Nothing, absolutely nothing to do with my troublesome Stainz locomotive

S

Sarah Winfield

Registered
Country flag
Please, does a member know if there are rail joiners for LGB or PIKO rail which doesn't have the "tongue" as part of it?

Thank you,

Sarah Winfield
 
Sarah Winfield said:
Please, does a member know if there are rail joiners for LGB or PIKO rail which doesn't have the "tongue" as part of it?

Thank you,

Sarah Winfield
Click to expand...
Sarah

As far as I'm aware, the only ones are the Bachmann ones (ex-Aristocraft design) which are intended to be held in position with small screws (allen key heads). The fishplates and screws should be available from Bachmann dealers - but you'll need a 2mm drill and a tap to form the threaded holes. Sounds awful, but I've done quite a few now and it's actually reasonably easy.
 
If you mean the bit that sticks down that normally slots into the plastic sleeper then I just bend them off and file the edge smooth. You end up with a joiner you can use on two blanks. It works quite well and I still have a few of these on sections of my outdoor layout working fine after three years.

You are after something like this?

Rail Joiner

Rail Joiner

  • Media owner Slawman
  • Date added
  • Comments 1
 
Last edited:
In UK to the best of my knowledge these days the only Track Clamps that are readily available are Massoth. These require the LGB fishplates to be removed and are held in place by tightning the screws supplied. None of the Track Clamps are a cheep option but they do all give a reliability of electrical connectivity that is second to none. My complete Railway with just a few exceptions is fitted up with Track Clamps of Hillman (about the only ones available when I started to use them) and more recently Massoth.

Down side os that Track is not lifted immediately, up side is that they give adde security. Who is going to wander down the Street in the dead of night with a great big loop of Track? The effort, time required to undo the joiners would just make all but the most determined thief walk away.
 
Oh Sarah if you want to know how to get the fishplates off there are many methods. Many of them shown in Youtube. My method of choice is to saw off the lip with a Junior Hacksaw, hold the rail next to said fishplate in a vice and knock off the fishplate with a Hammer and Chunky Screwdriver.
 
I have to agree with Greg and others here. Rail clamps are the way to go. In the States, Split Jaw are arguably the best. But I've seen the Massoth, and use their insulated clamps. I assume their standard clamps are the same quality and would also recommend them.
Phil S.
 
As to removing existing rail joiners on LGB track, I've found the easiest way is to spread the joiner with a pair of needle nose pliers. Then grab on to it and and unhook the tang by lowering the pliers/joiner relative to the rails.. It will come right off. (Harder to explain than to do!)
 
well, i want to remember you about this thread:
https://www.gscalecentral.net/threads/lgb-track-fishplate-tongue.310698/#post-510399

below in the pic, near the two guys with a mexican sombrero, you can see joiners, where i just bent the tongue, so that it lies paralell below the track.

trestle28.JPG
 
dunnyrail said:
In UK to the best of my knowledge these days the only Track Clamps that are readily available are Massoth. These require the LGB fishplates to be removed and are held in place by tightning the screws supplied. None of the Track Clamps are a cheep option but they do all give a reliability of electrical connectivity that is second to none. My complete Railway with just a few exceptions is fitted up with Track Clamps of Hillman (about the only ones available when I started to use them) and more recently Massoth.

Down side os that Track is not lifted immediately, up side is that they give adde security. Who is going to wander down the Street in the dead of night with a great big loop of Track? The effort, time required to undo the joiners would just make all but the most determined thief walk away.
Click to expand...

Jon, I would have to differ with you on this. To me, removal of a section of track that is fitted with original track joiners requires lifting several sections in order to get enough slack to separate the track sections. With track clamps, Split Jaw in particular, all I have to do is loosen one side of the clamp and lift the track section out.

20140501-075651-C2-Trainz-P11982290_218XXX.jpg 55071833.jpg
 
Living part of the year in Oregon for many years, home of Split-Jaw products, meant that way back when we were putting our little backyard track together we did a bulk buy for us and a couple of friends. A total of around 400 standard clamps at factory prices - then around 70c per each out of the door - made a good buy. We buy as much made-in-state stuff as is humanly possible, and I've never regretted the expense. Maybe I should have bought ten thousand - almost as good as BitCoin - seeing the price here in UK now.

