Soldering track

I just lightly hit the spot to be soldered with the Dremel with a fiber cutoff wheel to rough up the surface.  Break out my 100/140W Weller gun and tin the spot and then solder the wire on.  If you can pick up the track or it's not down yet, you can expose a section of the rail under the track and keep the connection hidden.  Remember that if you solder to outside rails, do it on the outside so the flanges don't hit your soldering job.

My two cents.  Do what GRJ says about using the Dremel.  Make sure you use rosin core solder.  I tin the wire first then apply solder to the rail.  Then I form the wire to how I want it to lay into the side of the rail.  I then use anything available to hold the wire laterally to the rail.  I apply the iron to the wire pressing the wire against the rail where I applied the solder to the rail.  No further solder is needed at this point.  When the wire collapses against the rail remove the heat and maintain that tool to hold the wire snugly until the solder cools.  I have a solder station.  When I am in a hurry, I set the temperature set point to 600 degrees as the wire tins very quickly and the rail melts the solder quickly also.  The problem with this temperature is that when applying the solder to the rail you need to be careful that the plastic ties don't begin to melt away from the rail.  And lastly these suggestions are based on using 60/40 rosin core solder.  And as a final note, Heat the surface where you wish to apply the solder and melt the solder to the wire/rail.  Solder flows toward Heat. Don't apply solder to the Iron point.

I still use tubular track. If not fastened down yet i turn the piece to be soldered upside down, insert a awl or other pointed device in the joint to open a bit, insert the wire and remove the spreading tool and it holds the wire tight for soldering.

Atlas track has a reputation of being difficult to solder to, partly because the plastic ties are susceptible to melting.  I will probably use it but I'm dreading it.  I've seen a few threads on the forum discussing different techniques.  I strongly encourage you to do a search (you can also use Google to search the OGR Forum.)

The issue of soldering to Atlas track is hopelessly overblown! 

I've soldered to a lot of Atlas track, and I don't have issues with the plastic ties melting.  Contrary to common beliefs, the issue many people have is trying to use too small a soldering iron.  I use a Weller 100/140W gun.  I clean and burnish the spot for the soldering with my Dremel, then tin it and leave a small blob of solder.  With the gun, it takes seconds, and I have no melting issues.  I then position the tinned wire over the blob of solder, and a quick touch of heat makes the joint.  The trick is not to have the heat there too long, not to use lower heat.  The solid rail quickly carries the heat away, so with a low power iron, you're there for a long time slowly heating up a large part of the rail.  With more power, you make the connection and remove the heat quickly.

GRJ's technique nails it dead center on the head.  For extra insurance, keep a damp sponge handy.  As soon as the joint is soldered, hit the rail with the damp sponge and get it cooled down.

No such thing as melted plastic ties in my neck of the woods. 

@Ted S posted:

Atlas track has a reputation of being difficult to solder to, partly because the plastic ties are susceptible to melting.  I will probably use it but I'm dreading it.  I've seen a few threads on the forum discussing different techniques.  I strongly encourage you to do a search (you can also use Google to search the OGR Forum.)

Another way to get power to Atlas track is to use the wired rail joiners that Atlas provides at a cost. But for the price of some rail joiners, both center rail and outside rail, and some wire at the AWG you prefer. I suggest stranded. Get out your soldering equipment and have at it. With this scenario there is no concern regarding the plastic ties. The draw back to this albeit minimal is the preplanning of where to drill holes to feed your drops through the table. As I said minimal but you do need to think ahead a little. 

My approach may be unconventional but works great for me.  I drill a small hole in the track, and the feed the stripped wire into the hole and then solder with my soldering station.  Great connection.  I have never melted a tie.

Actually Rich, I like your approach, and if we ever get past this COVID-19 crap, and I'm working on the modular club modules again, I'm going to try that.

There are many videos on you tube on how to solder. For me seeing it done can be more informative than reading about it. Then practice on some scrap pieces. 

@Rich883  Appreciate the suggestion!  Can your approach be used when the track is already installed on a layout?  If so, do you need a special right-angle drill?  What size bit?  Thanks for sharing!

I also do what Rich does and drill a hole in the rail. Never had an issue. 

@Ted S posted:

@Rich883  Appreciate the suggestion!  Can your approach be used when the track is already installed on a layout?  If so, do you need a special right-angle drill?  What size bit?  Thanks for sharing!

Yes Ted, In fact that is exactly what I do, track is laid so we know where it goes, and drill the holes in the table for the wire, and then the small hole in the rail to insert the wire and then solder.

The drill size need to match - just larger - than the stripped diameter of the wire you use.  You want it to slide easily into the hole, if too small it is hard fit. I drill down at an angle so the hold goes from the  side down to the bottom.  No need for a special drill.

So to clarify... you're drilling the base or "foot" (bottom flange) of the rail, and not the web?  Sorry to be so detail-oriented about this!

I am sure that you are waiting for Rich to answer, but here is my two cents.  No not through the base but through the web.  I am not sure where I saw a pictorial of this process but it may have been on this forum so a search may be your best thought.  And to just double check I just went down stairs to confirm my suspicions.  The base is way to narrow to drill a hole sufficiently big enough to accept twisted stranded wire.

I re-read Rich's post and now I think I understand what he meant when he wrote "I drill down at an angle."  When I build my layout, I might not use roadbed (or only a very thin laminate), and was concerned about the thickness of the cordless drill body preventing me from drilling straight thru the rail web, especially where there are multiple parallel tracks.  An angle, I think I can do!

For what its worth, our whole layout was Atlas solid nickel silver, and I NEVER had to drill any holes in the "I Beam" of the rail. I used a Dremel abrasive disc to fully clean/abrade the inside of the "I Beam" of the rail, and soldered the #14 stranded wire directly to that spot. As previously stated, the two key points are:

1) Getting the spot on the rail REALLY clean.

2) Use the correct size/heat soldering iron.

As to Hot Water's post above, I use a burnishing tool to clean to blackening off of a spot of the center rail, then solder the wire to that. Solder will not stick to an Atlas track center rail as it come out of the box.

Here is a photo

I drill top down at an angle.  You can see it does not melt the ties. 

Now I agree with Hot Water and some of the others, you can solder to the rail with out drilling as long as you burnish/ rough up the spot you want to solder to.  I have done this, however I found that I really needed another hand to hold the wire tight to the rail, and I had the soldering iron in one hand, and the solder in the other.

This approach, at least for me, killed two birds with one stone. It created a fresh clean surface for the solder to bond to (inside the drilled hole) and it created a holding mechanism for the wire while I soldered it in place.  It also created the smallest point of solder you can see, I found laying the wire against the rail had a longer portion of wire exposed.

Lots of ways to accomplish the same thing, this one just works well for me.