Joining tracks

[quilkin]

Hello, I'm very new to this but I have just acquired over 100ft of used flexible LGB track for my garden project (as discussed here https://gardenrails.org/forum/viewtopic ... 29&t=12131). My question is how best to join the sections together. I don't need electrical conductivity, I'll be running battery or steam power only.
I see that the 'preferred' method is to use brass clamps with those tiny screws, but they are expensive and people seeem to have problems with lost screws (dropping them in the garden) or screws getting corroded and stuck in place. The LB fishplates are cheaper but maybe not strong enough for outdoors?
I visited a G Gauge indoor show the other day and noted that many of the display layouts were mounted on sections of board, and where the boards joined there weren't any rail joiners at all: the rails were screwed to the board and the boards held the rails in the correct position, just abutted to each other with a small gap of about 1mm. So i'm wondering whether I could make some joiner plates to sit under the sleepers (maybe from aluminium sheet) and screw the end sleepers to these? These would bind the sleepers together, rather than the rails, so there may be some movement of the rails, but the LGB fishplates would help if there was a problem.

Any advice welcomed!

[Dwayne]

I use aluminum sheet about 1" x 1/2" in size formed to a scrap piece of rail held in a vise. Cheap option for a DIY joiner.

[ge_rik]

Outdoors I would advise the use of rail joiners. Very difficult to keep the track aligned otherwise. I use LGB fishplates for all my rail joints regardless of which brand of rail I use (I happily mix Aristo, LGB, Piko, Tenmille, Trainline and Piko). Most of them have been in place for nearly 15 years and they've not caused any trouble.

Rik
PS Like Dwayne, I have also folded my own joiners from brass when I've run out of LGB fishplates and they seem to be ok too. Can't even remember where they are now.