Using Peco flexible track

[davecar]

Hi,
I have a layout about 23 metres long and at each end the track curves round trees and waterfalls etc (they were in place long before my railway).I built my layout 2 years ago and knowing nothing better I used the dreaded R1 curves. I need to live with these curves because the option of using more garden for gentle curves is not available - nor do I have the inclination to start again! On some of the bends I almost "force" the track to comply with garden features and as a result the track leaves a gap at the joint on one side which can cause problems.

I wondered if flexible track would be a better option as all my curves are short track. I have discovered the following track on the internet at a cost of £67 plus postage.
ST-902 Peco G-45 Track: Setrack 6 x Straights[/h3] I have been unable to find any info about this type of track and its use. How flexible is flexible? Can it be bent by hand or do you need a tool? Can it be bent to replicate R1 curves? I can see it being useful in my predicament as it avoids the track joints in tight situations.

Any advice gratefully received.

Kind regards,

Dave

 

[adeshers]

Hi,
I have a layout about 23 metres long and at each end the track curves round trees and waterfalls etc (they were in place long before my railway).I built my layout 2 years ago and knowing nothing better I used the dreaded R1 curves. I need to live with these curves because the option of using more garden for gentle curves is not available - nor do I have the inclination to start again! On some of the bends I almost "force" the track to comply with garden features and as a result the track leaves a gap at the joint on one side which can cause problems.

I wondered if flexible track would be a better option as all my curves are short track. I have discovered the following track on the internet at a cost of £67 plus postage.
ST-902 Peco G-45 Track: Setrack 6 x Straights I have been unable to find any info about this type of track and its use. How flexible is flexible? Can it be bent by hand or do you need a tool? Can it be bent to replicate R1 curves? I can see it being useful in my predicament as it avoids the track joints in tight situations.

Any advice gratefully received.

Kind regards,

Dave

Dave, the ST-902 setrack are rigid (like LGB), you need the SL-900 which are 900mm lengths of track with the webbing of the sleepers cut in several places along its length. To bend it in a gentle curve you can ease it around a suitably sized belly (prodigious gallons of ale having being drunk for the previous 30 years seems to work okay ) but the rail will often try to straighten up again once down on the ground. To produce a curve as tight as R1 you will need to take each rail off the sleeper web and bend it smoothly to the required radius and then re-thread the sleepers (that's the tricky bit - a little WD40 might help here). Some have advocated staggering the joint between lengths to avoid gapping. I've not tried this myself but my Peco track is not laid to such tight radii.
Hope this helps -

 

[maxi-model]

First off the Peco track is Code 250/Nickle plated and not the Code 332/Plain brass that I assume you are using now (R1 = LGB ?). Visually not good to mix and difficult/impossible to match in with LGB stuff. Although I have mixed Tenmille code 250 with LGB code 332 on my line, they make an adapter to fit them together. Still not ideal.

Better contact one of the established garden railway retailers for advise on the most economical match-up (Aristocraft/Accucraft/Piko/Trainline) code 332 flexi-track to go with what you already have.

Highly reccomend you use a railbender for good even curves - expensive bits of kit but worth it. I think back2bay6 do a hire service on one of these. make sure it has the right rollers fitted for the track profile you have chosen. You might find you are able to play around making up some "prototypical" progressive transitional curves that will give you greater freedom on the stock you run in future.

Remember you can always sell on the redundant track you end up with here or on evilbay for a reasonable return to offset costs.

Max.

 

[yb281]

The problem with bending flexi track to the same sort of radius as R1's is that you may have problems with the gauge becoming reduced. I've recently been laying gauge 3 flexi track and it is supplied with a slightly wider gauge for bending to minimum radius (which is considerably more than required for G scale).

 

[jameshilton]

I've another suggestion - how about using rail clamps on the joints, that way they can't open up and you'll get a true R1 curve - although you may need to do some minor tweaks to the landscape to fit I suspect it's easier than trying to do flexi-track R1 radius!

 

[maxi-model]

For some reason I cannot get into my posting to do and edit.

Note - Tenmille is Code 332 but a different rail profile to that of LGB - hence the can be joined, but only with adapters.

