Track connection issue

[aiyaz_abbas]

Hi All,

Hoping to get some advice, been building out my layout, did track tests after laying it all down, finished ballasting and everything was working fine except in one area. Per the picture below missed that this track hadn't 'connected' properly and this sharp bend is causing my loco to de-rail each time, any advice on how it can be fixed/sorted would be much appreciated. I've already ballasted and nailed the track down so would prefer to avoid ripping the whole thing up again if at all possible.

Thanks!/media/tinymce_upload/32f659e122729df8f684aad38f9ae4b0.jpg

[Chrissaf]

This is the reason why it is recommended that you do not ballast until you have completed an exhaustive testing period. I am sorry to advise (unless someone else has a better solution) that in my opinion you will need to bite the bullet and lift and re-lay the offending section.

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If glued with 50/50 PVA Water Mix, then warm water should soften the glue enough to allow the blade of a Stanley knife (or a springy wall paper scraper) to be inserted under the sleepers to break the seal (pins removed of course). Again the warm water will aid the removal of the ballast.

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TIP: As a newbie poster on the forum, just be aware that the 'Blue Button with the White Arrow' is not a 'Reply to this post' button. If you want to reply to any of the posts, scroll down and write your reply in the reply text box at the bottom of the page and click the Green 'Reply' button.

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See also – further TIPs on how to get the best user experience from this forum.

https://www.hornby.com/uk-en/forum/tips-on-using-the-forum/

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[aiyaz_abbas]

Thanks Chris, suspected as much but thought I would ask anyway incase there was a magic solution out there.

[96RAF]

The magic solution as stated is to whip the track pins out for a fair distance either side of the fault, warm soak the ballast then ease the track back into alignment before pinning it down again. The ballast will likely reset overnight and jobs done.

[2e0dtoeric]

As you noted, something is mis-aligned somewhere. The easy way would be to replace a section with a length of flexi-track, thus enabling you to make your own 'weird' radius curve, without the square corner!