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Have a 75 foot layout. Bought some new 10 inch straight track, some used 30 inch track and some used 036" curves and had a loop that came with a train set. Decided for smooth and constant voltage to solder all tracks together with 60/40 rosin core electrical solder and 16 gauge speaker wire. All new 10 inch track soldered together with no problem. 10 inch track that came from a train set and curves would not take solder. All used 30 inch track took solder and a few curved sections did as well. I am stumped as why some Fastrack soldered with no problem and others would not. Any ideas?

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What is the wattage of your iron? If the wattage is too low, the solder will cool too quickly to properly adhere.

I normally use the Lenk solder gun for soldering to track, and it operates around 180 to 240 watts. This is too big and probably too hot for electronic components, but perfect for soldering wire to track. 

I tried using a 30 watt iron for soldering wire to track, and the same thing happened to me.

I use mostly Gargraves and Ross, so I don't usually have to worry about rails heating up, as the ties are wood. For Fast track, I would suggest testing the gun on a piece of track you can afford to lose, to be sure it won't melt the plastic road bed.

Finally, you might want to grind the side of the rail with a Dremel tool to get the solder to adhere better.

Last edited by Trainman2

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