I have 1/2 inch cork roadbed and Atlas code 83 flextrack that I want to fasten to the roadbed. I bought track nails, but they are too long and go through the cork to the plywood below. I’m not supposed to use a hammer and nail them into the plywood am I? I hear people saying glue is OK, but what kind of glue do you recommend I use?
Thanks!
Mike Brubaker
Many of us have resorted to using a thinly spread layer of cheap acrylic latex caulk. It works well, adds a bit of sound deadening in its own right, and the absence of nails keeps the noise down. Nails transmit noise in many applications. You can use the nails, or full tin cans of food/soda pop, as weights on the rail elements as the caulk dries to help with alignment and adhesion. The nails can be removed within 40 minutes if the caulk is nicely thin, but do place fingers firmly around the nail to keep the track from coming up as you pry out each nail!!! Very important.
-Crandell
Another vote for latex caulk - and a comment about track nails. I use track nails to hold freshly-caulked flex in horizontal alignment, but I only push them in to just below railhead level. As Crandell noted, the best way to anchor the flex until the caulk sets up is with weights. In my case that means two-liter soda bottles, old phone books stacked on top of lengths of 2-by, even a 16" length of 60# rail. After the caulk sets up you can recover and re-use the track nails.
Actually, my right-of-way structure has three layers of caulk. From riser-tops up, there’s cookie-cut plywood, fan-fold underlayment (9mm thick foamboard) carved to roadbed shape, a cardstock track template and the flex track (or the wood ties under my hand-laid specialwork.) In operation, the only sounds to be heard come from the locomotive, and from car wheels crossing rail joints. I honestly believe that the caulk has a lot to do with that.
Chuck (Modeling Central Japan in September, 1964)
Hi!
Well, the track nails are supposed to go thru the roadbed to the wood below, and a nice tack hammer and a proper nail set and some practice will make it second nature in no time.
As the previous posters recommended, caulk is a viable alternative and used by a lot of modelers with excellent results. So, I really can’t (and won’t) argue that issue. But, I do believe there are situations - typically in areas of track replacement or where adjustments have been made that can be best worked with the use of the track nails.
I also find that I can adjust “trackage” much more easily after its been set in place, and of course there is no caulk residue on the track if it is removed at some point.
I guess what I’m really trying to say is that the old “one size fits all” adage just may not apply here.
By the way, to do either method correctly, there is a learning curve and some skil involved.
Like mobilman, I prefer using track nails to hold the track in place. In most places they could be pushed in with a pair of pliers. Don’t push them in too far - the underside of the nailhead should just touch the top of the tie - any farther and the tie will be deformed, pulling the rails out-of-gauge.
I found after running trains for a month or so that some areas needed to be re-aligned. It was easy to pull the nails, make the necessary adjustments, then re-nail. I had soldered all of my rail joiners, and suspect that expansion/contraction issues may have caused the misalignment. Since then, there’s be no need for any further adjustments. Once the track has been ballasted, you can remove the nails if you wish. I left them in place, and don’t notice any issues with excessive noise.
Wayne
To be completely honest, apart from most of my track elements being fixed in place with caulk, I have resorted to nails, even small drywall screws, to keep track ends in alignment, particularly where I want a full gap and no plastic fillers. Sometimes I find that the last two inches of flex track won’t bend well, so I force them to line up, or into curvature, by levering them and then resorting to mechanical obstructions such as nails and screws to keep the curvature and the ends aligned. But, further out, it is strictly caulk with me, and that includes wherever joiners are soldered.
Crandell
I use track spikes to nail the track to the cork roadbed. I use a small hand held pinvise and drill a small hole on the tie outside of the rails. I then hammer the spike through the hole into the roadbed. I paint the track rail brown and individual color some other ties SP light gray. It works great.[I]
Latex caulk for me. Easy, cheap, fast, and it works.
–Randy
I used Jeff Wilson’s technique from his book on laying track. I shave off the spike head detail on the outside of a tie, then use a pin vise to drill a tiny hole through the tie, roadbed, and slightly into the plywood. I then use a spike pliers sold by Micro Mark to push the spike down. The spike looks almost like the molded on detail so it is very hard to spot. I do this every twelve ties or so. I like this because if I need to make a change (which I have done too many times to count), I can just pull up the spikes and, like another poster said, there is no residue to deal with.
This sounds like it will look better than my use of rail nails. For the reasons mentioned above, I use nails. I use caulk only on something like a foam riser where the nail won’t hold through the cork and foam.
I use soda cans and Jim Beam bottles to hold the track down…oops, now you know why my rails aren’t always so straight.
But, is the original poster sure his cork roadbed is 1/2" thick? I think you mean 3/16 or 5mm. If not, don’t worry, your track nail won’t reach the wood anyway.
What kind of backdrop you have in that photo?
HI,
The expansion of the layout is still in progress. Today I will be marking out roadbed lines on the expansion.
What you see is backdrop installed behind my old existing layout which will be connected with the expansion benchwork.
It is 22" high version of Wickenburg, Arizona scene in 4 twelve foot lengths from The Backdrop Warehouse. Expensive, but I think it is the best quality available. Particularly impressed with the media it is printed on…very heavy vinyl impregnated paper, almost leather-like.
Hi Mike
I used the caulk method the last time I laid some track and I thought it worked very well. squirt it down the center of the trackline and then spread it thin with something like a credit card. I had the tendency at first to put to much down. You want enough to hold the track securely but not to squish up between the ties. The drawback ,if you want to call it that is you have to get the track right were you want it and put weight on it every few inchs and then leave it untill the caulk dries. I used the Dap kitchen & bath adhesive caulk in clear. It goes on white but dries clear. I think it’s important to use an adhesive caulk not just a latex caulk.
Good luck,Philip