Joining LGB track sections

[Eaglecliff]

When I laid my first LGB track I decided I could manage without those little black plastic joiner thingies between the end sleepers of each section. Then after a while I tried them again and found that they did a reasonable job of holding the track base sections together. Now however I see a number of sleepers have distorted and cracked in the centre. Any comments, anyone?

 

[Gizzy]

I use these on the R1 and R2 curves only, to help hold the curve together.

(I don't seem to need them on straights.)

Some of the R2 curves have cracked sleepers around the slot position, but I think these (2nd hand) curves were cracked there when I got them.

I've had no problems with this and it doesn't appear to be any worse than a few years ago when I first laid the R2 curves on my layout....

 

[maxi-model]

I have about 35 yards of both flexi and set track LGB + R5's curves and points. All sections are held together using the black plastic joiners. The track is laid on loose balast, pinned every 3 feet or so by 6 inch nails through the balast to the soil.
Its been out in my south facing garden garden for 5 years now. Some is in the shade and some in the full sun. It has been exposed to prolonged deep frosts. I can find no evidence of distortion or cracking on any of the track joins.
Max.

 

[Glengrant]

Likewise, no problems with joins, insul and uninsul. Apart from the bad joins on curves which I did incorrectly, my main track problem is subsidence. Easily fixed though

 

[coyote97]

even though i am out of LGB-track and track-power (RC-battery), i had some bad experiences a while ago (which lead in some way to the RC decission).
If u run your trains track-powered (what is generally "normal"), it is a good investment to use better joints than the LGB ones.
Track "works" with different weatherconditions, and everything else than a fixed joint will tend to "wander off".
Joints with screws in nearly any way seem to do a much better job and will be definitely better in running current along the line.
There are some systems along, most of them with the disadvantage of relatively high costs.
Even though i dont need current flow on track, i use the nraly original method with brass plates (4-hole), drilled rail ends and then fitted with nuts and bolts.
Difficult and fizzeling in building, but relatively cheap and reliable.
No need of fixing the sleepers.

Surely...those things are always a kind of "big business". And fixing track in another way may work.....
....it depends on what u want to have.
For a trackpowered outdoor-layout, a plug-and-play-solution will need properly fixed joints and nicle-plated rails.

All other kind of operations-philosophy will allow the "easy way" (e.g.: "a realistic railroad needs realistic maintenance of way...")


greetings

Frank

 

[Eaglecliff]

Interesting. I have started to standardise on Massoth-type rail joiners, both plain brass and insulated plastic types, from Chalk Garden Rail, and they seem very satisfactory.
Thanks for the comments received to date.

 

[minimans]

I think you are talking about the little connectors to stop the track from separating not the rail joiners themselves? I can only imagine that the sun has caused the rail sections to expand and as the end sleepers are now fixed together they cannot expand at the same rate as the rest of the strip and have caused the distortion/cracking? these joiners are I think mainly for use indoors and on carpet, I cant see the advantage of using them outside, as others have said you need to look at the rail joiners themselves for good conductivity and the clamps some people use will take care of the rail sections pulling apart.......................Paul..........

 

[beavercreek]

After reading this thread I decided to check my tie plastic joiners. I only use them in the Quarry line as it is just laid onto the slate scree which is on top of a concrete base. In essence the whole quarry section 'floats' but every piece is joined using the little plastic tie joiners as well as the fishplates.
They have been down for 5 years or so and so far no cracking by the joiner fixing places.

 

[Kevin]

Hi,

I checked mine recently and I found some of the sleepers were cracked. It tends to be where they were fitted tight and in full sun so, as others have suggested, i think the rails have expanded and the sleepers are the weakest part. I used them on every joint because I believe that with a floating track bed, I needed something to hold the track sections together and I didn't want to use rail joiners. I've had no electrical problems what so ever with this method.

Kevin.