70, 83, and 100 rail that holds ME rail ends in precise align-
ment. They’re also small – good if you care about the appear-
ance of your track.
I use Atlas joiners if I need to connect Atlas and ME rail.
Forcing wider Atlas code 83 rail into a ME joiner usually
causes the rail joiner to split. I carefully hold the ends of the
rail in horizontal and vertical alignment with tweezers when
soldering these joints.
10. Curving ME track often results in the ties losing
position and becoming misaligned. I work the ties back
into alignment once the track is laid.
10
Misaligned ties from
curving the Micro
Engineering flex track
Up the Creek Column - 8
Dealing with out-of-place ties
Curving the flex track most likely left the ties spaced unevenly
[10]. I run a blunt instrument such as the non-working end of a
set of tweezers along the ties, snapping it over each one. This
gradually moves the ties towards the desired alignment. If a tie
doesn’t cooperate, I nudge it into position. This sounds harder
than it is. It doesn’t take long to get the hang of it.
With the rails trimmed and rail joiners holding the rails in
place, I mark the cork where the ties stop at both ends, and in
the middle. These marks let me know how far to spread the
caulk I use to hold the track in place until it’s ballasted.
Feeder wires
When installing a double piece of track, I mark the location of
the central rail joiners. If I’m not installing a 6’ double piece of
MRH-Sep 2014
