every single time. It’s only the last inch & I know not everyone would agree with this, but this would create a point of connection at the track seam not completely dependant on the module connectors. This way if a bolt hole expands or a pin shifts over time on the module, the track interlocking seam will find its way to a perfect connection. Cheers!
I bought some a while ago and was wondering how to fit them to my already fitted track. Now I don’t need to wonder anymore. Yet another informative video
Thanks Larry. I did a search and then realised I’d seen these reviewed on another channel back in August but your review and demonstration is so much more informative and comprehensive. I can now appreciate the full genius of the “simple” engineering and its applications.
Merry Christmas Larry and to all the followers of this channel.
Thank you for this video. Have already bought the aligners and it's great to actually see them being fitted Derrick. Cardiff UK
i had seen their TH-cam demo on this product several weeks ago. very cool. thank you for the demo on use and installation. very much a game changer for the module groups.
Yes, now they can throw away those little transition rail sections. I think Gwion demonstrated these on his own channel. However the US code 83 versions are so hot out of the factory he was just beginning the design work when I contacted him a month ago. It took almost 3 weeks for the Royal Mail and USPS to get them to me! I guess holiday shipping has everything really backed up now.
People always come out with great ideas 💡👍
This fantastic! I have been planning a removable model and this will simplify things greatly 👍
Larry, you continue to find these wonderful products for modular railroading from across the pond! I am sure that there are more products from there due to modules being so much more popular over there. Once I finalize my trackplan, I will be making an order!
Wishing you and yours a very Merry Christmas.
These are great! My layout was built sectional so that it could be moved if necessary and so I could build my bench work in the shop and bring them into my train room as needed. Looking forward to your video for the lift out use of these!
Great video. I too had seen these recently and your video is excellent. Merry Christmas!
Great video and thank you for this great information. Have a wonderful and restful Christmas!
Hi Larry. Already bought some of these, but have yet to install them. It was great to see how you installed them on pre-laid track. Have a great Xmas and all the best for the New Year.
Hi Larry. Great instructional video. I used those same words - it's "a game changer" - if you have to constantly lift or remove sections of layout. I've just ordered a set today, can't wait. Best wishes, Angus.
Thank you for all your great Videos, Advice and Courtesy. May I wish you and yours a very happy Christmas, and a peaceful, successful and healthy New Year.
Thanks Peter, happy holidays to you as well-Larry
Great Video as usual Larry, looks good bit of Kit. Than you.
Wauuu Nice , having been looking for this , but no other Channel have this 👍thanks awesome from🇩🇰
I have a drop gate on one end of my staging yard and alignment has been problematic. These are brilliant! I will be purchasing several and giving them a try. Thank you for sharing!
Edited to just add that I’ll be on the lookout to see how you handle the lift out.
Thanks again!
If you go to the modeltech.uk website and click through on the Rail Aligners there is an instruction sheet that shows how to use them with a lift out.
Looks good Larry
Hi Larry, I was watching the Modeltech TH-cam channel on these rail aligners last week and they do look a game changer for module track alignment. Having now watched your video on retro fitting them to existing trackwork it gives me idea on how to the same on my portable layout.
Finally, Merry Christmas and enjoy this festive period and look forward to catching your video.
Thanks Gary. I just finished installing them on all 4 tracks at the gap on the modules and painted them so I can show them in the next video. They blend in fairly nice and when I do ballast them that will finish it. If I get bored tomorrow I a,y just go ahead and post the next video on schedule as a Christmas present, and then take the 3 days off.
@@TheDCCGuy Thanks for the reply Larry...be interested on how you did the track aligners at the angle across board joint ? Happy Holidays..
Gary, there really is not much if a problem with angled installs. Gwion told me they can be angled as much as 45 degrees and still work because of the angles of the teeth in the aligners. My problem was I had two back to back electrofrogs at the gap so I had to adjust for the short ends beyond the points. Still worked out fine. I wish now that I had filled the track nail holes with putty or super glue as those do stick out since none of the other ties have them. I likely will just squeeze in some filler and touch up with paint.
