Saving one kind of trouble by substituting another?

First thought: when you weave a couple of sections into place on your helix structure, how do you ensure a smooth curve thru the joint between them? At every such joint? It's too easy for joints between curved track sections to be kinked.There's a probable advantage to reducing the number of such joints. Like maybe each length of track is as long as a piece of flex? Which leads to:

Why not build the helix one circle at a time? Draw center lines on the roadbed before it's installed to have constant radius.  Draw easements at entrance and exit to the helix. Lay flex track one circle at a time, with lots of easy access to tweak the joints - no immovable roadbed above the work site. Use a jig to bend each length to desired radius (same jig needed to make your long sections?) Test the new circle for operation before adding the next layer. I think that this procedure will be easier and more reliable than all the effort required to invent how to make your precurved sections and then install them. 

 Cheers,

DrJolS

Jig and Super Glue

Make a jig that holds the track in a 24" radius.  Then apply super glue to every rail/tie junction.  Cut the ends square.  Additional cuts for smaller pieces.  WARNING I have not tried this.  If you do and it works, let us know.

Shinohara makes sectional track in several radii from 20" to 36" including 24".

Paul

Longer Sectional Track

What started me off thinking about this desire to have some longer fixed curve sections of track was when I was playing with tha staging area track plan and trying to keep all the curves at 24" minimum. I thought how nice it would be to have a stack of 24' curves of fixed track that could be placed down there to make thos constant radius turns into the straight staging tracks.

As you eluted to, I wasn't interested in making curved sections or even straight sections several lenghts of flex track long each. I probably only what each 'sectional track' to just be one lenght of 36" flex track. I would just like that piece of flex track to hold its curved shape I bent it to, while still be a 'free piece of track',...untacked down as of yet.

Can I bend the 36' piece of flex track to a fixed curvature, then 'freeze' it there for future use,...akin to the 10" piece of stock fix-curved track?

The thought then transferred over into the helix construction where I had been thinking of ways to build the helix and its roadbed maybe before attaching the track to it. OR what if I had to replce my roadbed in the helix (selected wrong material, or some other mistep), could I come back in and replace the roadbed and install new track.?

Even the process of making the helix trackage from sections of 36" flex track requires carefull joining of those curved joints. Would it be any more complicated if I were joining my 'fixed curved' pieces of sectional track I was looking to fabricate?

Got to do some more thinking about this. There may have been another reason I started thinking about this alternative, but can't remember at the moment.

Jig and Super Glue

Interesting thought there Paul

I laid some flex track down on a table top recently to do some curved radius experiments on locos and long frieght cars, and glued it in place with just wood glue and water (wet water sort of). I'll bet it retains its shape if I pry it up carefully,...at least it might retain its shape until I could inset it in those other locals and reglue it into place?? may try that prying soon as I need that table top for other projects.

Tru-Scale

Search EBay for Tru Scale track

MicroEngineering Flex UNWEATHERED

MicroEngineering Flex track holds its shape. DO NOT get the pre-weathered flex, it's a total pain to flex. Unweathered ME flex is WAY easier to shape.

Weathering the track later is super easy. The ME pre-weathered flex track is just a big pain. Saving a few minutes of rail weathering just isn't worth the pain of bending ME weathered flex.

Weathered track in a helix?

Why??

DrJolS

Helix

If your helix tracks are a constant radius from top to bottom, you can do what our club did.

We built a large curved jig that was not quite a quarter of a full circle, with a trough precision-cut for each curve. Atlas code 83 flex was slipped into the curved jig, the ends squared and soldered, and the jig then advanced to make the next joint. The radii are roughly 36, 34, and 32 inches. We kept spiraling upward until we reached the top, making seven complete turns.

The subroadbed is conventional Homasote over plywood with threaded steel rods used to set a constant grade.

The helix has been in operation for more than 100 sessions over seven years, and we have not had any problems.

"If I had a stack of 24"

  It's not that hard to maintain a fair curve with flextrack , just use the edge of the roadbed as a giude. I handlay long pieces of "sectional track"by cutting the roadbed sectional curves from thin plywood then guing ties to the plywood and spiking rail but it's not any easier to install than glueing flextrack to curved roadbed.......DaveB 

You could use ROCO track,

You could use ROCO track, they have sectional track that has a 604.4mm radius which is very close to 24".

http://www.roco.cc/cz/product/22664-0-0-0-0-0-0-005002004/products.html

Update: You can buy it in the US at reynaulds.com.

http://www.reynaulds.com/products/Roco/42426.aspx

How about Fast-Tracks Sweep Sticks....

