ATLAS FLEXTRACK ???

no way you will get this to bend less than o27.

i had problems bending it to o80

rail will break spike heads

just my opinion

Its not the most flexible stuff. Anything less than an O72 is a pretty good fight, as it has a lot of springback in it when you bend it. I highly doubt you'll be able to turn it into a rollercoaster hill, but you probably wouldnt be able to do that with any track. 

To get a little more flex out of it, you can cut loose the tie connectors on the bottom, but then the ties will all start moving around on you. If you want to bend something really tight, you'll probably be better off with something like gargraves or scaletrax. I havent had good luck bending atlas flex real well. Maybe if you put it on a form and screwed it down as you went it would hold better, but the inflexibility of it seems to be a common complaint.

Very hard to bend by hand. Can be easily bent by removing rails from tie strip and bending each rail in a rail bender with code 215 rollers. Then reinsert the bent rails into the tie strip. Track bent in this fashion will hold its shape without being held in place. There tends to be a very slight twist in the track that is not a problem.

Atlas makes O-27 sectional. Anything less than about 48" radius (O-96 in three-rail speak) becomes a fight. The Atlas 2-rail track is easier to deal with for tight curves of less than 36" radius (O-72) but I've never tested its limits.

Thanks for all responses. This is all pre purchase so will help me make

           more informed choice. Chris

why would you do that with all the sectional track available? OMG-jim

I use Atlas flex track.  It can be bent into gentle curves.  I use Atlas sectional track for all other curves.  I believe that smallest Atlas curve is O-36.  I wouldn't try to get Atlas track to bend to smaller curve.

 

Joe

Origninally posted by ctr:

 

Can be easily bent by removing rails from tie strip and bending each rail in a rail bender with code 215 rollers. Then reinsert the bent rails into the tie strip.

 

Hi ctr,

 

What you described is essentially the same method I use with ScaleTrax, and it works great.  I have tried it on a couple occasions with Atlas and never had any luck.  Once the rail is out of the ties it just won't cooperate going back together.  When was the last time you used this method with Atlas flex?  Any suggestions on how to thread the rail back in without breaking the spikes?

Atlas flex track is great for very gentle curves where you don't care about an exact radius, but just want to gradually curve around, say, buildings, hills, other any scenic items.

 

I use it on long mainline stretches to get away from only totally straight runs until reaching a relatively sharp curve.  Except when modeling geographically very flat and unforested areas, I think this is more prototypical.

 

          paul m.

This is about the best you can do with Atlas flex.

Also note the change in direct between the first cross and the O-36R switch.  This was done with a fabricated piece of O-54 curve.  I found it easier to fabricate curves as needed from existing curve pieces v.s. the flex.

Another look at the change in direction.


The piece is about 1" much smaller than any available curves.


This installation also required custom fabrication of the O-54 S-curve near the Walton Lumber Yard. The two pieces were laid one on top of the other, a good mating location was determined and a small piece was cut from each.


I used a lot of Atlas 6057 tie end pieces.  Also used with the flex track.


Atlas does Curves, 1/2 curves (selective), 1/3 curves(selective) , and 1/4 curves (selective), 0-27 through O-108 every 9". O-27, O-36, O-45, O-54, O-63, O-72, O-81, O-90, O-99, O-108.  At O-108 flex track would become relatively easy to work with IMO.  I've had sucess with their Right Tracks (Freeware) design and over the layout construction in three phase have yet to accumulate extra track, or hardware. You may fine using the Freeware an alternative to trying to bend flex to fit everything. Noted feature is an accurate parts list on completion of your drawing.

Dave Hikel,

 

I have used soapy water (dishwashing liquid and water) applied liberally to the rail web and the tie strip. But I haven't had 100% success. Some of the tie strips are tighter than others. I might also try vegetable oil and then wash the completed track after insertion is complete.

 

I wish that AtlasO woukd exchange/sell replacement tie strips for those situations where nothing works.

Dave Hikel,

The ends of Atlas flex track are very sharp, and can contain almost invisible burrs. Take a fine file and make a light pass on each edge of the track which will touch the top of the ties or the nubs, especially the corners of the rail base. When reassembling, start with the center rail. The two outside rails should then be easy to reinsert if one was bent slightly tighter than the center rail and the other slighly larger.

 

Allan

I just bought 5 pieces of  used 40" Flex track on E-Bay and thought I had the same problem.

