Rail Clamps

Rhinochugger

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As much as I would love to do that. It means lifting one hell of a lot of track.
Do it little bits at a time - deal with the worst bits first :smoke::smoke::smoke::smoke::smoke:
 

dunnyrail

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Newbie question: if you clamp your rails doesn't this lead to track buckling due to expansion? On my 00 layouts I recall using a feeler gauge to leave an expansion gap - and that was indoors!

All the best,


Steve
Hm this could get tecky. On the real thing Rail is stressed when laid so that it can expand and contract in a defined way. What in effect happens is that the expansion is forced to go where the Engineers want it to go. Mostly Up and Down and Sideways I believe. In your 00 it takes the line of least resistance and buckles with Rails in the Code 100 and around bracket.

Now I have LGB, Peco and Arosto Track in the Garden. At many points but particularly my Magdesprung Station in the Full Sun. The Track is Ballasted and Glued Down with Track Clamps as well. I notice No Effect on a Hot Sunny Day so perhaps my rail is acting somewhat like on the real thing and resisiting buckling but moving in all the other planes.

Ballasted and Clamped Track at my Magdesprung. Loco just left Aristo Curves onto Peco Pont and Peco Track all Clamped.
image.jpeg
Perhaps a Track Expert on the real thing can elucidate some more here.
JonD
 

stockers

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Our layouts are very short compared to the real thing. the track just adjusts itself a bit - maybe at the corners - and all is well. I cant remember ever seeing a heat induced kink on a G scale layout. Also, of course, our rails are well over scale.
 
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PhilP

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You *might* notice a curve has moved outwards a little (imprint of sleeper in ballast on inside of curve)... BUT, unless you lay your track mid-winter, and make it so tight it hardly lays flat, I doubt you will have a problem..
I have seen track lift, on felted boards, with no ballast.. It was pinned, and it pulled the pins out. - Had been down several years.

A bigger problem is if you use recycled plastic board as a base.. This stuff will not rot, but expands a great deal..
It is now suggested you use sections of narrow-board (cut-down sheet) across a 'ladder-frame', so each section expands a small amount.
 

Rhinochugger

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The coefficient of expansion of plastic is not to be trifled with. Why do your plastic gutters creak on a sunny day? 'cos of the movement through the gutter brackets.

When I studied ONC (quite a few years ago, now) they demonstrated this with a 1m length of plastic gutter with caps on both ends. They then filled it with hot - near boiling- water; you could actually see the unrestrained end of the gutter move along the bench.

As for 1:1 track, they had the problem at Waterloo a few years back, when they re-laid the station throat pointwork in the middle of winter - come the summer it all buckled and virtually closed Waterloo :eek::eek::eek:

But stockers is right - it doesn't seem to affect us in G scale all that much :shake::shake::shake:
 
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Actually since our curves are much tighter than the prototype, and our ballast and subroadbed is often inferior to the real thing, we have MORE issues than the prototoype.

I have INDEED seen heat kinks here in the USA, and not just Nevada and Arizona. SplitJaw makes special expansion tracks for this problem.

I've seen track move over 1/2 inch in curves in each direction.

The physics is the same in our scale and the prototype. Our trains can actually tolerate greater "inaccuracies" than the prototype, but it all is the same laws of physics.

Indeed, as suggested earlier, I have a friend that was a Roadmaster on a railroad, and then worked for the FRA as a track inspector. He taught me a lot about the prototype, and applying those things to my layout increased my reliability greatly.

The topic of fixed vs. floating rails will NEVER be settled, just like letting rails slide in the ties or not. When I started in G scale more than 10 years ago, the "popular" thinking was fasten everything down, now the popular thinking is free floating track in ballast.

Different techniques work for different people in different climates. I have had the most sucess with free floating, and the least maintenance.

Greg


Our layouts are very short compared to the real thing. the track just adjusts itself a bit - maybe at the corners - and all is well. I cant remember ever seeing a heat induced kink on a G scale layout. Also, of course, our rails are well over scale.
 

stockers

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Pins pushing out is often caused by damp/dry/damp conditions - similar to ice movement. You see it on timber clad buildings unless decent length nails are used.
 

