Which O gauge track.

[Sweet pea]

Afternoon im new to O gauge modelling and I'm planning to build a single line plank. Can I ask what track should I be aiming to use and can you buy wired rail joiners as I'm no good at soldering.

Any advice will be fantastic.

Edited January 25, 2021 by Wrenn

[Ray H]

I'd stick with Peco if only because it is probably easier to get hold of from a local shop in small quantities.

 

I'm not aware of ready wired ones that fit code 124/5 rail. I believe you can get them for code 100 rail so you might be able to see if they'll fit with a bit of encouragement.

[brossard]

Agree with Ray about track.  Peco is fairly widely available while C&L is exclusive.  C&L is considered to have a more accurate rail profile than Peco (which I have seen described as a sort of flat bottom).  You can use code 100 rail joiners for Peco but they are a more difficult fit for C&L.

 

The problem with using rail joiners for conducting electricity is they are inefficient.  Over time there is oxidation, loosening and paint which increase the resistance.  The very best thing is to solder dropper wires to the rails.  I do it to the rail bottom to hide the wire.

 

John

Edited January 25, 2021 by brossard

[34006]

Peco do wired fishplates which are suitable for code 124 rail.IIRC is says so on the pack.I'm using them where I can,will have to solder the rest.Bound to be the most inaccessible ones knowing my luck!

 

atb

Phil 

[Simond]

Make your life easy - learn to solder!

 

you need a mains powered soldering iron of sufficient size for the job, and a reel of solder, I would recommend buying thin multi core leaded solder if you can find it, should not be difficult.  
 

If you’re doing electrical stuff, you should not need or use extra flux.  The keys to success are clean job, clean iron, enough solder and plenty of heat.  In quick, out quick, job done.

 

Get your iron hot.   Apply the solder to the hot iron, it should melt instantly with a little smoke.  Get the excess off the iron, by wiping it on a damp sponge, the iron should be bright silvery, like mercury.  
 

Now strip a few mm of insulation off the end of the wire, touch the iron to your wire and simultaneously touch the end of your solder to it.  The solder should instantly melt, and coat the end of the wire.  Remove the iron, and solder and you should have a bright silvery end on your wire.  This is called “tinning”.

 

do the same with the place you want to solder your wire, perhaps the side of a rail.

 

then put the tinned wire on the tinned rail, apply soldering iron with a little bit of molten solder on it, wait a brief moment as it melts, remove the iron whilst holding the wire in place for a few seconds, a little tug will confirm you have made a good joint.

 

then practice!  Practice, practice and do some more practice.  It’s a skill, even when you know the theory, you need to practice!

 

oh, and by the way, use Peco track!

 

hth

Simon

 

 

[doilum]

Look on the bay of E or Amazon for a soldering kit. Should be around the £20 mark and include everything you need to get started. Ignore all informed debate on expensive irons and just have a go. Cleanliness IS godliness. Don't expect solder to take to a fishplate without some abrasive cleaning. If the soldering iron is trying your patience, a quick wipe on a damp kitchen towel works wonders. At this stage of your journey you cannot beat Peco.

[brossard]

If we're having a solder lesson, I would add two things:

 

1)  Brass wool.  I bought some about a year ago and it has been great at keeping the tip of the iron shiny.  For me the test is being able to pick a small amount of solder off the bench.

 

2)  Fiberglass propelling pen.  Indispensable for me to clean metal in preparation for solder.

 

John

[woodyfox]

For simplicity i would opt for Peco track too. However, the pointwork has some poor failings highlighted when it sits next to some handbuilt turnouts. 

On the soldering front, you may find your ability to fully exploit the advantages of O gauge are limitec without some basic soldering skills. 

 

It's probably only the archetype Hornby trainset type of OO affair where soldering can be ignored. 

 

All the best of luck with your O gauge adventure. 

[brossard]

The most obvious and glaring "failing" with Peco turnouts is the box sitting over the horrid tie bar.  I modified mine but it's a fair amount of work.

 

The other "failing" is that the stock rails are rebated to allow the blades to sit flush.  The curved stock rail should have a set.  This issue cannot be rectified so we live with it.

 

 

Original Peco on left, my modified one on right.  Tiebars from JLTRT, now MM1.

 

John

[muddys-blues]

@Wrenn there are plenty of "how to soldering" video lessons on youtube, have a gander at a few of them, it's not dark art, the simple tasks are a doddle, you'll feel empowered once you know how to , welcome to O gauge.

 

Best regards

Craig.

[brossard]

Once you have some experience and knowledge of soldering, it will open a whole new universe of modelling options and opportunities.

 

John

[LaScala]

On 27/01/2021 at 00:01, brossard said:

The most obvious and glaring "failing" with Peco turnouts is the box sitting over the horrid tie bar.  I modified mine but it's a fair amount of work.

 

The other "failing" is that the stock rails are rebated to allow the blades to sit flush.  The curved stock rail should have a set.  This issue cannot be rectified so we live with it.

 

 

Original Peco on left, my modified one on right.  Tiebars from JLTRT, now MM1.

 

John

That looks very good.

 

There's more work on the wiring front to achieve live frogs (also needing soldering) so Peco points are not exactly a walk in the park.  Removing the "coffin" is an easy upgrade but losing the over centre spring that sits underneath pretty much means you need to go to a good point motor like the DCC Concepts Cobalt which has all the switches ready to go and are easy to hook up, quiet and reliable.

[brossard]

I don't think they are that bad.  Remove the jumper at the join to the crossing.  Wire the stock rails to the closure rails.  Probably a good idea to do a jumper across the closure rails to the blades.  The rail joiner that Peco uses is a loose fit and, IMO an electrical weak spot.

 

In the end I only have one Peco turnout on the layout, I made the rest.

 

I use Tortoise, only because I have a load from a previous layout along with some old Wabbit stationary decoders.  I have put push buttons on the fascia and can operate turnouts from either side of the layout.  Very simple, no control panel.

 

John

Edited January 27, 2021 by brossard

[Simond]

Tortoise are fine, I’ve had a dozen for probably 20 years.  Probably cheaper than cobalts, but I’m not sure by the time you consider decoders, if you need them.  
 

Peco points are reliable, but can be improved.  I build all my own pointwork, and would always go for live frog, switched by my point motors, but I’ve a pal whose entire layout is dead frog, he’s engineered it very well, and there’s rarely a stall, even with short 0-4-0s.  When I build my fiddle yard, it’ll use Peco, because there’s no point (sorry) in spending time handmaking stuff, it’s cheaper, but more work.

 

atb

Simon

[brossard]

Agree Simon, my Tortoises are about the same age and I am loath to waste stuff.  I would probably go for Cobalts if I were doing it again.  The Wabbits are also about 20 years old and do work so why change?

 

It makes sense to me to make my own turnouts given the price of Peco.  It is a tradeoff between labour & time and cost I think.

 

John