Code xxx refers to the rail height in thou' of an inch. Code 250 is a lower height rail to LGB and other's 332 hence unadvisability/impossibility to join with Code 332 type (82 thou height difference).

Max.

 

[ntpntpntp]

If you want to try some code 332 flexible track (same profile as LGB) then I'd recommend the AMS stuff sold by Track-Shack. I've used this and been pleased with it. You can buy it in boxes of 3-foot lengths. Looks like it's out of stock at the moment though.

http://www.track-shack.com/acatalog/AMS_GScale_Garden_Railway_Track.html < Link To http://www.track-shack.co...den_Railway_Track.html

Whatever happens you will have "fun" trying to bend flexible track down as tight as R1, really it's meant for gentle sweeping curves. You'd need a rail-bender to do a decent job, as others have suggested (there's one on that page fore the AMS track above). To be honest, I'd normally recommend using set-track rather than flexible track for tight curves, the set-track will hold it's shape better.

If you're getting gaps at rail joints where you've "adjusted" the R1 curves, maybe you need to saw off a little rail to bring the ends back in line?

 

[Glengrant]

Hi Dave, well you seem to have got yourself into the same sort of pickle as I did some years ago, so let's see if you can learn anything from me. Because of the geography of the site I opted as you are doing for flexi-track, Peco, here is basically the layout I would start with, although it has developed considerably since then.

It looks nice and tidy on paper, but when I set about laying it down it became a shambles. One of my big problems which I suspect you will NOT have is subsidence. I had to terrace this site, have walls built, then back-filled the resulting space which, of course, over the years, has subsided. I decided that if I were going to keep my track in place I needed a baseboard principle, and this in fact is what I did. Even so, after every winter I have to adjust track, raise and lower it to keep it in running order.

For the most part I laid the track as I went along, but the right hand loop was prefabricated on the garage floor and is as near as dammit a proper 2'6" radius 180 degree loop. The other end is just a haphazard mess, but it works. Bending track, yes I used the beer-belly principle, not a brilliant idea but it seemed to come out OK. Someone mentioned staggering the joins. Now that is something I did not do, and wish I had, I would certainly do that if I were to start over again. I envy those guys with long straight runs where the train can disappear and reappear five minutes later in a completely different place. Not for me I'm afraid, but what the heck, I get a lot of fun out of this back garden layout, more than I did with forty years of double-oh which I demolished a couple of years back.
Hopefully we will see some successful results from you, Dave, look forward to that

 

[Wobbleboxer]

I use Peco flexitrack, but at the one point where it needs a tight radius I use the settrack curves. Also, all my track is secured to baseboards so I don't have the problem of it trying to straighten itself out, but I would suggest a bender if you're not fixing it down.

 

[Gizzy]

Are you tightening the radius of your R1 curves or increasing? I wouldn't try going any tighter personally.

If you are increasing the radius, you could try some R2 (LGB 15000) curves in place of the R1s, or even a mix of R1/R2, to get round your obstacles of the pond and the tree....

 

[MRail]

Dave,
If you can remember your visit on Sunday, the "tramline" I have is laid in Peco joined to LGB.
The curve leaving the street section and entering the shed is hand-curved in Peco.
Have a closer look on your next visit.

Using Peco will certainly eliminate the joint problem, but you may have to cut some sleeper web to get the sharp curve.
No great problem joining to LGB.

 

[Bredebahn]

If I read this correctly, the gaps that Dave is getting on the outer rail is because he is asking R1 curves to turn in less than their recommended radius - in other words he is trying to tighten the curve to less than Radius 1. Don't do it! Flexible track is not your answer. If you can't turn your track in Radius 1 set track pieces, then you do not have space for that curve in that location! Redesign your trackplan - you may be able to move the curve slightly by use to short straights to avoid a tree, or whatever, but don't try to accomplish the impossible!

On the other hand, if the problem is that you need to force track in both directions as the geometry of your garden features doesn't match the geometry of LGB R1 curves then you can treat R1 track sections as a little flexible if you need to. It involves cutting the sleeper web (Stanley knife) and teasing the radius with a pair of pliers or similar, and though it won't produce precision gauged running rails, it can actually work. Again, don't try to tighten curves though, and the positioning of curves can be shifted by using bespoke (read hacksaw, spare fishplates and sleepers) short straight lengths cut to fit.

