Ztrains: Solder You Feeder Wires

A Quick Job That Makes Life A Little More Reliable
Here's a great technique for getting power to your track, Rob Kluz of Ztrack Magazine suggests soldering feeder wires to the underside of the rails. Using this method adds an element of realism to your layout as it eliminates the need for sections of power feeder track.

The steps below are pretty straight forward. One of the major drawbacks to this approach is that from a technical point of view, these connections really don't represent a good mechanical contact, such as a two wires wrapped around each other, then soldered together. Still, I've found that by filing the bottom of the rails a bit to aid in the solder's adhesion (Step 1), and by applying constant downward pressure to the tinned wire while soldering (Step 3)... the connection has proven to be surprisingly strong. I also clean the bottom of the rails with a bit of alcohol a bit before soldering to remove any oils that may be present.

Step 1: With a new razor, I trim one tie from the plastic base. Then with a very fine file I rough up the bottom of the rail a little in order to help the solder adhere a little better. I also add a bit of flux at this point with a round toothpick, you don't need much.

Step 2: Using standard Marklin wire, I strip the insulation away, roughly double the length of the piece of plastic I've just cut away from the track. This extra bit of length allows me to bend the wire at a 45 degree angle to better sit on the rail as I solder. I wipe the wire with a little flux between my fingers, this make tinning the wire a little easier. Tinning simply means applying a thin coat of solder to a wire, this makes it easier to join the wire to the rails. I then bend the wire at a right angle with a pair of needle nose pliers.

Step 3: Using a small desk vise with attached alligator clips, I set the wire in the clip and position it so I can solder without worrying if the wire is in the right position. The clip allows me to position the wire so there is a slight downward pressure on the rail, allowing for a better surface to surface contact between wire and rail. Also, the bit of flux placed on the rail in Step 1 helps the wire from slipping off the rail while soldering.

Step 4: The tie that was earlier cut out can be saved and simply positioned between the rails once you lay the track on the roadbed. When the track lays flat and the wire is running through the hole in your board, you can't see the wire or solder at all. I'd suggest buying an extra piece of track first and practice your soldering a bit, once you get the hang of this, you'll have feeders all over your rails!

May 4, 2008

TimeCast, Historic Miniatures

TimeCast of Shrewsbury, England produces a series of dedicated Z scale, as well as many 6mm, historically accurate European and North American structures that are reasonably priced... and very good.

The thumbnail photo above is actually one of their 6mm scenes with a Marklin box car in the photo for reference. Looks good from here!.

From the Napoleonic era to the fields of Gettysburg to WWII era Germany... TimeCast covers quite a lot of ground.

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