You can buy a whole bunch of 24in radius sweep sticks, stick/glue them together to make any length of re-usable 24" radius track guides (or any other radius you care for) and then use these to layout your flex track. They work very well with the Atlas Code 100 flex track.

https://www.handlaidtrack.com/sw-ho-c-24

Fast-Tracks is an MRH advertiser.

John Senior (Canada)

24 in radius curves

I use Atlas sectional track. It comes in 24 in radius, 8 pcs to a package along with rail joiners. Once their laid down and your happy with them, solder them together. Works great.

If you don't like the end ties, cut them off and replace them before or after you solder the ends of the rails together.

I paid $10.00 at the LHS, cheaper else where maybe. 4 pieces make a 1/4 circle.

Also comes in 22, 18, ansd 15 in radius.

Jack

24" radius tracks, & 32", & 29.5", & ?

@Jack
I will probably just use that Atlas sectional track curves in my staging areas since it does come in the 24" radi I was looking for there.

It was when I was playing around with that mock-up that I discovered I needed to move those curves around quite liberally to get the straight track spacing I might desire, some decent spacing between the curves, and how far from the turnout the curve needed to begine. There was an unknown vaiation in the small straight track pieces I would between the curves and the turnouts.

Maybe I just need to revisit my old geometry studies,...ha..ha.    I use to be good at it,...long ago. But I was unable to drawn centerlines for the track on my carpet, so I resorted to using those paper templates.

The other item that got me thing about this idea of larger fixed curves was in the construction of my helix which will likely use 29.5" and 32" radius tracks. Those tracks may need to be attached to tempered hardboard roadbed, which does not except fasteners well at all. And slow acting glues while maintaining constant smooth curved tracks were a potential challenge. My thoughts were thusly how could I bend that 3 foot flex track into nice smooth curves that would hold their shape until I got it connected to the next piece in line, and glued down to the tempered hardboard roadbed.

Now I think i have confused myself....ha...ha

Flex track that holds its shape

MicroEngineering Trak

Is the MicroEngineering Trak this expensive?
http://www.microengineering.com/products_ft.htm

Looks a little difficult to get real smooth curves?

$36.75 is MSRP for a 6 piece bundle

Each piece is 3 feet long for a total of 18 feet per bundle.  Trainworld sells it for $29.99, MB Klein has it listed for $29.39.

Another view on shape holding flex track

I have found that flex track that holds its shape is very difficult to work with.  Getting exactly the curve you want smoothly along the whole length is very frustrating.  Spiral easements are worse.

If you decide to go this route try to find a video that Tony Koester (and maybe others) did on how to curve this kind of track.  I haven't tried it, but it looks better than trying to curve it by hand.

Personally, I like the track that is super flex.  Easy to work with and easy to do spiral easements.

Paul

Cost of MicroEngr Track

Yea, I didn't think that price was any where near correct, but it was not defined on their website,...or my old eyes missed it.

And yes it appeared difficult to get that track into a nice smooth curve. Also might be difficult to get easements with that track. I think I would stick with Atlas track.

No one has mentioned just using a 'precut form' against the outer edge of the ties to form the curves in longer lengths, then 'fixing' the track in that shape by some manner..(.just a radius cut in a piece of wood, against with you would push the flex track tie edges up against).

Another advocate here for

Another advocate here for springy flex track such as Atlas code 83 - easy to form smooth flowing curves or spiral easements.

Use FastTracks sweep sticks they do everything you want..

Use FastTracks sweep sticks - they do everything you want..

https://www.handlaidtrack.com/sweepsticks-ho

John

I agree John.

Fast Tracks Sweep Sticks are the way to go.

I have used them regularily and love the results.

Plus Fast Tracks is an MRH sponsor.

I use Ribbon Rail curved

I use Ribbon Rail curved aluminum guides to check my curve smoothness. I haven't tried the Sweep Sticks.

Fast Trk gauges

When you are using these track tools to lay track, how do you tack the track down under the aligment tool?

Are those slots down the middle to allow for nailing the track in place? What if you are gluing the track down, does the tool get in the way of applying glue? Or do you first place the adhesive down, then place the fast track tooled track down? And what about how much legth of track that can be laid and glued in succession?

This Space Gauge SweepSticks looks like it would be real handi for helixes as well as double mainlines,..
http://www.handlaidtrack.com/sg-2-3

How long are these  Space Gauge SweepSticks? They quote sold in kit form to produce 3 tools??

Bachmann EZ track

Since this is a Helix, I would have no problem using cheap Code 100 track. It just so happens that Bachmann EZ track comes in large radii such as 28", 33.25", 35.5" and so forth. You could build an alignment tool to curve standard Atlas flex, or anything with similar flexibility on either side of the "pre-bent" alignment.