@@TheDCCGuy Many thanks Larry. I am going order some after Christmas..😃
Love all your track videos!!! I got a few ok videos of mine.
what a great idea! Thanks for sharing. I've subscribed! Thanks. Dave
Another great video Larry. It may also help to use a track gauge over the joint to keep the rails perfectly aligned whilst soldering.
Yes, I was going to do that but mine is buried somewhere right now. I hope to find it in time for the second video on these.
Great demo. I have always thought that heat sinks - when soldering rail near plastic ties - is a very good idea (thanks Excelite!). Not sure where to purchase them, but in the U.K. you can buy a 'three-way' rail/track aligner (as opposed to the roller type of track gauge from DCC Concepts for example), which keeps the rail ends accurately gauged and in line, and allows a soldering iron between 2 of the points to correctly solder the rail in place.
Very nice video, hanks for sharing
Nice Review. Nice product.
Thank you!
Looks as though you could also use these to supply power to the track. You could even cut a single tie to use as a feeder connector,
I'd like to see how these work at the "angled" section of track off the switch you have just above the section you worked. I'm guessing the segment is fairly straight, but there'd be a big of overhang to be cautious of if you're moving/storing/transporting the modules?
Otherwise, I need to get a ton of these and get to work on laying some track. Track alignment has been my biggest concern with starting a modular layout. I think this will help quite a lot.
Thanks for the great tips and excellent demonstration videos Larry!
They do overlap but only a little at that one point. These can be installed on angled track up to 45 degrees and still mesh properly. I will be showing all the completed installs in my Friday video-yes I decided to release it on schedule just to get it out of the way.
The guy is a genius
Traviesas de contacto para maquetas modulares HO.
No usan joiners.
Eso le da conductividad a la via en maqueta modular.
Excelente 📹📽️🎥.
Mi maqueta es compacta.
Escala N.
Hi Larry, for lining up track at the baseboard join when you first install then fine, but I think you are pushing it if you expect them to pull a lift out or hinged lift up section into alignment when the physics of that section has slop or any bias to either side (including that which may develope over time). I can see these pcbs getting easily broken or misaligned in those instances if both are firmly fixed down, to avoid one must be allowed to float so it can self align. Good lift out section alignment performance relies on a frame that doesn't distort at the interface with the two edges (temp and humidity considerations) and if unavoidable has some form of alignment mechanism e.g. tooling pins. Just imagine your soft wood frame drying out and twisting slightly with humidity changes, the forces involved are incredible. Getting this design right in the first place makes these aligners redundant in my book and that's where I would urge fellow modellers to focus their efforts! Stephen
Stephen, I too have had second thoughts about using it on the large lift outs since they have 4 separate tracks and that would be a reach to drop all four in place on both ends without knocking the Rail Aligners loose. I am now taking a look at whether I can use them on my lift out bridge across the door into the layout room. More on this to come.
@@TheDCCGuy Larry, good to see you have realised their limitations. Look forward to see how you get on.
My thoughts exactly ,, great for a club type DEMO table layout but i'm doing the PENNSY 4 mainline 10 ft. Across horseshoe curve , live in MICHIGAN were our temps go from 90+ summer to 0 winter humidity all over the place .
I used 2×4 framing and 3/4 inch plywood and still have to leave about 1/16 of an inch for expansion at every rail joint ..
Gary these are great. I will be needing several pairs of these when I build the new layout. I’m using atlas code 100. I hope they are compatible. Thanks. David
The HO code 83 version should have ties closer to US practices. The standard HO/OO version uses ties for UK practice.
@@TheDCCGuy so the code 83 should work then
@@TheDCCGuy Thanks for this info, and what a great product... I think they should rename the "USA Code 83 (RAU16001)" into something HO or North America specific to prevent this confusion. Glad I read your comments as I was about to buy the "standard" version they sell, thinking that implied North American code 100, and did not realize the tie (sleeper) spacing was the real key!
Cool
Oh you mention that later in the vid
HAPPY HOLIDAYS to you and yours.
Enjoy your channel lot of info and ideas (I'm just starting) have a question since you are doing UK / US track code 83 and 75 bullhead what's the difference?
