Hot Days Warped Track - How to avoid on new layout?

[BritishRail]

Just rebuilt my 40ft length structure coming out of the shed, but this time I plan on laying the rails with the parrallel tools to get the them dead straight.

Only thing is I can remember one year the track warping out to the left and right, I believe this was because I soldered all the fishplates to the rails.

Any idea's on whether I should wire each length together and leave a small gap in between each section of rail for expansion? Or has the track improved since I laid the rails quite some years ago?

It is time consuming having to wire each section of track so any tips would be fantastic.

I've made a better job this time of the structure and don't want to to make a mistake with the rails.

[mick]

I agree, bonding each individual section of track, either with a wire directly across the railjoiner/fishplates or by using a wired bus similar to the indoor layout guys, is time consuming but not quite so time consuming and frustrating as trying to locate intermittent power faults or rectify power feed problems later. There really aren't any shortcuts if you want reliable and troublefree running. Outdoor track is exposed to an extreme temperature range and as a consequence you'll experience expansion and contraction of the rails to varying degrees and so expansion gaps between rails and bonded electrical feeds are certainly advised.

I left a small expansion gap between each section of track on my previous layout and never suffered any problems with track distortion/buckling outdoors even during the warmest days. The only problem I experienced was within the indoor storage area (a garden shed) where one section of rail buckled during a very warm day.

It's well worth the effort using any kind of track laying aid to ensure that tracks are perfectly straight where required. They look so much better - especially if you intend to video running sessions.

[BritishRail]

Tell me about it, I can't stand to watch the video's I done last year. First year or two was fine, not perfectly parralell but the last couple of years it looked terrible, the loco's waving in and out as they came towards the camera.

The wood I used was old too, and being a raised structure it managed 7 years before no more could be done to repair or support it.

The new structure is ready for the rails, the rail running tops are scaffold boards, it was cheaper getting used scaffold boards than new softer and thinner timber.

The parralell tools are great, only managed to lay two pieces today, just to get the inside of shed rails back out onto the new structure via the tunnel (hole in the wall).

I'm un-decided at the moment whether to connect each section of track with a jump wire soldered eitherside of the fish plates (with expansion gap) or each section with the wires going down holes beneath the trackbed. I'll have to workout which is easiest, not great with the soldering iron. Usually end up with a wire loaded with solder, not stuck and melted and burned sleepers.

[grockle]

Kept all my track in the air cupboard for 48hrs before laying outside. When it cooled down the gaps became apparent, but I made the fatal mistake of using just the fish plates for continuety. So this year before any running commences its a hard slog of getting bus wires sorted so that I will not have to rely on the fish plates, they will be just for holding the track in place from now on.

Ian