Exactoscale Fast Track - joining up the two gauges

[Julian Roberts]

Hi Folks

I am experimenting with Exactoscale Fast Track. It comes in packs of sleepers - enough for 2 metres; rail isn't included. I have got a pack of normal and a pack of widened (by 0.2mm) for curves. I am wondering if there is an accepted or recommended way of joining them up, when the straight goes into a curve, and back again, does anyone know?

Thanks
Julian

[allanferguson]

I am sure there will be a purist way...... but I am impure, and I just joined them end to end, relying on the flexibility of the plastic chairs and the stiffness of the rail to smooth everything out. I also made sure that the rail was continuous through the changeover. Nothing's fallen off yet!

Allan F

[Re6/6]

Agreed. Allan's way will work fine. I use it the same way.

[Julian Roberts]

Thanks both, sounds like a common sense consensus.

[steamraiser]

You could leave a gap between the two ends of the fast track sleepers and infill with individual sleepers and chairs.
Gordon A

[LesGros]

You could leave a gap between the two ends of the fast track sleepers and infill with individual sleepers and chairs.
Gordon A

That is the method suggested to me several years ago at the Exactoscale stand before C&L took over; I think that four or five sleepers with individual chairs was about right.

[Julian Roberts]

Thanks Gordon and Les for latest replies. I have tried assembling a 60' panel (240mm) - the sleepers come in groups of 8 and are joined for that length by the web on both gauges. The groups of 8 can be pushed closer together to (closely enough) replicate the arrangement under the rail joints.

2017-01-10 13.52.42.jpg

I have put one group of gauge widened sleepers on this panel, but I cannot tell by eye which one it is. Happily they are stamped with different codes underneath. I imagine trains would have no problem with this invisible gauge change as has been said, so I'm inclined to save time and bother, and follow the advice of Allan and Re6/6, making the change not coincide with rail joins.

But I wonder how it was done on the real thing? - I imagine as Gordon and Les suggest.