6 Golden Rules To Successfully Use Second-hand Track

Second-hand aka used track can be a bargain but also a right royal pain.

The great thing about model railways, especially OO gauge in the UK, is that there’s so much cheap second-hand stuff available.

A visit to any boot fair or flea market will usually turn up some old track or rolling stock at a fraction of the usual prices.

But Caveat emptor as they say.

While track, in particular, may appear a good deal, and at first glance look fine, there are plenty of problems waiting to catch the unwary later. Electrical problems, derailments and even broken locos can all result. Even your own old track can be problematic.

But with a few precautions, it’s still worth it and my layouts usually have a considerable amount of reused track on them. In fact, my £35 model railway build project, is built exclusively from the stuff.

Here then are my six golden rules for avoiding problems and using second-hand track successfully.

Things to check before buying used track

#1 Pass on points

Points are prone to problems over time. The springs come out, tie-bars break and blades wear.

While they can be fixed its rarely worth the effort.

I now rarely use second hand points, unless I’ve had a chance to test them fully before hand, and usually don’t buy them or throw them away if part of a job lot.

#2 Check for bends and buckles

Just like real rails, model railway track can band and buckle over time and this isn’t always obvious on first examination.

Before buying or even laying rails, look along them to check they haven’t buckled and that they are secured to the sleepers. This is particularly the case if buying track from open air boot fairs one hot summer days (such as in the picture above), where the heat of the sun may distort the rails.

It’s also worth looking at the rails with a magnifying glass or your head magnifier to check for damage to the railheads and that their profile is intact and discard any sections that are bent.

Extra Tip: if you’ve already laid the track, use the camera of a mobile phone to get a track level view along the rails.

#3 Check the gauge

This rule applies just as much to new track as second track and all gauges not just OO. Check the space between the rails, e.g. the gauge.

OO gauge rolling stock needs rails that are 16.5mm apart. N gauge requires 9mm of spacing rail to rail while EM gauge mandates 18.2mm, P4 18.5mm and O gauge 31.75 mm between the rails.

These are set standards. If the rails work lose of the sleepers the gap can increase, or reduce, and your rolling stock will derail as it encounters rails to wide or narrow for the wheels to fit.

Measuring track can be done with callipers (see The 5 Best Track Work Tools) and when out and about, visiting boot fairs and other second hand markets, I carry a small wagon that I can run over any track I see.

If you then find track that doesn’t match the gauge don’t buy it.

Checking and fixing problems if you already have second hand track

#4 Replace joiners

Worn and I’ll fitting joiners, fish plates, are probably the single biggest cause of problems on reused track.

The joiners hold the rails together and carry electricity from section to section – assuming you aren’t wiring every section.

But over time, the joiners wear, bend and distort so they don’t firmly grip the rails, leaving gaps between rails.

For this reason, the first thing I recommend and always do when reusing second-hand track is to replace the joiners.

If you do nothing else, follow this one rule.

#5 Check rail ends

This is especially important with Flexitrack where the rails have likely to have been cut.

In one case, I found a section of Flexitrack where the rail had been cut with what must have been an axe. The rail end was not only deformed but left with a nasty splinter of rail sticking upwards. If the wheels on a swivel bogie had run into it I hate to think what damage could have been done

Examine the rail ends and where deformed with cleanly cut them with track tools such as Xuron track cutters or use a Dremel with sanding disc to square them and to expose the correct profile.

#6 Clean the rails

All track needs regularly cleaning but second-hand track, which has likely to have been unused for a while and will be dirty, always gets a thorough clean before use.

Read my guide on cleaning track for more details and clean the track several times.

Following these rules ensures I can buy track second hand, saving a fortune, but still be sure my trains will run successfully on it.

What to do, summary

To successfully use second-hand track do the following before using it.

• Replace the rail joiners. New joiners are available from Amazon.
• Clean it, I use this technique.
• Inspect rails and clean up the rail ends with track cutting tool
• Check the width between the rails with callipers, see link in previous point.

> A final, personal, note: I spend a huge amount of time testing, photographing, writing and researching techniques for these articles and pay for all the running costs of MRE out of my own pocket. If you found this article useful you can support me by making a donation on my fund-raising page. Thanks and happy modelling, Andy.