Good uses for flex track?

[storms26]

Hello everyone.

I've been wondering, are there any actually good uses for the flexible track that Lego seems to put in almost every set? I have over 200 pieces of the stuff and I have almost nothing to do with them.

I tried making a sort of large radius curve with them, but it twists so much because of the flexibility and isn't an exact curve.

If anyone has suggestions or ideas, please leave a comment below.

[dr_spock]

How about outdoor garden railway? You could nail them down to keep the shape in place.

I use them for my static train MOCs displays at public events. I can bend them to fit the space allocated to me. Also no one has stolen flex track yet.

[Rail Co]

You can use some of them and build buffer stops on them instead of using a whole straight track length you can just tack on a flex track with a buffer on it!

you can always use them to extend your layout to the very edges of your space and use them for gap fillers if you aren't worried about the looks.

Also dr_spock that is a great idea to use them in a garden layout because who cares if they get damaged by weather ... no one really likes them too much anyway

-RailCo

[relhak]

They're kind of useful instead of hacking quarter straights/curves. But they don't connect directly to ME rails, they make a god awful derailing sound as trains pass over them, or just cause steam engines to derail outright.

But I built this handy siding with them (sticks to the pennlug spacing).

[Xris]

Hi,

you can use flex track pieces wherever you may want to model the look of guard rails.

Real world examples: Eamples1, examples2., example3.

Regards

Xris

[legonerd54321]

I like to make track look broken/damaged with it, especially if I want to make it look like a bridge was destroyed/washed out.

[storms26]

Thanks everyone for the replies.

The guard rails effect I actually haven't thought of yet, so i might use it. Thanks!

As for an outdoor track, I don't really have the space or yard to do it with, so that is out of the question, sadly.

The siding idea is very clever, and I have around six or seven different sidings in my train yard that could benefit from that. Thanks again!

The issue with derailing steam locomotives is common for me. I have six different steam locomotives and they derail 50% of the time they go around my large curve. I normally run them on my inner loop made of 9v track, but with another large locomotive being built, I want to try and limit the issue so that I can run it around my entire layout.

Edited August 14, 2016 by storms26

[Paperballpark]

If you ram some under your door, it may make a good door-stop.

I actually think Lego has realised that it doesn't really work well, as they didn't include any in the latest City trains. Hopefully we won't see the stuff anymore.

[Breakdown]

Hello everyone.

I've been wondering, are there any actually good uses for the flexible track that Lego seems to put in almost every set? I have over 200 pieces of the stuff and I have almost nothing to do with them.

I tried making a sort of large radius curve with them, but it twists so much because of the flexibility and isn't an exact curve.

If anyone has suggestions or ideas, please leave a comment below.

At first when I didn't have much track, but also hated the look of flextracks. I just buried them in train stations, like the 7937, the other thing and it doesn't look perfect . . . but you can put tiles or plates across them to keep them perfectly straight & rigid and use them in level crossings.

[LegoSjaak]

My son uses them when he is making a large track-layout in his bedroom. It is very usefull when you are not following the rules of building a track strictly.....or when you have to avoid the legs of a table or chair!!!

[Breakdown]

Until recently. . . . . I honestly thought that these things were a nuissance. They come in the straight track boxes, so you can't escape them.

But then I built this:

It would have taken forever in 12V track days to get them to line up . . . . . some of that is the fun in the game. But it's also torment.

With lego trains are 50% adults, 50% kids, I can appreciate that this is a kid thing, I can also say that adults . . . such as myself - using the term lightly, can also enjoy these.

Pretty sure that you can unload them on Ebay if they are that offensive to begin with.

[dr_spock]

Flex track also flexes on the vertical up and down axis.

[LEGO Train 12 Volts]

I also use some of them for large radius curve but I use one flex and one straigh and the track remain stable!

[Beck]

Fantastic alternative LT12V, since the ME models rails are unavailable.

[Phoxtane]

Flex track also flexes on the vertical up and down axis.

I've seen it used for the approaches on ramps and bridges.

[FreeBee]

I want to use the flex track for my 9v layout.

I want to make blocks with them.

Does anyone know if a 9v train will pass them?

So from 9v rails over the flex t9v rails.

[Breakdown]

I want to use the flex track for my 9v layout.

I want to make blocks with them.

Does anyone know if a 9v train will pass them?

So from 9v rails over the flex t9v rails.

Not if the train is powered by the wall.

Flex tracks like PF trains don't carry power, if you attached a PF battery pack to your 9V train it would work.

[Phoxtane]

I want to use the flex track for my 9v layout.

I want to make blocks with them.

Does anyone know if a 9v train will pass them?

So from 9v rails over the flex t9v rails.

It'll happily roll over the flex track, but they won't pass power. If you wanted to create separately powered blocks of track, that'd be one way to do it - but your train would have to have enough momentum to keep rolling over the flex track section. A better way would be to just slip some paper in between the track segments you want isolated.

[Ashi Valkoinen]

Donate them with a single MOC waggon to kindergarten :D They will be happy with those flex pieces!

[Blondie-Wan]

Flex track also flexes on the vertical up and down axis.

By intentional design, or just as a byproduct of a certain amount of "play" in the connection?