Peco US code 83 is .083” tall whereas UK bullhead is 0.075”. The new Peco bullhead rails are much skinnier rail than even their standard UK code 75 rail. US track has metal tie plates and rail spikes to hold the rails whereas UK tracks have “chairs” in which the rails sit and are/were held in place with wooden and later metal wedges. Also the UK ties or sleepers are wider than on US tracks and the spacing on UK track is greater. The Peco bullhead track looks very much like On30 narrow gauge track as a result. For this and other reasons I decided to use the Peco standard instead of their bullhead track since they had not started making bullhead turnouts and mixing the bullhead rail with the stand turnouts would not have looked right. It also is much more expensive and once painted, ballasted, and scenery placed all around you really don’t notice it unless you look close and know what to look for.
Thanks for another great informative video Larry. Shouldn't you be able to use these on any code track since they get soildered to the bottom of the rails? I was also wondering how they might work on a radius section?
Hard to say how well they would work on a curve, but I suspect it would depend on the degree of curvature. Yes, they are basically independent of code since that only refers to how tall the individual rials are. However, The thickness of the PCB ties may be slightly different but that could be fixed with a little sanding if too thick. The main difference is the dimensions of the toes compared to the plastic ones and their spacing as these differ among the various versions . So the US code 83 version looks like and is spaced like Peco, MicroEngineering, and probably other similar US prototype HO track.
Great product. I am wondering if anyone has figured out how to combine with an expansion joints, so the length would could be slid a bit for adjustments where there are multiple modules, some newer than the others.
sorry no link for you.
but yes there is a product on the market just read about it in the past week. it s a "stretchable. section of track for use on modules. (as in safely spanning the gap between sections).
I wonder if he's planning a joiner for Atlas code 83, that would be great for Freemo!
I bet these would be fine with Atlas code 83. I have a piece or two around here and will check tomorrow. These would be great for all the model railroad modular groups, just need to get the rule makers to sign off on them as you can’t have half doing their modules different ways unless you make up some transition modules to go between.
This is cool. I can use these. Would you use a Track gauge to make sure the track is in gauge when soldering?
Yes, those would be useful and I finally found my set this afternoon-better late than never!
I use dcc and use the ends of the flex track about every three pieces to have sections in case of a move and these would be very helpful for that purpose but if you make the separation point the end of a signal block as well, wouldn’t these prevent you from electrically isolating the block? You may have to cut the foil on these under the track to isolate the power. Since you physically have them, does it look like the foil can be cut easily?
As long as you gap the rails at that point the blocks would be isolated. Tnere is no aelectrical connection across the pair of Rail Aligners just the three ties in each section and of course the rail itself. The metal traces are thin enough they can easily be scraped off.
Thank you for your response and for clearing that up. Thank you for your videos, they are very educational and informative.
Hi Larry, a guy here from the uk - Did you ever do a video for using the Modeltech for the lift out section, if so what number video
No, once I decided to use the DCCconcepts alignment dowels I dropped the idea of using the Modeltech parts. I also figured that using them for a lift out/drop in bridge would not be a good idea as they are more likely to get broken due to a mismatch or even worse someone walking into the bridge. The dowels though create a very robust solution.
Larry will these work on a drop down gate, fast track make copper sleepers, I was going to try these, install track then cut your track
I will be doing a video next week on using these for a lift out which is essentially the same as a lift gate and will have a better feel once I have tried that. I also have a lift out bridge that would benefit from these and may retrofit it with them if the lift out works well. So look for the next video on these.
Hi Larry , great news, I am building my first layout, need a lift out or lift gate, I built a lift out but feel a Lift gate will be better, just not sure how the track works at the hinge side, thanks for your videos , great work
Hi there just watched your video and i was wondering will those track aligners work with both DC and DCC layouts and are they offered in different scales as well?
They are DC DCC agnostic, so work fine with both systems. Equally they are available in a number of scales including narrow scale and O.
Hi Larry
Thanks for all your great videos.
I hope that you and your loved ones have a very happy Christmas.
Paul from Zillmere
They work with all power sources
I'd like to see them in S gauge (1:64 scale).
As the others said they are available in many scales and work with DC and DCC. Take a look at the variety at www.modeltech.uk .
might work for my lift out bridge?
