You’ll actually probably have more luck removing cork from particle board if it’s held down with a thin layer of caulk than if it’s nailed down. At least, if you want to haev any chance of reusing it. A putty knife gently slid under will pop the cork right off.
If you are trying to make your own equivalent of of the Bachmann track - yes, pretty much you are the first person I’ve heard of trying to do this. Atlas Tru-Track lets you do the opposite - it comes with the plastic base for the roadbed, but you cna remove the track sections and use them as ordinary sectional track. But the other way? Not going to work very well with cork. I would either just use more Bachmann track, or you might want some sort of wood roadbed like the old Tru-Scale and permanently attach the track to that. There’s Bachmann, Life-Like, Kato, and Atlas all make track with the plastic roadbed built in, and in some cases it’s not better or easier to try reinventing the wheel.
Mainly because the cork is two pieces. If you were to glue the track to a once-piece roadbed like pieces of Homa-bed, I think it could work. Even then it won;t fit tightlly together like the track designed with the roadbed in place. All of the roadbed tracks have both rail joiners and clips of some sort to hold the roadbed sections together. That’s what keeps it stable. Having jus tthe rail joiners, it will be easily knocked out of alignment, or slide apart.
If having just rail joiners holding the track sections together is not secure enough, how is it model railroaders do this all the time with the track in their yards, where there is no rail bed or ballast? I have been told numerous times if I want my yard to be as prototypical as possible I should not use bed or ballast on the track.
The track is fastened down, not loose. And not everyone puts their track right on the base in a yard, personally I find this results in noisy operation. I use N scale thickness roadbed for sidings and yards, so the track sits lower than the main, but still on some sort of roadbed. Regardless, the track is fastened to the base. If you haven;t settled ona track plan dn will be moving things around, the roadbed type track is probably best, build and rearrange to your heart’s content. WHen you’ve settled on a plan, you can work on the idea fo having the yard lower than the main tracks, with the track actually fastened in place with a (semi)permanent method - nothign is really permanent, not nails or adhesive such as caulk, and you can still take up and rearrange the track, however it’s not somethign youw ould want to do for track that you will rearrange weekly. It’s one thing to have a plan and then modify something while under construction, or add on or modify a ‘complete’ layout, but for constant rearrangement and experimentation, or a temproary setup, that’s what the roadbed sectional track stuff is for.
I dunno about this “yards have no ballast” thing either. It might be mostly mud, and certainly not neatly groomed and filled in as a class 1 main line, but there is SOME ballast in yards. Even the crappy siding where I once saw a train get stuck because the rail sank in and the car being moved into the siding tilted over enough to get stuck on the cars left standing on the main, there was SOME ballast in mostly mud. Yards would be more cinders and secondhand, old, dirty stuff comapred to a nicely and neatly arranged main line.
What I have installed so far is the Atlas Snap Switch connected between 2 sections of Bachmann EZ Track. The turnout is attached to the cork turnout pad with card board under it as a shim to raise it to the level of the Bachmann sections. At one end of each of the Bachmann sections I had to cut the plastic clip off to get this to work.
This has manifested a problem as advised by Randy. That is the sections slide apart where connected to the rail joiners as the trail rolls over the joint. I literally watched this happen until it came completely apart. I am bummed because it happened, but glad it happened during this initial build/experimentation process so i can learn how to prevent it.
The question is how, WITHOUT adhering the cork bed to the surface/sub surface?
Is there a product available that will clip the sections of track together that can be removed when taking the track apart?
If not I could try an anti-slip product found at most home improvement centers/hardware stores. The stuff you use in cabinets, drawers, etc. I am actually using some on the bottom of the one power pack I cannot fasten to the control deck and it is working really well. But I’d rather use a product meant to hold the sections of track together.
It would be called a track nail. Atlas, and others, sell them. That will hold the track sections down to the base. Then the only problems you’ll have with the rail joiners is if they become loose enough that you lose electrical contact. I know of no product that is made to hold sectional, or snap track, sections together, other than to solder the joiners. Of course when you do that you lose the ability to take stuff apart easily.
I did look at your layout on your blogspot. It appears that you used some product other than plywood for the table top. Regardless, you’ll probably have to drill some pilot holes for the track nails, or else they’ll bend. What you have is an ideal situation to use a sheet of homasote to cover your table. The track nails would be easily inserted into that product, and could be removed relatively easily.
