Hi, I have an electric tile cutter (just like a small table saw) but the next best way is perhaps to use a Dremel with a large cutting blade and then dress the end a little.

Live rail

Hi Tom. Not all HD track is plated and I have not removed any plating I only give it a quick rub with a fine abrasive pad and wash when I first buy them (to remove 50 years of accumulated grime), once on the layout I only use fluids and the occasional spotting with a track rubber. Meths is little better than water or a dry towel for cleaning, I use lighter fluid, especially on the rails. The only rails that may rust are the steel ones, and drying them in a dry atmosphere (plus they are warmed from the washing water) does not cause any noticeable corrosion. In fact if you dry them in what will be a humid oven (with the door closed) you may encourage corrosion. If you look at my track you may notice it is at least as good and in most cases better than you will find on most other layouts. Also the flux I use works well on the various mix of metals used in HD track. I have had no problem with its performance even after years of use. I know for soldering fine electrical joints other flux is recommended these days and I do use it in my circuit boards ect. I always flux and tin joints (usually in a solder pot) even when using cored solder. As they say "the proof of the pudding is in the eating" my methods give me a far better running HD layout than any others I have seen. Unintentional uncouplings, derailments and stalling are very rare, even when running 10 trains at a time. Check my videos. Regards, Ron