However, ANY of the branded clamps will do the biz, and like mine, will stay in place and conduct the volts reliably - our have been there since 2004.

tac
 
tac foley said:
Living part of the year in Oregon for many years, home of Split-Jaw products, meant that way back when we were putting our little backyard track together we did a bulk buy for us and a couple of friends. A total of around 400 standard clamps at factory prices - then around 70c per each out of the door - made a good buy. We buy as much made-in-state stuff as is humanly possible, and I've never regretted the expense. Maybe I should have bought ten thousand - almost as good as BitCoin - seeing the price here in UK now.

However, ANY of the branded clamps will do the biz, and like mine, will stay in place and conduct the volts reliably - our have been there since 2004.

tac
Click to expand...
Well if you don't like the tongue, cut it off, but if you are going to use this type joiner or even others like split jaw make sure you coat the joint with a dielectric compound.
 
Bill Barnwell said:
Well if you don't like the tongue, cut it off, but if you are going to use this type joiner or even others like split jaw make sure you coat the joint with a dielectric compound.
Click to expand...


? I only have Split-jaw clamps. I never mentioned a 'tongue' in my post.

tac
POCRR - EAstern Sub
 
Easiest way to get rid of the 'tounge' on the LGB fishplate, is to grasp the tounge firmly with a pair of pliers. Then, with your other hand, wriggle the plate back a forward about a dozen times, and it will snap off. Clean up with a file, if necessary.

The 'recommended' way to take the fishplate off an LGB piece of track, is to turn it upside down, and drill through the plate where there is a dimple. This dimple is what stops the rail from sliding out.
You will end up with a hole through the bottom of the plate, but this don't matter. Personally, I've mastered the 'art' of holding the plate, and whacking the rail back through the sleepers with a hammer.
Don't try this at home, woops, we are at home....do it outside, in case something slips, and the hammer goes flying.

Only the end sleepers of LGB track are set up to properly take the fishplate. If you cut a section shorter, the tounge will not fit. Well it will, but you get interference from the track piece you want to join to, unless, you take off the tounge, or, modify the hole in the track base where the tounge goes in.
 
Just to make things clear about LGB track.

First of all, you have your plastic sleeper base.

Then, a joiner is held at one end of this, with the tounge inserted into a hole on the last sleeper.

Next, the rail is inserted into the sleeper base from the other end and slid into the joiner.
Factory assembled track then has a dimple punched into the bottom of the joiner so that it makes a tight fit to the rail.
 
Madman said:
Jon, I would have to differ with you on this. To me, removal of a section of track that is fitted with original track joiners requires lifting several sections in order to get enough slack to separate the track sections. With track clamps, Split Jaw in particular, all I have to do is loosen one side of the clamp and lift the track section out.

View attachment 237241 View attachment 237242
Click to expand...
Dan I do accept what you say about the removal for an existing laid out track, but Sarah currently has a relatively modest oval that is just laid out on a patio and lifting with removal of the existing Fishplates by ' whatever' method chosen will be a modest task. With regard to Method I was trying to point to a way that a Lady with perhaps modest toolkit would be able to manage with relative ease. Something that we perhaps need to think about a little more when trying to give Sarah advice.
 
Have a look at GRS web site, I'm pretty sure they sell plain fishplates with no tounge, they also rail clamps, I bought a pack there last year, not cheep, I just use them on my points as it makes them easy to remove for maintenance, as has been stated on the forum in the past.
Dave
 
Gentlemen, I did not mean my thread to cause any controversy. I asked because I might solder wires to fish-plates to aid electrical continuity. It was something It used to do with my O gauge track.

The clamps certainly seem to be the best option. Although for the moment I'll have to use fish-plates.

What wattage soldering iron would one imagine would be needed to solder to code 332 rail please?

Thanks,

Sarah Winfield
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom