I find that there are many different aspects of model railroading that are important, but few are more important than trains that run with few problems. Lately I have been reflecting on the trackage problems that have come up with my railroad layout. It seems that more than half of the “headache areas” would involve the joints where the different sections of track come together.

There are similarities and differences when you start talking about the different styles or types of track people use. Each type of track have “pros and cons” associated with their use. Let’s look at just a few.

Sectional track: Most people start off in our hobby with sectional track. The advantage of sectional track is that it’s relatively inexpensive, easy to work with, you can change it all around or even take it all apart to put it away when not in use. The disadvantage is all those connection points! Every one of those connection points can be put together wrong. At the very least, every joint looses power from the powerpack. If you want to use sectional track, the VERY best is the “snap type” with the plastic base. This product just works better!

Flex track: Flex track comes as “sticks” from about 24in to 48in long, depending on the scale. The great advantage to flex track is fewer connection points to loose power or to have a misalignment problem. One section of flex track replaces 4 to 8 pieces of sectional track. You can also form flex track into almost any shape you like, where with sectional track you need to use what shapes are available. There are a few disadvantages with flex track you should consider. First off, some flex track likes to “flex” one direction better than the other. You need to check this with the brand of flex track you buy. Secondly, as you bend the flex track the inside rail “grows” and becomes longer than the outside rail. A good set of “flat side” cutters will take care of this difference of rail length and make a nice clean cut. Another problem is that flex track doesn’t lend itself well to being set up and taken down again. Mostly, modelers make a permanent application of this type of track with either cork or rubber sub base.

Finally, you have “hand laid” track. Boy, does hand laid track look great! It’s not really all that difficult to build hand laid track, but it is very time consuming. Let’s get back to the subject of this article: To solder or not to solder. If you are at a point in your modeling that you hand lay your track, you already know that if you want “mostly” trouble free layout operation you need to solder every single joint.

This idea of soldering the joints also holds true for everyone with any of the other types of track that doesn’t plan on taking it apart. Even the snap track works better when soldered. It takes a little time, but it is time well spent.

To get started with soldering you need to take the time and clean the track ends. A small wire brush works fine for this task. Also, invest in “rail joiners” if you are using flex track. The snap track comes with these rail joiners already attached. These rail joiners make sure the rail alignment is correct and at the correct height. If you are using flex track, don’t push the rail joiners under the track ties as this leaves a “hump” in the final track. You need to remove a couple ties for the space, and we will replace them later.

Next, connect the sections of track together and attach them to a roadbed or board that will be your layout. All track works better if it is attached to a solid base. At this point, carefully check every joint where the rails come together from one section to the next. The rails should be right up touching, with no large gaps. Also check that the height of the two rail sections are the same, and are directly lined up. A little time now saves a lot of time later.

No discussion on soldering would be complete without talking about soldering irons and solder. The cheep soldering guns will work, but for a few more dollars you can get a nice unit with an adjustable temperature setting. I don’t want to sound too biased, but GET ONE of these better units. They just work better. I like a rather long “pencil” type tip for use on joining rails. As for solder, I use a very high quality electronic grade rosin core silver solder. Yes, this solder costs a bit more but once again it just works better.

Once you get all of the prep work done, now comes the easy part. The actual soldering of the rails. And yes, you should practice on some “extra” sections of track to get to know how to make a nice clean solder joint. When you are soldering these joints, have the solder flow ONLY on the outside of the rails. Never on the inside! If you end up with solder on the inside of the rails, every time a wheel runs over the lump the car will “hop” and often it will derail.

With a nice clean preheated soldering tip, add just a small bit of solder and then hold against the rail joint. As you practice, if the ties start to distort or melt that means your tip is too hot. Turn down the heat level, and try another joint. It takes a bit to get it at just the right heat level. Once you get the right heat level, “roll” the tip with the solder on it around towards the joint. At this time add just a bit more solder to the tip until you get a nice “flow”. If you see a nice flat and smooth soldered joint, then you’re done with that side. If you have a “lump”, then the joint or tip was either dirty or not hot enough. Remember to clean the soldering tip EVERY time before you move to the next rail joint. If you have a “glob”, clean your tip and try again adding a bit more solder to get the “flux” to help spread the heat. Remember to be careful not to get things hot enough to melt the ties!

Finally, we need to check and clean the joint. Run your finger over the joint to see how smooth it is. If it’s a bit rough, I start with a small fine-toothed file and work to a knife sharpening stone. Don’t forget to check the inside of the rails for excess solder. Finally, I run over the area with a “Bright Boy”, which is nothing more than a fancy eraser.

Well, there you have it. You now have nice clean solder joint that will remove many common reoccurring problems on your layout. Don’t get discouraged if you’re first few solder joints aren’t very good. Expect to melt a few ties along the way until you get the hang of things. Once things start to work for you, then the rest will be easy.