Old ME or Railcraft Flextrack

[Jim Costello]

I have either Railcraft or Micro Engineering code 55 flex track removed from a layout about  30 years ago. I would like to reuse it in a small yard I am
building. Most of it is curved and I would like to straighten it if possible. The ballast was removed and the track cleaned up years ago, but it still retains the curved shape.

I am looking at soaking it again in warm/hot water with some detergent to soften it a bit, but I am wondering just how brittle the ties maybe and if they
can take the work needed to straighten them.

Does anyone offer any other ideas.

Jim
Modelling the New Haven down under

[OldEastRR]

To find out everything possible about ME or Railcraft track talk to this guy:  robert3985

[Sokramiketes]

Actually, just slap it sideways on a table or workbench surface.  Like cracking a whip, right down on the edge of the ties. 

[jagged ben]

Railcraft or ME always retained its shape.  I don't think you need to treat the plastic in any way to straighten it, but the best way to find out is probably to take a piece and try. 

[nickelplate759]

I find a straight alignment shaping template (like Ribbonrail) helps with this.

https://www.nscalesupply.com/rib/rib.html

Peco also makes one (Tracksetta).

[NtheBasement]

I don't think the track being old makes any difference.  Half the ME flex that I bought had kinks when it arrived.  The method that I used to straighten it was to put it face up and a yard stick on the table, shove the track ties against the straight edge to straighten as much as possible, then fix the remaining bows by positioning the ties so that the bend was away from the straight edge, shove the bow against the stick and drag a fingernail so it clicks down the ties that need to unstick.

[Mark5]

Half the ME flex that I bought had kinks when it arrived.  The method that I used to straighten it was to put it face up and a yard stick on the table, shove the track ties against the straight edge to straighten as much as possible,

This is pretty much what I've done in the past.   

[Angus Shops]

You should be able to straighten it out without any problems. I just hold it up to eye level and ‘eyeball it’ until it’s as straight as I can get it, which is usually pretty good. Real railways spend a lot of time and effort keeping their track straight, and even yard trackage is constructed to high standards, even if it deteriorates over time.

[Point353]

Will the various methods mentioned to straighten the track work successfully on used track if there is still some sort of adhesive from the ballasting process bonding the rails to the ties?

[NtheBasement]

Will the various methods mentioned to straighten the track work successfully on used track if there is still some sort of adhesive from the ballasting process bonding the rails to the ties?

Probably not but you can soak the glue (usually PVA like Elmers) off with water.  Maybe in a bathtub?

[Jim Costello]

Thanks , I have no issues with straightening ME track as I have laid hundreds of feet over the years.  Even though the old track has been cleaned when pulled up
I 'm guessing there are remnants of glue ,PVA, still there that may hinder any attempts to straighten so  I was going to soak in water and detergent . The bath tub idea or even a shower base
would be ideal and something I hadn't just thought about . It will probably help if I try to straighten while the track is wet and warm .

The track I have is mostly still in full lengths with part straights/curves and the like.

Jim

[robert3985]

I've re-used Rail Craft Code55 flex over the years after soaking off the ballast in hot water in my bathtub.  The only problem is the tie spacing, which needs to be adjusted to get rid of gaps and too-close tie sections, but it's not a big problem, just be careful because the spikeheads are so tiny and tight fitting.

Straightening it using the ends of the ties is problematic since the ties are realistically not evenly centered on the rails and the spikeheads are fragile.  Just be patient and work the kinks out by sighting down the length of the stick while on a flat surface (table top/work bench) placing a finger where the kink is while sighting down the rails then hold the stick and push where the kink is...then repeat until it's straight.

Also, a thin metal ruler or straightedge placed along one of the rails makes it easy to see where the kinks are.

I'm a big fan of using the "MIA Eyeball Method" both on straights and curves to de-kink mainline trackage.  I also use the eyeball method to actually put kinks in my branchline yard trackage, industrial spurs and branchline mains.

Although it's a bit of a PITA, if you get your old Rail Craft Flex nice and straight, and the tie spacing corrected and you have excessive bare rails (no ties) on an end, I chamfer the rail feet edges then, after filing any burrs off of the rail ends of short scrap pieces of Rail Craft Flex, I slide the ties off (hot water helps) then slide them on to the stick I'm straightening up.  I can always use the bare rail I've taken the ties off of for turnout manufacture, so there's no waste.

One thing to watch out for with Rail Craft Flex and early Micro Engineering Flex is that the ties aren't centered on the rail center...so, when you slide your salvaged tie strips on to fill out a corrected stick of flex, make sure the tie ends protrude the same amount as your already-mounted tie strips, or you'll get very visible sections of tie strips that are obviously off-center in the opposite way as the original tie strips that are already attached.  Some sticks came this way from RC/ME, with one half of the stick's ties being off-centered in the opposite way as the other half.  Luckily, this flaw wasn't obvious after painting, weathering and ballasting.  But, I still didn't like it...but I was too lazy to remedy the problem and luckily it literally wasn't visible in my photos or to my eye after finishing up.

IMO old Rail Craft Flex is valuable stuff, and luckily, I accumulated a fairly large stash of it (Code55/Code40) before the original injection tool needed to be replaced.  The later ME runs had noticeably larger spikeheads, and ties that weren't prototypically uneven like the original product, so, taking care and re-using your old stuff is good work.

Photo (1) - Part of my stash of original Rail Craft Flex...


Cheerio!
Bob Gilmore

[Sumner]

If you have a 3D printer you can print the tool in the following video.  If not you can make one from a block of hardwood or plastic....

......works great for shaping ME rail to any curve or straight.  More info here and print file links.....

https://1fatgmc.com/RailRoad/Trackwork/page-23.html


If you go down the menu a ways on the following link you can find tools for other track centerlines and a compass with the tool on it....

https://1fatgmc.com/RailRoad/Trackwork/Trackwork-Index.html

I love ME track 'because it does hold it's shape'.....makes laying it so much easier and the simple tool above will make shaping it very easy.

Sumner