Then I realized that I had two pieces of flex and 3 pieces of rigid.

See photo of back.

Flex has two holes in the ties and no spacers on the outside rails.

Rigid has one offset of course and spacers on all three rails. Rigid track can also be curvered to a much gentler curve and does not bounce back as I just discovered but can easily be formed back reltively straight.

Could not resist.

Here is your o-27 curve.

Easily done. Photo by my 6 year old.

 

You all have been bending rigid Atlas O.

Me too. for about 10 minutes.

Good thing I tried all 5 pieces.

Now to get my refund.

To bend Atlas O track you need hydraulics.

No human is going to bend it less than O-72.

No way.

No how.

 

The Wiz

Hi Ffffreddd,

 

We're all well aware of the difference between Atlas' 40" flex vs. 40" rigid straights.  In your photos you show yourself grabbing the track and bending it.  That's not difficult to do, but look what happens when you let go.... it springs back!  To get smooth track joints you must bend the track until you exceed the "yield strength."  When you exceed the yield strength the rail only bounces back part way.  Nickle silver has a lot of spring back and the Atlas track uses very thick nickle silver rails.  When you apply enough force to bend the track beyond the yield strength or the rail you exceed the breaking strength of the ABS plastic "spike" details that hold the rails to the ties.  Try bending the flex track tight enough that it holds that same O-27 curve when you let go... then post a photo!

Beg to differ. But it is designed to spring back. Read the instructions. The goal is not to exceed the yield strength. But it is true that you will get a smoother joint if you transition to a straight section. Even if you use a three die tube bender or roller to form the shape, you always will need to cut off the short snipe we call it ( the initial flat spot when the material first engages the forming equip). Regarding the comment about needing hydraulics. You are not trying to actually bend the metal. I three wheel roller stretches the material on one side causing it curve. Simple physics and geometry. But if you need to see Lazarus, what is it worth to you to if I form the rigid atlas o into something tighter without hydraulics by hand without dismantling it? At least a new piece of straight for me. If one anneals it properly, I could probably tie it into a knot.

To answer the original question. The rigid will do the roller coaster thing much better than the the flex. Just form it over a large diameter pipe. And remember, the more you work it, the harder it becomes. Called work hardening. Believe it or not. Take a piece of soft copper and keep on flexing it and it will get harder to bend. Eventually it will get brittle and break.

Hi Ffffreddd,

 

Beg to differ. But it is designed to spring back. Read the instructions.

Differ all you like.  If doglegged joints and broken ties work for you and your layout that's great.  I have read the instructions.  The instructions were copied from Atlas' HO flex track, which works quite well when free bending.  Code 100 and 83 rail HO flex has about 5% of the metal that is in the code 215 3-rail flex.  The spring tension caused by free bending the track will destroy the ties if you try to bend it much tighter than O-100.  That's why Atlas came out with sectional track up to O-108.

 

Trimming the rail ends is required with all flex track regardless if you free bend it or use a 3-roll rail bender. You might as well do the job right by pre-bending the track to eliminate spring back and allow yourself to lay flowing curves with smooth joints like this...

 

Hi Dave,

 

You say that "WE" are all aware of the differences beween flex and rigid.

But clearly you are not aware that normally while stronger than gold and silver, Nickle Silver (german silver) is extremely mallable and normally does not spring back.

When I said "read" the instructions, I did not mean "follow" but that the intended design is to to spring back.

 

To do this requires modifying the alloy to what is known as NS 107 by adding more copper which is less ductile and not recomended for severe forming applications.

 

Unless however, you anneal it. Take the flex track apart, heat the track with either an propane or mapp gas tourch till about 6-700 degrees, let it cool, reassemble and then bend to desired shape. It will stay there.

Just do not work it to much.

 

Or take apart a piece of rigid and slip it into the flex ties or just cut the spacers on the outside rail.

 

And I "have" formed it into a tigher radius and the ties do not fail.

 

But I do agree that it is differcult to form to pieces into a longer continuous radius but if you put a straight section at the end of a single curve you do not have "dog-legs"

 

It seems that you are of the opion that if "you" can not do it than the "we" should not be able to.

 

And while I will take your word for it, I have a hard time believing that HO rails has only 1/20 the cross sectional area of O  but plausible because of the lack of center rail.