You’re kind of at the pivotal point - back before track like the Bachmann became available, you had trains sets that came with simple sections of track. Typically these got put together without fastening the track or using any roadbed. After the track came apart a half dozen times, the potential new railroader lost interest and gave up in disgust. Coupled witht he absolute TERRIBLE quality of train set locos and cars in the early 70’s, this did more to kill the hobby than anything.
Way back when, for Lionel O-27 tyrack, they had clips that conencted to adjacent ties to hold sections together. Gar-Graves still has something like this for hi-rail track. I haven’t seen anythign like this to work with HO sectional track, but that doesn’t mean it doesn;t exist. The only problem would be makign it work between say a piece of Atlas track and a piece of Bachmann EZ Track. Two pieces of Atlas - shouldn;t be a problem. You could probably fashion something out of a piece of music wire bent to clip over the ties of the two adjacent sections.
This is still bordering on a jury-rig solution. Fastenting the track is still the best option. You might try something like plain old Elmer’s glue. It won;t hold up against any force at all, but it won;t vibrate apart as trains roll over it. If you push or pull on oneof the track pieces it will come right loose, so it’s definitely not a permanent solution. If you attach the pieces of Bachmann track on either side of the Atlas turnout, it should hold things together. White glue is not a good glue for attaching plastic to wood or particle board, so it will be easy to pull up the trac, but it should hold good enought o keep the track from shifting as you run trains.
Randy, I am experimenting with the anti-slip grip material. I think it is made by Rubber Made. I have some left over from a while back, the same stuff i am using under the power pack. I also used some under the sponge holder I use when soldering. It works great at keeping the power pack and sponge holder form moving, but of course this is not a consistent thing with constant vibration caused by an object moving and changing speed.
The true test will be to run the SD40-2 with as many cars as I can without derailing at the highest speed setting on the power pack. With the anti-slip grip material under the cork and Bachmann EZ Track rail bed, if the joints do not slip apart I know this will work. But if it does at high speed, which simulates the lower speed but longer time it takes for the joint to separate, I will have to figure out what method to fasten or adhere the track to the sub base.
Because I am using the 2" foam board track nails may not work well because the vibrate will cause them to become loose. That leaves adhesives. I will be using the scenery mat to simulate the ground cover on the various types of layouts. Anything from the green to the browns and grays available. What adhesive will be strong enough to hold the track with rail bed in place so it does not separate but gentle enough when the track is removed it does not tear up the mat?
Before anyone answers that I have another possibility of what may work. 3M has a product called Command hooks and hangers. It uses what are called Command Strips. It is a clear adhesive tab that holds the hook or hangar in place. When it needs to be removed or relocated the hook is taken off and a tab is pulled releasing the adhesive material from the wall, leaving no residue and not damaging the wall surface, including wall paper or painted surfaces. The Command adhesive strips are sold in packets of refills to be used with the hooks and hangars this way the consumer does not have to keep purchasing the hooks or hangars every time they wa
Elmer’s should hold good enough to keep things from falling apart. If you run the track on top of one of those grass mats it will almost certainly tear the mat when pulling it up. Directly on foam or particle board, the glue would just pull off when you pulled up the track, it sticks to plastic but since it really isn’t made for that it doesn;t stick very well. Which is what you want, if you wnat ti to pull up easily.
Even though it holds track nails I am trying to stay away form homasote because of the weight. This thing has to be portable. 1/2" homasote will make even a 2’ x 4’ section very heavy.
If Elmers will tear up the mat what about latex cauilk, if the Command adhesive strips do not work?
Here is what I am going to try, in this order, with what I have right now:
The anti-slip grip material.
3M Command adhesive strips/tabs.
Latex caulk
I will use each one to see how well it holds and for the adhesive how badly it damages the cork bed and cardboard shim.
Caulk is stronger and makes a better bond between plastic and wood than the Elmer’s glue would, so it would tear up the mat even worse. The mat is little more than paper with texture materials applied, so pretty much anything will tear it if adhered in any way. Even tape will probably rip it. It’s easy to fill in areas with ground foam and diluted white glue, and loks better than the uniform mats anyway.
I just finished experimenting with the anti-slip grip material and the 3M Command adhesive strips. The anti-slip material work good, the 3m adhesive strips work better.
I am going to use the 3M adhesive strips where ever possible and the anti-slip material where necessary if/when I cannot use the 3M strips.