I would be afraid they might be damaged if the overhang catches. Watch my video on how I redid my lift out bridge.
Where can I find the heat sink clamps that you are using?
I’ve searched the internet and can’t find anything similar
Try Amazon and eBay.
I just ordered a set on Amazon,, $6.38 each
Trout Master can you please give me a link? I’ve searched and can’t find it
Bought a set on Amazon, need strong fingers to open. They are almost impossible to keep on code 83 track. Then I thought bend the tips inward towards each other. Works like a charm.
This does not answern the question of how do you fit the aligners at TWO ENDS of say a bridge or a lift-out. I have a bridge and have fitted the aligners at both ends but when I lift the bridge the ends of the aligners get caught up with each other. The one shown above the lift-out section was slid into place I cannot do that.
Des-I was thinking of doing a similar lift out installation too but due to the problems you mentioned put that on the back burner.
These look kind of nifty, for sure. But it would seem that they're only useful where are rails are perpendicular to the module face plate. In situations where the rail centerline is dihedral to the face plate, they wouldn't seem to be as useful.
Additionally, based on many years experience with module join-up, wouldn't these devices perform better if the rails had some degree of lateral float or flexure in way of the module joint, rather than being tightly fixed laterally?
I would respectfully suggest separating the rails from their tie connections for maybe 3 ties back from these joiner devices, and NOT gluing or fixing these devices to the roadbed.
Good question and I should have mentioned this. Because of the angles of the alignment “teeth” these will work with track angled as much as 45 degrees off normal.
How do you use them when the track crosses the joint at an angle?
If I remember correctly, because of their design, they can be placed at up to a 45 degree angle and still give perfect alignment.
How do you use them on a track that goes across the board at angle ?
They are designed to work up to a 45 degree angle.
Do you sell this product ? If not, where might I purchase them. Thanks
It’s in the description, www.modeltech.uk
You forgot to test them with a locomotive/train
How does this work on the lift bridge
I couldn’t figure a way to make it work. You need to be able to slide the two parts together to get a close fit and I’m afraid that with a drop down lift gate the two parts would either be too close together and catch on each other or there would be an annoying gap.
Real shame there is no links provided. I ve tried googling model tech and pro whateever and nothing shows up.
I mentioned the link in the video www.modeltech.uk .
@@TheDCCGuy Thanks. I didn't go thru the entire video. Sorry I should be more attentive. % minutes in I knew I was very interested. Thanks again
Just spent a frustrating 2hr trying to solder the rail to the ! Using flax ! Help
You have to be more specific than that.
I’ve used the flux,solder and soldering iron before for soldering feed wires to track but just couldn’t get the solder to adhere using the aligner . Using O gauge Pecorino track.
Any reason these would not work with ME Code 70 rail?
I don’t see why not-he says in the description they work with everything from code 75 to 100 and left out 70 but that may simply be because they are made in the UK. He also makes a code 83 version and I think that may be due to differences in tie thicknesses between US and UK product. It would be good to check his website (www.modeltech.uk) to see if he gives tie thicknesses or send him an email.
I just checked my stuff and it is the tie sizes and spacing that differ between the US and UK versions. The US code 83 version perfectly matches my ME code 70 flextrack.
I guess these are not easy to use where track doesn't cross baseboard joints perpendicularly?
Actually as I said on the video they can be used on as much as a 45 degree angle at a joint.
@@TheDCCGuy It worries me because with one edge of the aligner standing slightly proud of the baseboard edge, there is scope for accidental damage while manhandling/transporting the disassembled layout. Could lead to time-consuming emergency repairs when setting up.
Yes, I guess that could be a concern. However the same is true for the exposed edges of the scenery. I have seen layouts that the owners actually installed a protective edge on the ends and other exposed areas during transport. This could be as simple as bolting a 1x4 to the ends and that would protect the ends of the track. Some even have plywood boxes that fit over the modules for protection. so they can be stacked.
What about curved connections?
They can be used up to a 45 degree angle, but a curve is a curve.
Do you know if they have this in N Scale?
Thank you for your shows.
Yes, they have them in scales from Z to O. The website link is in the description.