I’ve recently added a couple spurs on my layout that required rearranging a good bit of trackage. Thing is, I hate trying to nail track down on an existing layout because the banging rattles everything (and I’m too lazy to take all the stuff off the table top). Glue is kinda messy and takes a while to set, so I didn’t like that idea. Then I discovered a really great way to hold track down very securely (even curved flex track) without nails or glue: double sided carpet tape.
You can take your time, it holds the track as soon as you put it down, and it has a really strong grip so curved flex track won’t move on ya while you’re applying the ballast. Duck brand works good. It’s very thin, but a bit wide (for HO), so you have to cut the strips in half lengthwise.
Just wondering if anyone else has heard of using this stuff for this application. Any other unusual shortcuts would be great.
I use clear silicone adhesive calk and it is great! I allows you to move things easily if you need to change later, and holds well.
I tried double sided carpet tape by two different manufacturers (Duck and 3M). Neither works.
Oh sure, it worked for awhile, and I was pretty careful about applying it for my test (a Ntrak module). I made sure the foam surface was clean and dry, I applied the first layer of tape, rolled it down with a wallpaper roller, added the track, and rolled the track. I then ballasted. For the first couple of weeks, it was great, and gave me the most realistic N scale ballasting job I’ve ever seen.
Unfortunately, gravity and humidity attacked the tape, and within a month the track was popping up all over. Using a heat gun to “activate” the adhesive on the tape didn’t work either: it either did nothing, or the glue bubbled through the ballast. Needless to say, I’m against the use of tapes to lay track.
Now, there IS one tape that WILL work. 3M makes a double sided tape that’s used to laminate aircraft skin to the body (didn’t know that stuff was TAPED on, did ya?). That 3M tape will hold ANYTHING. Unfortunately for us modelers, the stuff is only available in 1000-foot rolls, and is Uber-expensive.
Silicone adhesive caulk sounds like the way to go !!
Boy really makes want to fly in an airplane now!
Dark
Yeah. Reminds ya’ of that really long time ago Bob Newhart standup comedy routine about the flight to Hawaii: Welcome aboard the Grace L. Ferguson Airline and Storm Door Company! Actually, you’d think tape would work for track, but humidity can mess up duct tape pretty quickly.
John’s idea is similar to mine:
I use gray latex caulk. It’s less smelly than the silicon stuff, and it’s roughly the same color as the ballast, so it’s easy to cover up.
And like John says, if you need to make any changes (or repairs), a putty knife will pull up the track without too much pain!
I use microengineering so it stays the way you curve it!
Didn’t Model RR have an article about using “Topper Tape” or some such name. I think it was a double sided tape used with truck tops in some way? Yes, here is the link to the articel on the MRR web site
http://www.trains.com/Content/Dynamic/Articles/000/000/004/379dcjrm.asp
I am in the process of building my first layout, and I’ve been using track nails. In situations where hammering is: a) causing to much noise…like after the kids are tucked in, or b) my normally patient wife has had a bad day at the office, or c) everything on the benchwork is bouncing all over the place, I use my square tipped pliers to pu***he nails in. It’s quiet, non-disruptive, and effective. I had to redo my small yard three times, due to some rookie mistakes which were discovered when I test ran my engine on the track so I think I can feel for how painful it is to redo/alter trackage.
As for double sided tape…I have never seen an application of double sided tape that was of any longlasting use or reliablility. Even on carpets!
Trevor [:)]
Simon,
Topper tape is single sided foam tape. You still have to use some sort of adhesive to affix the track. The author of the MR article used caulk.
Joe,
I used silicone caulk on my second level, and am currently using latex caulk for my third. They both work well, but I’m now leaning towards latex. The Silicone caulk actually works a bit better than latex, holds better, works better, goes further, and absorbs noise better, but the latex caulk is less expensive, easier to clean up, and doesn’t smell as bad. And you’re right, it’s easier to remove if you have to (silicone won’t let go of track!)
Yep, you are correct. My own approach was the really thin layer of Liquid Nails spread over the cork roadbed. Most of my flextrack has been down for over a year with no problems at all. The track is easy to remove with a thin spreader run under the track. Just don’t use it to attatch the cork to the base if you use foam.
Watch out for silicone. Subsequent glue (e.g., for ballast) and paint won’t stick to it. Latex is more friendly for other things on top of that.
[Quote]Unfortunately, gravity and humidity attacked the tape, and within a month the track was popping up all over. Using a heat gun to “activate” the adhesive on the tape didn’t work either: it either did nothing, or the glue bubbled through the ballast. Needless to say, I’m against the use of tapes to lay track.[Quote]
Was it the kind of tape that looks like tiny fishnetting when you peel off the backing? I would think that the ballast, being held with bonding agent, would keep the track from coming up if the tape did happen to come loose. That was why I only put a thin strip down the middle of the roadbed, in case that very thing occurred. I figured there was still enough exposed surface on the roadbed to provide adequate bonding surface for the ballast. Is this how you did it on your module?
I have used double sided tape in the past (3M and one I can’t remember) and did not have good luck with it. The track shifted position and popped up.
I would cast my vote for the Latex Caulk. I’ve some on a test track to see what I want to use on my new layout, and so far, no failure.
Wrong. I’ve got 100 feet of track laid on my second level, using nothing but silicone caulk. My ballast is holding to it just fine. Of course, I let the silicone offgass for well over a month before I actually added ballast.
Yep; that’s the stuff.
Actually, no. I figured that since the tape was an adhesive anyway, I’d try adding dry ballast directly to the tape to see what happened. I laid enough tape to simulate the entire ballast profile, added the track, and added ballast right away. That’s why I commented that I ended up with the most realistic N scale ballasting job I’ve ever seen. Only the ballast dust really held, giving ne a correct-scale ballast look (most people use ballast that’s WAY too big to be in scale), and the edges were nice and straight (I model the steam era when railroads took bride in a perfect ballast profile).
Well, in your opinion, do you think the method I described will hold up?
My track is laid down on 5mm cork, fixed into position with drawing pins (temporary measure). then the (infamous) 50/50 mix is poured in gently between the rails. When this mixture is dry the drawing pins are removed and the track is exactly where I want it.
Ian