Peco v Tenmille v LGB v Piko v Aristo v ??? trackwork?

Rik, I think you're correct- as I recall R3 points have metal L shaped bonding strips underneath at the pivot that are screwed to the moving rail and rely on pressure to contact the fixed rail (or it maybe the other way round?) I think there are other short bonding strips that connect up the fixed rails leading to the frog?

Anyway, before laying my R3 points I soldered short lengths of wire (2 inch ish?) to bypass these pivoting joints, from underneath so that they're invisible. There's enough flexibility in the wire to allow the rail to continue to move unhindered. Unfortunately I don't seem to have a photo of this mod to illustrate. I know some folk have soldered lengths of wire along the outside edge of the rail at this pivot point to do the same job, if perhaps not quite as pretty.
 
The previous two posts are both correct in stating where there are connections between the switch rails and the frog leads and that soldering between the two rails before laying is a good thing. Assuming frost etc doesn't blow your joints... :wits:

For those of us with track already down, keeping clean those little metal pieces across which the switch rails sweep remains a good idea as they provide an extra feed.
 
Thanks folks. That's reassuring. I think in future, I will bond these rails underneath before laying (I still have a few more R1s to replace). Although soldering in situ is simple enough, it doesn't look that elegant (at least not the way I do it!). I think I'll also scrub-up my contact strips as a back-up.

Rik
 
I have used LGB & Aristo at ground level, Particularly as some of that gets liable to having my wheel chair occasionally crossing it,
but at elevated sections, I prefer the look of peco track G45 not G1, as mine is Narrow Gauge
is it just my Peco points, which were bought in a batch about 2002, but all of them have 2 screws in the tie bar that go red rusty, when I rang Peco about it, they just sent replacements of the same type which have also gone rusty as an anchor, & was informed , back then, that they had no plans to replace them with stainless screws.

Can anyone tell me do the lastest Peco ones have iron or stainless screws?

As to skates shorting, I did have it happen once with a Stainz, but as I have no track power now, all onboard battery, its no longer a problem
After time, where I live, all the different brands settle down to the same basic brownish colour, some may take a little longer than others, bvut eventually arrive at the same condition
 
My original two circuits are Peco, as are the fourteen points, and have been down six or more years. As a beginner, I just used the Peco rail joiners with no electrical grease and have had no running problems. All track is ballasted so it can float, except for some track screwed to lift-out bridges. Only one point has needed some minor remedial work (one of the second- hand ones I bought). In places, I do walk on the track and this has caused absolutely no damage. A few of my locos have pick-up skates, but the short frog problem with Peco points is easily solved by lengthening the frog with black insulating tape (it becomes practically invisible), which may only need replacing a couple of times a year and that's with frequent running.
 
All my pointwork is Aristocraft, the X Wide points, which are basically 10ft radius to a degree. The only issue i have is that the checkrails don't do the designed job very well and some of my (live steam) loco's have been known to jump onto the frog when turning out over the point.
 
Has anyone thought of Theil track and points, they do 332 brass and nickel-silver. I have some of their points, large 3 way, curved, wye, double slip and standard points of varying radi, all work very reliably and are a little bit more than LGB but offer a different choice. I confess that the points need a bit of support as they are hand built but they are easily repaired if you have any issues. They have robust fittings for either screwing or soldering on additional wires to keep frogs live etc. Also, their track is good value for money and their flex stuff is available in 1.5m or 3m lengths

http://www.thiel-gleis.de/ The website is in German
 
I have only used LGB and Aristo points. Some have been in place for 10 years . The only problem I have is the check rails on the LGB points. I do get some derailing and I will try shining them soon. My favoured combination is Aristo points connected to LGB point motors. I've replaced all but one of my aristo motors and have now started replacing LGB points.
 
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