 

[matthew]

As has already been said...

If your problem is just that your joints arent the best, then i would exchange the raill joiners for rail clamps, which will be just as good as replacing the track for one solid piece.

If you are wanting to use flexitrack to make the curve slightly tighter than R1, then i would say its a bit no no.

Another good thing to do is change the 2 curves on the entrance and exit of the curve to radis 2 (5foot diameter) as this will make the transition smoother.

I know R1's arent the best choice, but for a lot of gardens (ours included) it's the only option in a lot of places, and it's important to remember that all LGB stock and a lot of other stock is capable of running around it, so it doesnt have to be a problem.

 

[Cyclone]

I wouldn't bend flexi track beyond r2 without a rail bender. One advantage of flexi track is you can transistion your curves.
Try to overlap the joins to avoid the dreaded kink.

 

[davecar]

Hi,

Many thanks to all members for taking the time and troulbe to post on this subject - I really didnt think it was a complex issue. Part of my problem is that I have never seen flexible track and it is hard for me to visualise how flexible it is. I think form these posts I am trying to make a bad job into something better, which is always going to be difficult.
I think I will try some track joiners and see how that goes. Looking forward to the better weather (!!!!!) so that I can get on my hands and knees behind trees and prickly bushes to sort out my track (why do we get involved in these challenges - it is hardly relaxing!!).

Thanks again for all the helpful responses - as always very grateful for the advice.

Kind regards,

Dave

 

[nico]

my whole railway is flexi track with mostly clamps,i use a rail bender

 

[ge_rik]

My track is mostly flexi cos it could be bought in 6 or 8 foot lengths which cut down the number of rail joints needed. I have got a tight curves so I used some R1s (which came with the LGB starter set). I don't have a rail-bender (I'm a skinflint so didn't want to shell out £80 for one) and so to avoid the dreaded kinks (not the rock group) I decided to play safe use use pre-formed curves where they were going to be tight. I've used a mix of LGB, Tenmille and Aristo flexi-track and not experienced any problems in mixing them - I just use ordinary rail joiners (fishplates) but I do bond the joints with soldered wire to ensure conductivity.

Something you will need to think about if you do decide to use flexi track is to have a firm trackbed. If you don't use a rail bender you'll need to make sure the track is firmly fixed down or it will try to straighten itself out and then you'll get kinks at any rail joints on curves (best to try and avoid joints on curves if you can - unless you do invest in a rail bender). I used breeze blocks as I happened to have some left over from a building project

but you could use planking provided it's well protected from damp. I used blocks so I could easily lift them if ever I changed my mind on the track-plan. They need to be laid on a firmly bedded base otherwise you'll find some will sink - guess how I found that out?

Rik

 

[trammayo]

Dave - you didn't say if the R1's are LGB, Aristo or whatever. It was mentioned in an earlier posting (Nick, #7) about cutting, which is how I solved a problem or too.

LGB track with its tab on the joiner is a pain in the proverbial when you want to make set track a little tighter on the radius. Aristo track is easier (just a screw under each rail through the sleeper links) and you can slide the rail along until you reach the end of the curves and make up with just one short piece.

 

[Glengrant]

Right having wittered on about railclamps and flexitrack here is the latest from me. First of all, the ghastly result of bad track laying, not only is the join ugly, it does not provide good running.

So I make enquires and find that I can get Code250 railclamps, code250 being what Peco flexitrack is. I got these from GRC, excellent service. I think they work out at £1.50 each inc vat, but you will have postage on top of that. OK, now what is required is a socket to screw the bolts in/out.

I thought the size was either 2 or 3 mm. So off I goes to Gibbie's tool mart in King Street, great place, very helpful people, only to find that the size required is between 2 and 3 mm. All is not lost. Man says, how about if we try an Imperial size Allen key? Bingo, now I don't know what imp size this is, should be easy to work out. Cost of Allen key 0.35p. Now I had been advised that this was going to be a very tricky job, but absolutely not. Took me a few minutes. OK the track and ballast has to be cleaned up, but a very smooth join now exists. I need more clamps and less rain.

Someone is going to shoot me down and tell me I've put them on upside down

 

[nico]

nice job