Hi Guys,
If you were able to design a piece of straight track from scratch, either for Tyco, Tomy or Lifelike, and make it easy to attach wires for power taps, what would your design look like?

The criteria is that the power taps must be under the track without the side tab like all current terminal tracks (although a small area on the side of the track could be open to allow wires to pass underneath). From above, it must, for the most part, look like any other straight.

I have been toying with some ideas. One would be to have the track molded so that a T shaped non-magnetic metal piece could be inserted next to the rail with the lower part of the T sticking out under the track. This would be a male plug which would have a female counterpart. Simply insert the T against the rail and plug in your wire. If the T ever got loose, just jam in a small shim. In this way, all straights could be molded to accept this "T Key" and therefore any straight could be a jumper. The keys could be sold seperately.

But, I'd like to hear other ideas. There's nothing on the immediate horizon, but when the time comes, I'd like to be ready.

Thanks...Joe

That's a good idea. Couldn't you squash a model railroad track connector and jam it between the track and rail now? Or even an old pick-up shoe? A nice T with a wide bottom to solder to would be pretty good probably.

A dedicated jumper section would be OK too where the bottom of the track basically has power connections like a terminal track without the plug area. You could solder wires to each of the lanes. Maybe make a 15" jumper straight and a 9" jumper straight.

I'm not the electric guy in our league so I am just guessing but both ideas seem do-able.

With the idea I outlined, all straights would be terminal/jumper capable. They would merely be molded to have a small area next to the rail where you could insert this T key. Big benefit - terminal tracks are no different than any other piece; no special mold.

I looked at my Mattel track and there is no way for me to jam a piece of metal against the rail. It's just too tight. I could try to cut a small notch next to the rail.

I actually successfully repaired a piece of Aurora AFX track this way. A piece of 12" curve had the end connector broken off. I used a cutoff wheel to make a small cut against the rail and jammed another piece of rail into the cut. It worked great and you could hardly tell it was repaired. Either I got lucky, or its easy.

But I digress.

There could be two kinds of keys. One in which the base of the T is long and can be cut down, and another where it is bent at a 90 degree angle so you could run your wires under the track. Or the metal could be soft enough where you could bend it yourself. As long as it is non-magnetic, the cars won't pull it up.

The general idea is that it removes the need to solder anything to the track. As I said, the connection to the T key would be made via a female connector with your wires attached.

Thanks...Joe

Joe,what about a track with no rails,once it's all layed down,the track owner can install a continous rail.
Maybe there's no market,but i do know a few sectional tracks have been continous'd railed.
Little off topic,sorry. :cool:
Rick

I'm relatively new to the hobby. In my mid-40s. I have never had a soldering iron in my hand. And I only know enough about electricity to cautiously respect it (bordering on fearing it) and not dabbling beyond my limited skills or understanding.

That said, I realize that this hobby may require me to develop at least some soldering skills. But as of this moment, I am all for anything that can help me avoid it, particularly where electrical connections are concerned. I don't trust myself in being able to do sound electrical work.

Joe, I believe there is a market for power terminal tracks such as you've suggested, as I also believe I am not alone.

Oh, I think I got it!

If the track were molded (or exiting pieces cut) such that there was a small opening on both sides of the rail for a small distance, say 1/4" long, it would be quite easy to get a metal clip which would attach to the rail from underneath with a spring action. This metal clip would "pinch" the rail, thereby creating a solid connection.

Think of the clip as looking somewhat like the pickup shoes from Tyco command control cars. These pickup shoes do not use springs. Rather, a section of the center of the shoe was cut on three sides and bent so as to produce a spring effect. The metal clip I have in mind would be much stronger.

Before attaching the clip to the rail, you could either solder your wire to the clip or as I mentioned above, have a male/female connection system. The clip would be designed so that it would not stick above the top of the rail.

Whatcha think?

Joe

I think if I was designing this, I'd make it a two piece straight - the first piece would be the upper piece of track, looks like a normal straight, but has four (two per lane) power taps dropping down in a T shape piece of metal, like others have suggested here. Half the depth of the track would be missing to accept the second piece. This would join the first piece at a right angle and clip in, and would bring the power to the outside of the track. This second piece would be available in two length, one would be just larger than one piece (3 inches, plus space for connectors) and the second would be just larger than two pieces side by side (6 inches, plus connector space) so with three piece of the first track, and one of each of the 2nd, four lane power would be on one side.

Hope that makes sense.

Cheers

Richard

Hi Richard,
If I understand this correctly, your design would still have a side tab, which is something I want to eliminate. I want the electical connections to be hidden from view, which means they must be under the track. I would allow the wires to pass through an opening in the side of the track for those who choose not to drill through the table (or lay the track on the floor).
There are many ways to achieve a connection method where the connection is made on the side of the track. We see that in the standard terminal track of all manufacturers. Something along the lines of what you are describing can be found in the old Aurora "Terminal Anywhere" piece. This was very much like your second piece. It slid between and under two pieces of MM track with four tabs, each touching one rail. But, the screw conectors were on the side of the track - like a standard MM terminal track.
The idea here is to design a power tap method that can be incorporated into all straights without adding any cost. Something that anyone could use without the need to solder.

Thanks...Joe

Hi Joe,

The idea would be to have the 2nd piece available in different configurations, eg Tomy Power and Controllers/Tyco Power and Conrollers, etc. There is no reason why one of these configurations couldn't be a straight power tap with a captive nut underneath - but I guess it fails on your second criteria of adding it to any straight.

Back to the drawing board for me .. ;)

Richard

I drill a small hole on both sides of the rail then i take a dremal with a 1/16'' cut off disc and notch the rail between the holes. then i run my wire up though one hole and over the rail back though the other hole then i twist the wire and solder. the trick is to cut the rail just deep enough for the wire to be flush with the rail. it's worked great for me and ive used this set up for about five years.