Soldering Gargraves Middle Rail

     Lance slide your ties apart far enough to get one of the cut off wheels in there and lightly take the finish off at A slow speed then wipe with A thinner to get the debris off your soldering area. It worked for me. Choo Choo Kenny

Lance, if you have a drill bit that is long enough and will fit the Dremel, install it and use the spinning drill bit to remove a bit of the black coating from the rail.  You can also use a regular drill if you won't hit an outside rail with the spinning drill bit.  Suggested because your track is installed and screwed down.

Lance,  Make sure you are tinning both the rail and wire and use flux.

Using the small cut-off discs works, but be darn sure you wear eye protection; they fracture/shatter. 

Also, very difficult/impossible to move ties when using Ross/Gargraves sectional track.

Thanks fellas! Gonna go out and try some of the techniques here shortly. 

I have always drilled a hole into the rail and then slid the wire into the hole. I followed that up running solder onto the bare wire. All these years I have never had a bad connection..................Paul

Sand paper using a Q-tip to keep the pressure where you want it should word in a tight space.

Lance, glad to hear you got it sorted out.  Did you solder, use a screw, or both?  What bit did you use to drill the hole and, if you used a screw, what size?

Again, glad you succeeded.

I burnish it on the underside with a wire wheel, prime it with flux, and solder the wire there, under the rail, into the web. The excess solder flows into the ball of the railhead from the web forming a plug to which the wire is also fastened preventing it from pulling out under the table and insuring a firm electrical connection. The wires then go down a hole in the table top becoming invisible.  A dab of caulk in the hole underneath keeps ballast from flowing down the hole onto the floor.  Works great, never had a wire pull loose. And no electrical problems ... yet.