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Okay. I did some looking around online (here and elsewhere) and can't find an answer, so i'll ask right out. Is there some trick i'm missing to remove the built-in rail joiners on the track sections? They are some stubborn sonofaguns! I've crushed a couple trying to get them off. Is there an instruction thread, video, someone with ideas i'm missing? Or is it something simple like just Dremel them off from under the sections?
It has been a long LONG time since I last saw EZ track stuff but am thinking they are apart of the track section and probably can't be removed which begs the question/s, why do you want to or need to remove them?
I believe the rail joiners are mechanically affixed to the bottom of the rails at the factory, before the track is glued to the gray plastic roadbed, so the joiners can't come off. At least, not very easily as you have evidently discovered. If you absolutely need to take them off, I'd go ahead and jerk/twist them off with a pair of pliers, knowing full well that they will be ruined in the process. Then replace them with some Atlas or Peco rail joiners for the appropriate size of rail.
Then replace them with some Atlas or Peco rail joiners for the appropriate size of rail.
If that is the intent then it seems like a huge waste of time and effort to me. Why remove purpose made joiners (albeit bachmann) just to replace them with better joiners that may not even fit, or fit properly, the ez track? IF that is the OP's reason (better joiners) then he'd be better off getting rid of the bachmann track and just get "better sectional track" altogether.
Yeah, i think i did that twisting before and got one successfully off. At a spur on my layout, i'm going to have the section insulated. So i need to remove the connected joiner in order to pair up the insulated ones. Yeah, yeah. I could just use normal track. But that'd take out the fun, wouldn't it?
So i need to remove the connected joiner in order to pair up the insulated ones
Why not save yourself some heartache and very carefully "cut spaces through the rails" to insulate it from the rest? Might not be as much fun but would save the potential for ruining a section of track??
If that is the intent then it seems like a huge waste of time and effort to me. Why remove purpose made joiners (albeit bachmann) just to replace them with better joiners that may not even fit, or fit properly, the ez track? IF that is the OP's reason (better joiners) then he'd be better off getting rid of the bachmann track and just get "better sectional track" altogether.
Who said anything about "better" joiners? There's no need to replace Bachmann joiners with "better" joiners if there's nothing wrong with the Bachmann joiners to begin with.
On the other hand, if one wishes to replace a bent/damaged metal joiner with a new one, or else replace a metal joiner with an insulated one (which the OP just stated was the reason), then it stands to reason to go ahead and do so. I don't believe you can find Bachmann rail joiners for sale anywhere, but Atlas & Peco rail joiners are always available for separate sale wherever their track products are sold. And they'll fit the Bachmann rail just fine. Code 100 for HO scale, or code 80 for N-scale.
Hmmm. Not a bad idea. Suppose that just might be a touch easier. Alright. May just do that.
Who said anything about "better" joiners?
That was the only reason I could see for wanting to replace a joiner - that or there was something wrong with the existing joiner/s. Which is why I questioned the logic in swapping out something that was purpose made and specific for the track being used, especially as the OP didn't say why he was trying to remove the joiners; that only became known after the comments had been left.
Yeah, no. There's no Bachmann rail joiners. I've got lots of Atlas joiners as backup, and of course the insulated ones. So actually if i were to tear these up in removal, it would not be any deal at all. However, the space cutting seems a righteous idea.
Hmmm. Not a bad idea. Suppose that just might be a touch easier. Alright. May just do that.
It should be easier, just be careful and use the thinnest rotary cutter you can. I am talking about Dremel's (or similar) at the moment. Either way - don't make the "gap too wide" and you should be fine.
Northern Pacific history enthusiast
I used a needle nose pliers to get the rail joiners out of my Bachmann track. I would grab the end and pull. I made new sections of track to custom length using a 4" hand grinder with a cut off blade. Caution, cutting through the plastic smells.
I just used regular Atlas rail joiners to connect any type of track necessary. If the joiner was not snug enough, I bent it in a little using the needle nose pliers. I have joined many different types of track on a layout and trains ran fine.
Dave LASM
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