hey everyone
im am unsure about what to do with this problem?
any ideas?
im in the process of ballasting and etc.
any suggestions?
How big is the gap?
As far as ballasting goes the way I look at it is as long as the track is straight, gaps won’t be an issue.
Continuity may be an issue and gaps in a curve if not a smooth transition will be an issue.
The odd gap gives a clickety -clack sound , which can add to the ambiance.
Fergus
Do you mean gaps between the rails at the joiners?
First of all you need some gap to allow for expansion and contraction.
I had some joints that were awful and really needed work. Of course the best solution is to fix the problem at the time of installation, but I did not know that at the time. I have used 2 methods. I melted a blob of solder into the gap and then built it up and filed it to shape. The other method was with styrene sheet inerted and glued into the gap and then filed to shape. If you are going to paint and weather the track this won’t show too much.
Now is the time to make sure that all your track is in gauge and all gaps between track sections closed. If you don’t, you may serious problems later on. These include derailments, uncouplings, shorted out turnouts, blown power packs, etc, etc…
For ballasting, I use an 80/20 mix of fine and medium ballast. If you use fine only, the ballast starts to look smooth and boring after a while. The medium ballast adds some bigger pieces and makes the ballast look better. For securing the ballast, I use a 50/50 mix of white glue and water. Don’t use matte medium. You destroy your track tryying to take it up later. Ask me how I know. With the water/glue mixture, you can reclaim your track by soaking the ballast with water. The glue in the ballast will soften and you can pull the track up. When putting the ballast and glue mix down, be very careful not to get any in the turnouts. This could freeze the moving parts solid. I suggest moving the ballast into place with your fingers, followed by a light brushing with a small paint brush, like a brush for painting models. This moves the ballast away from the sides of the rails so your locomotives and rolling stock don’t ride up on it and possibly derail. Be sure too, that the ballast doesn’t lay on top of the ties. This could cause problems with coupler pins. when you’ve finished smoothing the ballast, spray the entire track with a solution of water and a few drops of dishwashing liquid. This will insure that the water/glue mix goes through the ballast and glues it tight to the track. When you’ve done that, apply the water/glue mixture with an eyedropper or old glue bottle. Do the entire track, being very careful not to get it in the turnouts. Let this dry for at least 8 hours, better for 12. When the ballast is glue, clean the entire track with a bright boy or similiar eraser. A rubber school eraser works well, too. If you don’t do this, the glue on the track will insulate the rail from the locomotive. Be sure to clean the top and inside top edge of the rails. Wh
Don’t be too quick to close all gaps super-tight. I did that on some boards planned for use in end-of-the-railroad staging, built in a nice 68-degree room in wintertime. Come summer, 115 degrees in the shade of my un-climate-controlled garage, they looked as if I’d used a sidewinder for a straightedge!
HO rolling stock can deal with gaps of as much as 2mm without undue problems if the sharp inner corner of the railhead is beveled slightly. That’s how I layed my track earlier this year. I started operating over it as soon as the feeders were soldered in and have yet to have a derailment.
As of an hour ago, the temperature at the layout surface was 100+ degrees, and the gaps had closed to a little over 1mm.
Chuck