make your own preformed curve tracks...


tooter

tooter

play every day
Take a piece of Atlas Flex track. Remove the free rail. Put three screws into a scrap of wood. Push the rail through the three offset screws to put a permanent curly cue in it. Reinstall it into the flex track ties. Trim the ends with a rail nipper, and install Atlas connector ties that will accept rail joiners. The track holds the curve all by itself just like a piece of Atlas Snap Track. :)

These are two full sized flex tracks...
fab36a21.jpg


Connected, they form a 10 inch radius circle...

62f1301e.jpg


Then run some little scooters on it... :)

[YOUTUBE]VlJx707avcg[/YOUTUBE]

Greg
 
Yes, I learned of this little trick a few years back. It can help with curved ends of flex track where the rails never seem to want to stay curved. The downside is that you don't end up with the natural easements that flex track can give you.
 
You're right, I can't claim the idea...
Got it from the Gn15 Brits who are superb modellers and very inventive. I'm planning a micro layout, so the small radius curves allow fitting a continuous HO gauge layout into a depth as shallow as 24 inches...

e0237e3e.jpg


af4a5e27.jpg


Greg
 
Gregg,
I will use that tip when I make my train shelf layout....coming soon. This way I won't have to fight with the tracks to pin them down and it should make it easier to get the joints more accurate.
-Art
 
Yes... :) with preformed curves, it allows you to experiment building and running different layout designs without needing to pin anything down. I'm going to try even smaller radii, as all the shortys have no problem negotiating extremely tight curves.

Greg
 
Rico said:
Nice greg!
Now get busy and "tooterize" that turntable!
Click to expand...

I know:rolleyes:... it's way too large for the tiny scale of the layout.

I'm going to make some out of CD's simiilar to this... :)

847590fe.jpg



Greg
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Still refining the track bending technique with a back to back bend on one piece of flex track. This is the prebent rail...
5cf34e7a.jpg


And this is the end product...

617cae7d.jpg


The bends came out so even, only one rail needs a 1/8th inch trim. :)

Greg
 
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