 

But that is really not relevant to the discusion.

 

I think the real issue is that Atlas marketed a product that has limited use and is not much in demand. They probably should of made it softer and more malable and marketed it as "formable" and dumped the spring back feature.

 

You indicate that the other guys got it right and I would agree with you on that point.

Guys and gals, I think the general rule of thumb here is fairly straightforward regarding Atlas O Flextrack.  It's really designed for creating GENTLE, sweeping curves whose radii exceed what the company provides with their sectional roster of track -- currently maxing out at O-108.  With such a broad variety of sharper curves available from O-27 thru O-108, why are folks even attempting to bend flextrack at these sharp radii??? 

 

Bottom line... save the flextrack for layouts with lots of real estate.  Use the sectional curves for modest to smaller railroads.  Life will be much simpler that way. 

 

David

Hi Ffffreddd,

 

You all have been bending rigid Atlas O.

 

You are very new to this forum, and your second post clearly implied you thought we "all" who had posted on this thread before your arrival were simply buying the wrong track pieces.  That's not the case.

 

I'm a full time layout builder and have laid thousands of feet of track in just about every brand and scale.  As I mentioned earlier in this thread to ctr, my crew and I normally do disassemble MTH ScaleTrax rail from its ties.  We pre-bend the rail with a Llagas Creek Railways 3-roll rail bender.  With the rail pre-bent to roughly the correct radius there is no need to anneal it.  The difficulty with Atlas flex, unlike ScaleTrax flex, is that it was not designed to be disassembled and reassembled.  The ABS plastic "spike" details that hold the rail to the ties are too tight on most sections.  When you try to tread the rail back into the ties the spikes will start to break off.  Even if you get a good string of ties threaded there will be some spikes that bind and break as the rail slides by.

 

Your first post implies that to date you own two lengths of Atlas flex track.  It is possible that you got lucky and received two lengths that came out the injection molding machine relatively loose.  If you purchased an entire case of Atlas flex the majority of the pieces would be too tight to even remove the rails without breaking some spikes.  If you come up with a method for reliably working with Atlas flex everyone here on the forum will be glad to learn about it including me.  But myself, Elliot, Hot Water, and the other folks on this thread and this forum have worked with a lot more than two lengths of Atlas flex.

 

I think the real issue is that Atlas marketed a product that has limited use and is not much in demand. They probably should of made it softer and more malable and marketed it as "formable" and dumped the spring back feature.

I agree it would be beneficial if Atlas changed the alloy in the flex track.  The flex has "limited use" precisely because Atlas made mistakes in the design.  If you talk to folks from Atlas they will freely admit that the 3-rail flex was designed to be worked like their HO flex.  When they introduced the flex track back in 1998 the largest sectional curve they made was O-72.  Larger curves were added to the product line specifically to cope with the in-flexibility of the Flex track.  If Atlas made the track more flexible than it is it would be a lot more useful and they would sell a lot more.  I would be among the first buy and install an improved Atlas flex track.

Hi David,

With such a broad variety of sharper curves available from O-27 thru O-108, why are folks even attempting to bend flextrack at these sharp radii??? 

The main reason is because the natural spacing of Atlas curves (4.5" between center rails) is too tight for running large locomotives and long rolling stock past each other on parallel curves.  As it turns out, even with smaller sub-scale equipment running on tighter radii, 4.5" often creates conflicts.  The fool proof spacing these days is 6" between centers.  If Atlas flex track was more flexible, we could use it lay O-66 curves outside O-54 sectional or O-84 outside O-72.  Flex is also very useful on small layouts when trying to get the most out of a small space.  Here's a rather complex section of a Ross/Gargraves layout that was only about 90 sq. ft.  You couldn't make this without flex track.

 

Dave,

You make a valid point. And I will admit that two pieces is only an example of and not evidence of  the nature of a much larger sampling that you have had experience with.

If that is common, then I guess I got lucky on the only two pieces that I will probably use. And I will experiment with annealing them just because I do not like to screw my track down anyway.

 

Have you ever cut the outer spacers on the rigid version and attempted to form that with the ties on? The middle does not have the spacers and my testing is with what I will admit is the only three pieces of rigid track I ever had, but it does seem to be more mallable and does not spring back.

 

But it is clear that these ties will not slip off as easily as the flex and probably break if I tried.

 

I do appreciate your insight and also patience.