am I going to burn my house down???

Actually, if the wire is securely soldered to the bottom of the track, there's less likelihood of fires than any other connection method.  A properly soldered joint won't get any hotter than the wire or the track.

John is right...make sure the solder joint is solid....you should have no problem.....joe

Thanks guys.   I was just making sure.   When you become a kid when your in your 50’s, you overthink things.  

@chinatrain99 posted:

When you become a kid when your in your 50’s, you overthink things.  

It can happen to us "older" kids as well.

For tubular track, do you recommend 60/40 rosin core solder?  Would you solder the side of the rail or underneath?

I don't think you'll burn the house down, but I always recommend that every one have on hand a small fire extinguisher in their train room rated for electrical fires as a safety precaution. You can never be too careful.

I have mine zip-tied to a layout leg with a pair of scissors.

I'll second the recommendation for a fire extinguisher.  I have one in the train room and one in the staging area.

Also make sure that you have fuses or breakers sized low enough for the wire gauge you are using.

@chinatrain99 posted:

Thanks guys.   I was just making sure.   When you become a kid when your in your 50’s, you overthink things.  

In your 50s...... You're still a kid !

@Windy City posted:

For tubular track, do you recommend 60/40 rosin core solder?  Would you solder the side of the rail or underneath?

I would use 63/37 leaded rosin core solder...with a Weller 200/260 watt solder gun works great.

I have a small fire extinguisher at the layout and a bigger one in furnace room. 55 is old to my kids and a kid to others

@Windy City posted:

For tubular track, do you recommend 60/40 rosin core solder?  Would you solder the side of the rail or underneath?

On my Postwar layout I solder my track connections on the side of the rail. Obviously, take care to solder the wire so there's no interference with train wheels on top of the rail.

While we are talking about fire, you should have a smoke detector in the train room also. My train room is included with the fire/burglar alarm system for the the house. Mine is with ADT, however, other companies are probably as good.

Not exactly related to your situation...but, thought you might enjoy my "train fire" thread from 7 years ago.

Layout Fire

@gunrunnerjohn posted:

It can happen to us "older" kids as well.

I am very guilty of that just ask. GRJ with all the dumb questions I ask him.

@SD60M posted:

Not exactly related to your situation...but, thought you might enjoy my "train fire" thread from 7 years ago.

Layout Fire

I remember that thread.  It's what prompted me to keep fire extinguishers in the train room and staging area.

On the PER one can only leave the train room by removing this simple bridge which spans the doorway:

Lifting the bridge allows this standard Maytag Dryer Door Switch to open thus cutting 120VAC power to the layout:

Failsafe.

If I were using twin-coil switch machines, as a safety measure I would power them with a capacitor-discharge power supply. Such circuits limit constant current flow to prevent overheating of switch machines.

https://modelrailroadforums.co...witches.19241/page-2

couldnt you crawl under too?

I took the question a little differently.  Are you soldering while the track is on the foam or soldering elsewhere then remounting the track on the foam.  Soldering on foam is not a good idea.

Always good to have a mechanical attachment at the solder joint .     Example : a small hole drilled for a screw to hold the wire in place.   

After I solder a wire across the bottom of my Realtrack to join the outside rails I typically apply  one of the amazing glue choices to keep everything in place. 

@Edmund Schwartzel 060518 posted:

I took the question a little differently.  Are you soldering while the track is on the foam or soldering elsewhere then remounting the track on the foam.  Soldering on foam is not a good idea.

One would presume the drop is soldered to the track before laying it down, then you just put the hole for the drop through the foam.

@geysergazer posted:

On the PER one can only leave the train room by removing this simple bridge which spans the doorway:

       

Lifting the bridge allows this standard Maytag Dryer Door Switch to open thus cutting 120VAC power to the layout:

         

Failsafe.

Lew:

That's really cool, can you show how you have the dryer switch wired to your layouts power supply?

Thanks!

@fgnewton posted:

Lew:

That's really cool, can you show how you have the dryer switch wired to your layouts power supply?

Thanks!

One has to presume the dryer switch is just wired in series with the 120V power feed to his power panel.

I believe a lot of appliances use low voltage and relays for switching. The switch shown probably has voltage and current limitations. If used with line voltage I would be sure of rating.