Thanks again for all your help. The soldering has worked out great so far. Of course have a new issue that has arisen and was wondering if you ever had this problem. My locomotive has recently haulted on both manual left switches (O31 and O36). Seems to be a fairly common issue but have yet to find any solution. Looses power on both sides just past the fork. Ever had this problem??? Thanks again!
Not a problem I’ve had to deal with but I also haven’t used those switches They could possibly just need a real good cleaning? I currently don’t have any switches on my layout because I hate the problems that I get with them. But in the past, I’ve used Lionel O 22 switches and I’ve always found that taking them apart and cleaning the insides really well helps a lot
Hey Papa! Great video. I will subscribe for sure. I have a question. My layout track is essentially permanently down. I did that naively while building my first table. Now I have a bad connection that is shorting the table. I fixed the problem temporarily by laying a nail next to the center rail joint that is the problem and it bypasses the short. I'm thinking about soldering that center rail joint for a more permanent fix. Have you any experience soldering the actual rail? Any advice is welcome! Thanks in advance!
I assume that that would work. I’ve never soldered fast track together from the top. The only issue you might run into is melting some of the plastic when you’re heating up the track. if you get any solder on the top of the rail you want to file that down to make it smooth.
I currently have the fastrack plug and play using the wall plug in terminal. I am looking to extend my track to about 35 ft this year for our xmas village. Am I able to add an additional plug in terminal putting them at far ends of extended track? Any advice helps. Thank you so much!!
I’m not 100% sure. Here’s a link to a train forum that may help. It’s explaines options . I think using a 72watt plug with wire leads about every 10 feet would do the trick . But in what I read just plugging in 2 “wall warts” didn’t seem like a good idea I got rid of all my Fastrack and switched to Tubular www.modeltrainforum.com/threads/power-supply.67722/ Here’s a link to how I wired my tubular track which will also work with Fastrack th-cam.com/video/dWnrWq6TlN8/w-d-xo.htmlsi=SZf-Pt9XVQJH3HWr I hope this helps
@@Pvilletrains Yes, went ahead and bout the 72 watt. And yes I think it's finally time to learn to solder. :) I will try to keep as many pieces wired together as I can, but since its a temporary track with mostly large pieces that will need to get boxed up, is soldering very easy to reverse and remove the wire? Also, last question....Is there any particular "type" of wire that should be used. Sorry first time diving into this. Thank you so much!!
I used 18 gauge wire. And yes it is very easy to remove the wire once soldered, just heat it up and remove the wires. Also next time you set it up it will be much easier to solder them back together because you’ll already have solder on there so you’ll just heat it up again and reattach the wire again
That video was from my old layout, and if I remember correctly, it was 18 gauge. Since then, I built a new layout and I use 14 gauge to my track and 16 to the accessories. But also my new layout is tubular track and not fast track. Thanks for watching
I know this is a video from last year, but I have a TMCC 8x8 layout that is powered by a CW80 transformer with classic Tmcc controls and a legacy powermaster. I’m now having this issue on my layout. I’ve already tried tightening the fastrack pins and I still have voltage drops. Does this style of wiring work on O-42 curves?
Yes, it should work on all fast track. When I redid my layout, I got rid of all my fast track and changed over to tubular in my opinion. It works a lot better and also is a lot quieter.
Unfortunately, they don’t make plastic Fastrak pins. If you know somebody with a 3-D printer, maybe they could make them for you. Otherwise, just remove the metal pin.
I would also suggest if you’re just gonna pull the pin either file down the end of the middle rail just a tiny bit or put something in between the two rails to make sure that they don’t make any contact
I don’t use flux on the track. I just heat it up and add a little solder I’m out of town until Friday but when I get home I’ll send you a message and let you know what brand of solder I’m using
Thanks so much. I knew other folks were having this issue. Great solution!
Sure needed this video,been fighting shorts for months. Now I'll get busy and enjoy my layout. thankyou!!
Thanks for the help,been fighting shorts for several years.
Thank You!! I am committed.
Nice lesson 🙂
Thanks again for all your help. The soldering has worked out great so far. Of course have a new issue that has arisen and was wondering if you ever had this problem. My locomotive has recently haulted on both manual left switches (O31 and O36). Seems to be a fairly common issue but have yet to find any solution. Looses power on both sides just past the fork. Ever had this problem??? Thanks again!
