@Dennis Rempel posted:With me it's 1/16" but I wanted to see what others say. It can be very time consuming to get a nice close fit on all 3 rails at each joint.
My layout has mostly Gargraves flexible track for both the straights and curves. I do recall how difficult it was to use special bending forms to create the various size curves, cutting the track, and the difficulty of joining the tracks. The major challenge was keeping the ends of the three rails in perfect alignment if the curved track's radius slightly changed during handling process. After you posted your message I went to look at the joints of my own layout. In several places I have one outer rail and the center rail with no gap (to the connected track) but the other outer rail may have a gap. Most of my gaps are 1/16" or less. It has really never caused a problem for me. At the time I built my layout, there were few options for preformed track. If I had to build a layout today, I would primarily use preformed track, even despite the high cost, because it is so much easier to use and to join tracks together. The only exception is when Gargrave flexible track can solve layout problems that even the layout software didn't quite predict.
