Wiring Track Innovations?

Well the modern soldering irons plug into the wall and can get up to 600F in a hustle 

But beyond that, does Gargraves/Ross have those terminal joiners like Atlas? They have some wire coming off them so I suppose you could use butt connector or wire nuts under the table. Even a terminal strip might be good. I intend to make my tables in 6 foot long sections where the track, wire, and scenery all blend together but end at joint in the tables. I hope that will make it easier to move the layout one day. But the wiring under the table will be accomplished with labelled terminal strips. 

I hope this helps!

Not sure of any new innovations, but I used the male connectors originally posted by Rob in this thread. There's a link, too, of where to get them. I thought they worked well and somewhat easier and neater than soldering directly to track, at least IMHO.

https://ogrforum.com/...76#41130794499252076 

For Gargraves, just like lionel, I believe if you crimp a spade or ring to the wire, you can spread the bottom of the rail slightly with a flat head screw driver and shove the spade connection into the gap.  I have only done this on lionel though.  The lionel track is plenty tight after that, no soldering needed imho.  For Ross I have no idea.

talking about track I was going to go with Gargraves but I am committed to fast track doe's anyone know if they make nylon pins for fast trackto stop ground.

I'll be soldering to my Gargraves track, it's the best joint you're going to create.

@Ernie S posted:

talking about track I was going to go with Gargraves but I am committed to fast track doe's anyone know if they make nylon pins for fast trackto stop ground.

 

No.  You have to use isolator sections and insulated sections.  There is a recent thread discussing that very topic.

Brendan

I used the spade plugs for all of my Ross track, probably around 500 feet of track, worked great for me.

@Ernie S posted:

talking about track I was going to go with Gargraves but I am committed to fast track doe's anyone know if they make nylon pins for fast trackto stop ground.

You can use regular track pieces and not bother with the special insulated sections.  Just remove the jumpers on the bottom of the track sections.  As for insulating pins, I use a Dremel cutoff wheel to start and end the insulating section.

Wow!  Glad you caught me.  I was just about to go to the forest and cut down a tree to make pencils.  I've already mined the graphite for the lead.  

There are at least a couple of things you can do beside solder feeder wires to GarGraves track.  

1. GarGraves sells wiring pigtails.  These are track pins with wires attached.  They come in Black, White, and Red.
2. Use Spade Connectors.  These are available from Fastenal.  They snap into the web of GarGraves track and are almost impossible to remove (nice, tight fit!).  Crimp a feeder wire to the spade first, then push it into the track.

Either of these work great. 

George

Better yet, use the spades I mentioned a few posts back which have a circular section in which to insert a feeder wire and solder the feeder wire into that section. You can also tie the two outside rail feeder wires together under the layout for connection to the neg side of your power drop.

Thanks Richie and others who pointed out the spade lug trick. I'm going to do some testing. I wish there was some obvious thing that had sprouted up over time. Some of the older audio connectors were redesigned by a company named Neutrik. I wish the track makers had put some R&D into track connections like Neutrik did for audio.

Don

Thanks George. I had seen those Gargraves pigtails but they did not strike me as the solution I was wanting. I dunno. I'll probably experiment with those pigtails.

Don

Tony, GRJ and other kind replies--tanks so much for your input. I am going to experiment and see what I like best. I may end up with a mix of techniques.

Don

I have zero desire to go back under and fix connections, so I figure soldering should be "once-n-done" for the track drops.

I agree. I want to make a good decision here. There has to be a magic bullet! (JK). 

I really think the track makers like Ross could be doing some innovation here. I know that is passing the buck. But I'm willing to vote with my dollars! Maybe that will help...

Don Merz

@Don Merz 070317 posted:

Thanks George. I had seen those Gargraves pigtails but they did not strike me as the solution I was wanting. I dunno. I'll probably experiment with those pigtails.

Don

 

Don,

Any particular reason why they didn't appeal to you?  They aren't inexpensive, I'll admit.  However, I've used the spade connectors (which are cheaper), but it's hard work pushing them into the track.  Both work just fine if you're someone who doesn't want to or doesn't solder well.

George

@Don Merz 070317 posted:

I agree. I want to make a good decision here. There has to be a magic bullet! (JK). 

I really think the track makers like Ross could be doing some innovation here. I know that is passing the buck. But I'm willing to vote with my dollars! Maybe that will help...

Don Merz

 

I disagree.  I don't think the onus is on the track makers.  I distrust Atlas track joiners (my friend has an Atlas layout).  They seem too flimsy to me.

And GarGraves has actually stepped up to the plate with the pigtails.

Trust me, there ain't no such thing as a magic bullet.

George

I can personally attest to the unreliability over the long term of Atlas track joiners, and the Gargraves/Ross pins aren't much better.  With our modular layouts, we have many instances of having to deal with poor connections through the track joiners.  This is a primary reason why I do not like either the Atlas or Gargraves solution of having a wire on the track joiner, that doesn't get it as far as I'm concerned!

Rail joiners introduce another interface to oxide and loosen.

The magic bullet is soldering or on board battery R/C.

Anything else is a gamble.