I am getting ready to start laying track on my new layout and I am going to caulk the track to the roadbed this time instead of using nails. I have Woodland Scenics Foam Roadbed installed, any tips on the caulking process, or pro’s and con’s of caulking instead of nails?
LION has never caulked or glued tracks. That ought to say something, but probably doesn’t.
LION has nailed track to 3/4" foam, and this has worked for many years, but him thinks now be the time to spread a little glue on top of the tracks to hold things in place. Maybe 50% Elmers will do just fine for this.
Maybe the LION will tray it and sea what happens.
ROAR
I have used Liquid Nails For Projects on my last layout and on the one I am currently building. I am also using Woodland Scenics Track Bed. The results have been very satisfactory for me. I put a thin bead down, then use a putty knife to spread it. It will hold the roadbed and track in place, but can be removed if need be.
Good luck.
Paul
Does the caulking cause any trouble with ballasting? Also is it common for the track to “pop” free from the caulking?
I use this:
Spread it this thin:
And it will be this invisible when dry:
I use the same DAP Alex Plus as Dave does, and no, it won’t pop off the caulk. If you don’t spread it thinly, the caulk will pop up between the ties, though, making it hard to ballast so that it looks realistic.
Just one biiiiiiiiiiiggggg tip: make darned good and sure your roadbed surface, no matter what you use, is smooth and free of dips and yaws. Once you caulk your ties to the roadbed, your rails will provide the same profile as the roadbed, largely, and your trains may not like what you ‘feed’ them.
If you do goof and adhere the ties to a dip, just slip a sharp knife under the ties and carefully slice the caulking free. It’s rubbery. Then, what I do, is to simply let grains of the ballast do what they do on the real railroad…suspend the ties and support them. Lift the rails to the right grade, pour in some ballast, shake it under the ties, eyeball for level or grade, and then glue it into place once you have groomed the outer ‘shoulders’ of the ballast and levelled it between the ties.
-Crandell
What about caulking under turnouts? Do you do it, don’t you?
I only caulk under curved turnouts. I fine a large steamer running at speed will torque them out of gauge after a while if they are not secure.
Crandell:
If the caulk comes up between the ties, you are spreading it much thicker than you need to.
It holds securely, and can be pried up with a putty knife with no damage if required.
I don’t caulk under turnouts, but you could as long as you keep it away from moving parts.
I’ve used two methods.
On the first few I did I did not caulk turnouts at all, letting them float. On the second “batch” I caulked about two or three ties worth on the outbound legs (farthest from the tie bar) to secure the turnout just a touch. Both methods work, from what I can tell.
The one exception I have is on Atlas #5 turnouts (N-scale, code 55). The inbound legs on those are fairly long, about an inch and a half as opposed to half an inch on a #7. If I have not shortened them, I’ll caulk two or three ties on that end, too. The points and throwbar still float (as well as the frog), but the turnout is reasonably secure.
I like turnouts to be solid. I apply caulk under the whole thing except for directly under the throwbar. Since I use the Alex Plus sealant instead of adhesive caulk, recycling the turnout is easy if I need to remove it later.
Looks like attaching track has been pretty well covered. I do have one suggestion, paint your roadbed under your turnouts (can do it all if you want) the color of your ballast BEFORE you attach your track. This makes it so that the color of your roadbed does not show through the ballast at your turnouts. You do have to be careful ballasting around turnouts so not to interfere with the movement of the throw bar and points, so it is apt to be thinner than along most of the track.
Good luck,
Richard
This is especially true at the roadbed shoulders as well. Good way to help remedy the trouble of thin ballast and showing through the shoulder is to “paint” straight white glue w/ foam brush and sprinkle on ballast. Then finish the remainder as usual. The DAP Alex Plus can also be found in a light gray.
How well this works for you will depend on how you finish the track. I airbrush or spray the track after it’s installed and tested, and in the process the roadbed under the turnout will end up the same color as the base coat on the ties. This still helps to hide the roadbed in case of too-thin ballast.
I once had foam layout surface that I affixed to box frame with panel adhesive/ caulk but it came loose (at arrow). I restuck it and weighted it down good…
…with 12,000-year-old fossilized thighbone of a wooly mammoth. I store various articles like this out in workshop as occasional visual aids/ discussion starters/ hands-on exercises for history class, and might as well use them when I need something.
No problem ballasting as the caulk is dry before ballasting. No the track does not pop up unless you have shrinkage or swelling in your bench work. Mine has been down 3 years in a old basement and no problems…
Eric
I have used Tite Bond water soluable glue mixed 50/50 with water for years to lay flex track and turnouts.
I tried caulk and Projects adhesives and did not like the results. Unless spread perfectly evenly, the track would tend to float doe to spotty adhesion. Too little and the track was not secure. Too much and it interfered with the ballast.
I went to Home Depot and bought a bunch of spring clamps in a bag for a couple of dollars (Cheap). I simply lay the track on the oradbed and clap it in place. Once done, I run a bead of the 50/50 glue down the center, recheck the alignment then wait till the glue dries overnight.
What I like best about this is that the 50/50 glue, unlike other adhesives, does not really adhere to the ties so they can be lifted with a putty knife later if need be. This glue acts more like ballast and creates fingers between the ties to hold them in place, similar to ballast. Once dry, the glue is waterproof so ballasting and scenery will not affect it.