Best way of pre-bending Peco flexitrack?

I form it to shape on the layout and then run a wooden block over it with two grooves cut to fit over the rails. Run it backwards and forwards a couple of times and it wiggles to shape. Guy

I bend it into a smaller radius, and let it spring back. If possible, avoid joints on the curve, it's worth cutting track so to bring a joint onto the straight section. However, if need be, solder the fishplates before you bendn the track. If you must have an isolation gap on the curve, bend that part of it especially tight so that you have to push it back out into the desired radius. Then when you cut the gap, the rails will tend to stay in place.

HTH wolf k.

That's a good idea; should certainly stop the 2nd rail pushing the fishplate completely onto the 1st rail!

However you need to be careful that the solder does not run into the empty bit of the fish-plate or you will need to heat the next bit of track in order to get it to full engage.

Jeff

Solder both sides of both fishplates so you have a double length of flexitrack.

MBQ

I solder the fishplates _after_ connecting the flex track. That way there is no kink at the joint when you bend the track.

wolf k.

But dont start the curve immediately after the join, try to get one or two inches of straight then curve. That reduces stress on join.

Cheers, Simon

Or if, where the 2 lengths join, has to be on a curve then stagger where the actual rails join so that they are supported by the unbroken part of the webbing of the track rather than being at the unsupported ends where the lengths of plastic sleepering meet. ie remove track joiners, accurately locate the tracks on the curve, slide one rail along the track across the join for about 6 cm ensuring that it passes through the plastic chairs, cut away as little as possible of the chairs where you need to join the rail to allow a rail joiner to be slid on and then connect to the next rail, do the same for the other rail but this time slide the rail in the other direction away from the join following with the corresponding rail from the next section of track. You may have to trim off more rail but you are less likely to get distortion at joins.

Alan

or you might get away with using a quarter length of fixed track curve so its no flexi onto flexi

Cheers, Simon