Not a problem I’ve had to deal with but I also haven’t used those switches
They could possibly just need a real good cleaning?
I currently don’t have any switches on my layout because I hate the problems that I get with them. But in the past, I’ve used Lionel O 22 switches and I’ve always found that taking them apart and cleaning the insides really well helps a lot
Hey Papa! Great video. I will subscribe for sure. I have a question. My layout track is essentially permanently down. I did that naively while building my first table. Now I have a bad connection that is shorting the table. I fixed the problem temporarily by laying a nail next to the center rail joint that is the problem and it bypasses the short. I'm thinking about soldering that center rail joint for a more permanent fix. Have you any experience soldering the actual rail? Any advice is welcome! Thanks in advance!
I assume that that would work. I’ve never soldered fast track together from the top. The only issue you might run into is melting some of the plastic when you’re heating up the track. if you get any solder on the top of the rail you want to file that down to make it smooth.
I currently have the fastrack plug and play using the wall plug in terminal. I am looking to extend my track to about 35 ft this year for our xmas village. Am I able to add an additional plug in terminal putting them at far ends of extended track? Any advice helps. Thank you so much!!
I’m not 100% sure. Here’s a link to a train forum that may help. It’s explaines options . I think using a 72watt plug with wire leads about every 10 feet would do the trick . But in what I read just plugging in 2 “wall warts” didn’t seem like a good idea
I got rid of all my Fastrack and switched to Tubular
www.modeltrainforum.com/threads/power-supply.67722/
Here’s a link to how I wired my tubular track which will also work with Fastrack
th-cam.com/video/dWnrWq6TlN8/w-d-xo.htmlsi=SZf-Pt9XVQJH3HWr
I hope this helps
@@Pvilletrains Yes, went ahead and bout the 72 watt. And yes I think it's finally time to learn to solder. :) I will try to keep as many pieces wired together as I can, but since its a temporary track with mostly large pieces that will need to get boxed up, is soldering very easy to reverse and remove the wire? Also, last question....Is there any particular "type" of wire that should be used. Sorry first time diving into this. Thank you so much!!
I also watched a video of very slightly pinching the tubes with pliers to promote best connection. So might try that with the non-wired pieces.
I used 18 gauge wire. And yes it is very easy to remove the wire once soldered, just heat it up and remove the wires. Also next time you set it up it will be much easier to solder them back together because you’ll already have solder on there so you’ll just heat it up again and reattach the wire again
@cooljz82 that helps, on straight tracks you can also very slightly bend the tabs for s better connection .
So every 4 or 5 sections of track you repeat the soddering process like you did in this video?
Yes. Some people will say do it for each track but I think that’s crazy overkill.
What gauge wire are you using?
That video was from my old layout, and if I remember correctly, it was 18 gauge. Since then, I built a new layout and I use 14 gauge to my track and 16 to the accessories. But also my new layout is tubular track and not fast track.
Thanks for watching
I know this is a video from last year, but I have a TMCC 8x8 layout that is powered by a CW80 transformer with classic Tmcc controls and a legacy powermaster. I’m now having this issue on my layout. I’ve already tried tightening the fastrack pins and I still have voltage drops. Does this style of wiring work on O-42 curves?
Yes, it should work on all fast track.
When I redid my layout, I got rid of all my fast track and changed over to tubular in my opinion. It works a lot better and also is a lot quieter.
Do they insulated rail pins for Fastrak or, do I just remove the center pin to cut power to a section of Fastrak.
Unfortunately, they don’t make plastic Fastrak pins. If you know somebody with a 3-D printer, maybe they could make them for you. Otherwise, just remove the metal pin.
@@Pvilletrains Thank you
I would also suggest if you’re just gonna pull the pin either file down the end of the middle rail just a tiny bit or put something in between the two rails to make sure that they don’t make any contact
What brand of flux do you use. I am having trouble getting solder to adhere to the tabs on fastrack. It just balls up and a rosin film on the tabs
I don’t use flux on the track. I just heat it up and add a little solder
I’m out of town until Friday but when I get home I’ll send you a message and let you know what brand of solder I’m using
The solder I’m using does not have a brand name on the package but it is a 0.6 mm diameter with added flux of 1.6%.
@@Pvilletrains Thanks for the info. Great video!
Thanks!!!!!!
I love Atlas O gauge. i have fastrack and Atlas . Atlas far superior connectors and accessory isolation.
I've seen HO scale track that's way dirtier than that.