Quick polling question so to speak… I read all the time gluing the track to the roadbed is the way to go, but I have also read just spike every 10-15 ties and non soldered joints like from Pelle Soeborg.
Pro’s-Con’s???
I’ve had previous layouts, that when time comes to remove track to add, or remodel, glued track, is pretty much shot… soldered joints can just be cut back or worked around…
All opinions are appreciatted… Thanks, -Pat
Spikes or nails…yes…but only until the acrylic latex caulk has set up. Then remove them. If your curves using flex track are really tight, maybe one or two nails left in place is a good idea, but I am doubtful.
Why does Pelle not solder his joints? Is he worried about expansion? He must have humidity control issues. Most of us here agree that soldering curved lengths of flex is a good idea. On the tangents, allow for expansion by soldering every other joiner, and the ones on either side are free-sliding joiners.
Gluing track? I wouldn’t. Some do, but I find that caulking, the cheapest I can find, does a great job. Instead, I use my glue on the ballast.
-Crandell
My take:
Flex track is fastened to the roadbed with latex caulk. Once the caulk sets up, the ties aren’t going anywhere. One track nail every 3 inches isn’t a suitable substitute for anchoring EVERY tie.
Wooden ties for hand-laid specialwork are ‘caulked’ to the roadbed. Then loose rail is spiked to the ties - at least every other tie, and usually every tie in critical areas.
Rail joints are NOT soldered - but jumpers are soldered around every uninsulated rail joint. I leave gaps for expansion - the layout space has seen temperature swings of 100 degrees F over the course of a year, and as much as 50 degrees F in 15 hours.
I don’t see it as a versus situation. I use the best methods for my unique situation - which probably aren’t the best for other modelers with different conditions. Each person must choose the best methods for their personal requirements, and be willing to change if the first set of methods doesn’t provide the desired results. One size does not fit all.
Chuck (Modeling Central Japan in September, 1964)
The only way I fasten roadbed and track now is latex caulk – it even comes in various colors to match your intended ballast color.
For soldering rail joints, I leave every other flex track joint unsoldered to allow for expansion and contraction, especially on long straight runs. On curves I solder all joints before bending the track around the curve to avoid kinks in the rail at the track joint.
And for reliable DCC operation, I solder feeder wires at every other flex track joint (the ones that are soldered).
And I NEVER solder a turnout into place. A turnout is the only piece of trackwork with moving parts, so if anything is ever going to fail, it will be a turnout. Even the best you can buy may fail eventually.
Ok, this topic has piqued my interest. I’ve gotten the layout and theme designed and I’m getting ready to get to work on the benchwork for my layout. I understand using caulk under the roadbed to affix it to the subroadbed. But when you talk about caulking the track, are you applying caulk to the bottom of the ties to affix it to the roadbed? And caulk on every tie? And what is it about nails that makes them unsuitable?
Having said that, I’m going to be using sectional track because my runs are going to be very short – the total layout is going to be 43"x72". Does that change anything about using nails vs caulk?
Thanks for the info!
Well I will go with the oposite method. I spike. I do not glue and will not glue and have never seen a layout that was glued that had good trackwork. But that being said thier are not many glued layouts around where I live. So perhaps I have just not seen a layout that was done well with glue.
I personally do not like it as it does not alow me to adjust the track. I lay the track and then come back and tweek it, something that can not be done very easy if you glue. But I am very perticular with my trackwork. So to each thier own.
Doug M
One more time, sub-roadbed should normally be caulked with siliconized latex caulk (notice I said siliconized which is not silicon caulk, the reason is the other stuff over time will crumble). Then when dry place a bead or two on the sub-roadbed and spread it out making sure that when you set the track in it dose not go to the top of the ties (that is so you can ballast later). I have spiked portions of a yard that was saved and had to do some modifications, was able to save the switches (barely) but the track was not salvageable in most cases. Was working on the new sections and I made a mistake that I noticed months later, slipped drywall taping knife under it and up it came, perfect, readjusted things and put the same piece back down.
If you have a good mental picture of the way one uses the caulking to fix the roadbed in place, the very same technique is used to fix the flex or sectional track in place atop the roadbed. In either case, you spread a little caulk so that it comprises just a visible and sticky smear. This is not putting mayonnaise on a slice of bread…this is using an adhesive, so less is probably going to be just fine if not better.
It isn’t a bad idea to use some nails here and there while the caulking sets up, for both the roadbed and the rails later. This might be especially true for tigher curves, but I would feel better about a couple of nails in place on just about any curve. An hour later, you can safely remove the few nails.
-Crandell
It should still work the same. However you might look into using Kato or Atlas track with the roadbed attached. I use Kato and the track sections lock together so you don’t need to solder joints, plus you don’t need to glue down cork roadbed and such. Makes it easy to try the design out and then change it if you need to.