...as to soldering

[Green_Elite_Cab]

Personally, I go in hot and fast. I use a large solder gun to make the joints relatively quickly. Though a hotter iron will heat things up faster, I find that if you solder them in a reasonable time frame, the heat doesn't transfer through the rails fast enough to melt the ties.

I feel like lower power irons heat things more slowly, and by the time the joint is good and hot, the heat has begun to spread to other parts.

The heat sink idea is also a good one, and probably ideal.