I started this new thread as I wanted to thank the group for all their great advice and didn't want it to get hidden in the earlier thread about flex track.
My soldering skills from the past served me well and the entire layout went down this weekend without a hitch. No kinks or joint problems anywhere. Soldering a couple of pieces of flex track together before laying them down made for perfectly smooth joints on the corners. I struggled a little at first with getting things lined up right and trying to manhandle the long pieces, but it didn't take long to get the hang of it. Now that I am pretty much done with the track laying, I've finally gotten good at it!
No wiring yet, so to test the track layout, I took 4 cars and hooked them together and gave them a big shove, hard enough for them to make it all the way around the track to make sure there were no derailing points. Multiple runs on all tracks in all directions and through all the turnout configurations went well with no problems at all. I don't think my engines can go anywhere near that fast.
Now it's on to the wiring. Getting excited about being able to finally run trains!
Again, thanks to everyone on the group for the invaluable advice. It has made this process a lot easier (and more successful) than it would have been without you.
Jeff
My soldering skills from the past served me well and the entire layout went down this weekend without a hitch. No kinks or joint problems anywhere. Soldering a couple of pieces of flex track together before laying them down made for perfectly smooth joints on the corners. I struggled a little at first with getting things lined up right and trying to manhandle the long pieces, but it didn't take long to get the hang of it. Now that I am pretty much done with the track laying, I've finally gotten good at it!
No wiring yet, so to test the track layout, I took 4 cars and hooked them together and gave them a big shove, hard enough for them to make it all the way around the track to make sure there were no derailing points. Multiple runs on all tracks in all directions and through all the turnout configurations went well with no problems at all. I don't think my engines can go anywhere near that fast.
Now it's on to the wiring. Getting excited about being able to finally run trains!
Again, thanks to everyone on the group for the invaluable advice. It has made this process a lot easier (and more successful) than it would have been without you.
Jeff