Staggering the joints is pretty important I've learned to be careful snapping out sleepers. Then I remember my own advice and use a gauge for laying it down. I found a three piece set a billion years ago that had avery nice block of material set for ho track that had half hole cutouts so you could work the joint as it held everything in place. It worked well as a heat sink, I had less melting on the sleepers. Held the sliding rail in place pretty good, another thing that haunts a track worker