Hints n Tips - Avoiding Solder Globules on Rails

Model Railways On-Line - Hints n Tips - Avoiding Solder Globules on Rails

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How to avoid those unsightly solder globules on the sides of rails

How many times have you been to an exhibition and looked closely at the track on a layout and seen huge great big lumps stuck on the sides of rails, accompanied by melted sleepers ?
It looks unsightly and ruins any possibility of realism or photography. Does the following picture look familiar ?

As we all know, this is one of many methods that modellers use to solder wires to rails.
In my opinion, it ruins the appearance of the track and it also stops the track being re-used at some future date on some other layout. But it doesn't have to be this way!

A little careful planning when building a layout plus the technique described here will see those solder lumps gone for ever!
Why do modellers solder wires to the sides of rails ? Well, the answer is simple: lack of planning. Traditionally, modellers cannot wait to get track laid and then they worry about the electrics later. In other words, the track is already laid before wiring starts.

So what is the alternative to soldering wires on the side of rails ? Answer: as the track is laid, solder wires to the undersides of the rails. To do this, pull the sleepers off the track, solder the wire to the underside of the rail, then file down and replace the sleepers. The wire can be poked down a hole drilled in the baseboard and there you have it: a tidy connection, no melted sleepers and no unsightly solder globules.
This technique also works with 'foam underlay' ballast.

Click pictures to view in larger form:

Wires solder to the undersides of rails - underside of track view, sleepers pulled back to aid visibility

Wires soldered to the undersides of rails - topside of track view, sleepers pulled back to aid visibility

Once ballast is placed around the track, you will not even see the connections in the above pictures - a much better appearance than the traditional solder globule!

Graham Plowman

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