Madman

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I've come into this thread late, so it may have already been said, Solder, solder,solder your rail joints with jumper wires. It's the only true way to ensure longevity of the electrical connection, in my opinion.
 
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Rhinochugger

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I've come into this thread late, so it may have already been said, Solder, solder,solder your rail joints with jumper wires. It's the only true way to ensure longevity of the electrical connection, in my opinion.
Terry from Soham (who I bought the LGB track from) had done this to all of his joints where he retained the LGB fishplates, but not where he used Hillman clamps.

Seems a terrible faff to me - the WWSR was down for just over 6 years with no real issues using Aristo fishplates :think::think::think::think:

Mind you, over here in the UK, they're doing just that on the 1:1 railways for track control circuitry :nod::nod::nod:
 

Gizzy

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I lay track floating on ballast.

I use a very small smear of copper slip in the fish plates.

And on curves, I use the 'dog bone' LGB 11500 (or PIKO equivalent) track clips.

Works for me....
 

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I have about 300 m of track down for 5 years. Most of it is LGB. I hate the idea of ripping off the fishplates which lowers the resale value and sometimes damages the plastic chairs.

I have used splitjaw over fishplate rail clamps mostly sourced direct from the US. I check them each spring but have never had any conductivity problems. I expect the hillman version work as well. Finding both types can be difficult and they can be quite expensive now. I have been lucky in finding them secondhand every now and then, and always buy them when I do.

I think Glendale sell the Hillman clamps. Bachmann did briefly resell the splitjaw ones a few years ago but soon stopped.

All my track is left floating some of it in ballast (I use grano from a local aggregate supplier and am on my 4th ton bag) but much it sits unfixed on top of marine ply or old sleepers which make up much of the elevated track bed. It moves about a bit but there are no major problems and fixing it makes taking up sections so much easier.
 

Madman

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Before I turned to battery power, my track had been in place for eighteen years. Very early on I recognized the need for the soldered jumpers. As long as I cleaned my track now and then, I never had any continuity issues in all that time.

My point is that a mechanical connection is fine. But over a long period, such as my railway has been in existence, I believe a "chemical" for lack of a better word, is better.
 

stockers

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Just run trains. Regularly.
 
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Jaime

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Hi All

What railclamps is most suitable for Nickel silver Track, split jaw brass, split jaw Stainless steel, or Massoth Nickel-Plated-Brass?
Thank you

Jaime
 

Gizzy

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Hi All

What railclamps is most suitable for Nickel silver Track, split jaw brass, split jaw Stainless steel, or Massoth Nickel-Plated-Brass?
Thank you

Jaime
I would go for the same metal so Massoth Nickle plated.

Just in case of any dissimilar metal corrosion issues....
 

dunnyrail

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Hi All

What railclamps is most suitable for Nickel silver Track, split jaw brass, split jaw Stainless steel, or Massoth Nickel-Plated-Brass?
Thank you

Jaime
Hm I think that they are all much of a muchness though there are proponents of their favourite type on this Forum. For the record I use Hillman (currently not manufactured due to retirement of the proprietors both over Fishplate and removed Fishplate types.) and Massoth. The Split Jaw do a pretty comprehensive line and here is a link to their site, though I had a few recovered from the Ruschbahn they have been sold this week via the Forum.

https://www.ecwid.com/store/railclamp/#!/Split-Jaw-Clamps-Standard/p/16603322/category=3439640

Horses for courses I believe, yesterday I got some Massoth Clamps for my Peco Track as I am a few short, plus I want to redo my lifting bridge that has Bridge Clamps one end and sliding ones the other to make the joins. Have to say that the newish Massoth Peco ones are quite small and except for the Stainless Steel Colour will be quite unobtrusive. To be honest I prefer Brass Clamps which weather quite quicky to give a pretty invisible look to the clamps.
JonD
 
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mike

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Use what you think best..I've used hilmans ...tryed massoth and now piko ..they all have there benifits and faults ..but.. any of them are better than no railclamps...imho
 

Jaime

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image.jpeg Thank you very much for your contributions. I read in this or another forum someone who decided to change their brass split Jaw by SS split Jaw (nickel silver track),He had problems of electrical contact for corrosion,
Presented great improvement in his layout . Someone had similar problems?