tubular track short....fix?

Very honestly, toss it and buy new piece(s).

However if you really want to repair it, you can buy what is called "fish paper" at electronic distributors (Digikey, Newark etc) which is a stiff cardboard like material.  Or electrical tape folded over several times and cut to same size as broken insulator piece.

Pry the tab(s) up from center rail, replace broken piece with new insulation and bend tabs down against rail.  May need to use a small steel block under tie and then use a screwdriver and small hammer on top to tighten the tabs securely against rail.  Won't get it as tight as Lionel machinery can/could crimp it, but it "good enuf"

Electrical tape works. 

Plastic squares cut from pop containers work really good.

It's too easy to puncture electrical tape, you need something that resists puncture more.

I actually agree with the toss it and move on, a piece of tubular track isn't worth spending much time on.

Friction tape, rather than vinyl tape, will work.

card board cereal boxes work wonders

Many moons ago, I used friction tape. Another possibility is to use insulators salvaged from junk track.

One could argue that this particular piece of track qualifies as "junk track".

How about shelf track? It don't need to in perfect shape.

Lee Fritz

I once got a bad batch of brand new 072's, so throwing it away wasn't a good option. I just take the insulators out of old rusty track and replace them as needed. Then throw away the rusty track.

I'm going to order more track to replace these pieces that have gone bad.....but this stuff is practically new.  Less than 3 months old.  I only run my layout a few hours 2 or 3 days a week.  Worried this will be an ongoing problem and maybe need to be ready for repairs as they develop. 

Wow, that shouldn't happen at less than three months old.

I, like Popi, use cardboard.  I've been doing this for a L-O-N-G time and it has yet to fail to hold up - and since I only have a Christmas layout the pieces get a lot of handling.

It doesn't have to be thick cardboard.  I often use the cardboard used on the back for tablets.

One little tip that I discovered is this: when closing the tabs back, push them down as tight as possible and then LIGHTLY tap a screwdriver with a hammer.  Put the screwdriver's blade in the little notch in the tab and tap it down.

It's so easy to do why would anyone say to just throw it away?

- walt

I think the problem is that the machine used to manufacture the track is not set correctly, and is puncturing the insulators when it closes the tabs on the ties.

There is no need to use a hammer to close them, just press firmly with the screwdriver.

What about brand new track? Bought two train sets for friends children plus tubular track and switches. The killer was two pieces of 072 curve were missing insulators on one tie. Took us weeks to discover it because the short was not constant. One more advantage of FastTrak over Tubular.

I agree that hammering isn't necessary:  The center rail is joined at both ends to another piece of track, so doesn't need to be tight to the ties.  It's not a matter of gauge, as would be the case with the outer two rails.

Another idea is the shelf track, as mentioned.  I've removed the center rails from shelf pieces that support engines, figuring that it takes the load off the contact's spring.  Probably not that important, but why not?

I've run tubular track forever, and only had a couple of times the insulators were bad.  Going bad in three months is pretty rare I'd think!

John, it's not so much that they "go bad". It's that they are made badly, and it can take some time for the defect to show up. They may leave the factory OK, but with vibration from use, they fail. I was using that bad track on a portable layout, and I was constantly chasing down problems with my meter.

I'm glad that never happened to me.

my son is 28 years old. when he was 5, we bought him his 1rst Lionel set for Christmas. I set the train up the night before to test it. It DID NOT run. gave everything the once over. finally found one of the curved sections was missing the center insulator. right out of the box. replaced it with a piece of cardboard and we were off and running. there's nothing worse than finding a problem Christmas morning.

My son was very happy to watch his train run around the tree the next morning.

I contend in a friendly way that a LIGHT tap of a screwdriver with a hammer on the crink in the tab helps make it a nice solid connection.  Just pressing, to me, doesn't pinch it tight all of the time.

- walt

My two cents:

When I am tightening up loose track, or replacing an insulator, I don't tighten the center rails as tightly as I tighten the outside rails.
I set the tie on a metal bar that fits inside the tie.

For the center rail, I use a metal bar and a rubber mallet to tighten the tab down.

For the outside rails, I start with the same metal bar, and finish with a chisel to set a good crimp.

I took a quick look at the track on my layout. The tabs on the center rail are not crimped, they are folded over the rail, but they are smooth. The tabs on the outside rails are crimped.

I want to thank everyone for their comments.  They were a big help.  I followed the advise of using cardboard from cereal boxes to replace the bad insulators.  Problem solved!

One thing that should be noted:  all shorts were coming from "odd ball" rail ties.  There was a mixture of two (2) different sets of ties used on these sections of problem track.  One type of tie had smooth lines; and caused no problem whatsoever.  The other type of tie had ridges in it....and was the source of my shorts.  I agree with BB 4005 above.  The crimping machine was set-up for the smooth type of tie and not the other.  Slight differences between the two different ties caused the odd ball tie to develop shorts.  Terrible Quality Control and training in China.  Sad these cost cutting measures are hurting product quality.....and peoples enjoyment of the hobby.

Folks here are mostly problem solvers.  Worry about the family that splurges buys a new train set....only for it to not work right and they finally give up.  Never developing a love for these wonderful trains.  Thanks Lionel.