I am considering using latex caulk to fasten my track to the cork road bed. My concern is when I ballast the track and glue it down, will the mat media adhere to the cork covered caulk.
Cheers, RustyKen
That should be no problem since latex caulk is paintable. I paint cork a gray color before putting down track, and use gray caulk to fasten the track. If any small spots are missed during ballasting, the gray color isn’t as obvious as bare cork.
I think that using chalk to glue track to cork roadbed will work. I use small spikes by micro engineering. I drill a small hole with a pin vise on the outside of the rail (in the tie). I do this about every 10-15 ties. It works great and is easy to change if there are corrections to be made.[tup]
For those who’ve white glued their track down after just using track nails to initially hold it in place,
what glue mixtures percentage wise has worked well for you and held up for years? Thanks.
It seems like very few MRs are using this “old” method much anymore. I prefer it because I can make adjustments forever before gluing it down. If it’s already caulked and I want to change something, it’s a lot more “interesting” for me.
Thanks.
Some confusion here, obviously. First of all, chalk won’t work to fasten down track. You need to use caulk. [:)]
The other major point seems to be the use of diluted white glue / matte medium. This is done to hold the ballast in place. It probably provides some adhesion for the track, but that’s not it’s primary purpose. The caulk is what holds the track down.
When I first laid my track, I used track nails to hold it in place while I tested it operationally. It was a never ending nightmare – they kept coming up and catching my equipment. I was very glad to yank them out and glue things down with caulk. DAP Adhesive Caulk comes in gray, and I’ve never had trouble getting ballast to stick to it (quite the opposite, in fact).
I use Elmer’s to glue my track to the cork. Works well, you don’t need a lot of it, and if at some point you need to pull the track up (prior to ballasting) the Elmer’s is brittle enough that it comes off without much problem, and or you can wet it down I’ve heard to soften the glue before removing the track. Then I just sand the left over glue from the road bed and reuse at needed. That’s why I don’t use a lot. 
Altoonarailroader, are you using the white glue straight without any added water or alcohol? That’s only needed for wet water ballasting right? I remember (I think) as a kid that I just used full strength Elmers on my 4X8 but that was 1965!
I’d like to slide glue under the already nailed down track with a glob on a business card or something and not have to relay at all but maybe not too practical? It’s a small layout so certainly doable. Any tips or recommendations for doing that?
For the OP, I would recommend taking a piece of straight track (snap track?) something short and trying both glue and caluk to see which you prefer working with. They both have their advantages but of course caulk will be quieter running if that’s important to you.
I’ve used tons of caulk on boats and I usually get it everywhere I don’t want it but those were permanent adhesive caulks but it turned me off to caulk when glue is so easy.
Altoonarailroader, are you using the white glue straight without any added water or alcohol? That’s only needed for wet water ballasting right? I remember (I think) as a kid that I just used full strength Elmers on my 4X8 but that was 1965!
I’d like to slide glue under the already nailed down track with a glob on a business card or something and not have to relay at all but maybe not too practical? It’s a small layout so certainly doable. Any tips or recommendations for doing that?
For the OP, I would recommend taking a piece of straight track (snap track?) something short and trying both glue and caluk to see which you prefer working with. They both have their advantages but of course caulk will be quieter running if that’s important to you.
I’ve used tons of caulk on boats and I usually get it everywhere I don’t want it but those were permanent adhesive caulks but it turned me off to caulk when glue is so easy.
I modeled a section of track and held it in place with white caulk. I used alcohol as a wetting agent for the ballast. Apparently, the alcohol loosened up the caulk. I’ll go back to wet water for future projects. Instead of drilling holes in the ties for nails to hold the track in place while the caulk sets up, I use pushpins to hold it in place. Then, you don’t have to worry about the holes showing up when you’re done.
Too much alcohol in the mix? Or were you trying Cody’s method of applying full-strngth alcohol first and then the glue/water mix? In my testing, since we have hard water around here, I found the old traditional drop of dish soap method did not work at all, I ended up diluting the glue with 70% alcohol. exact proportions elude me right now but since I am almost ready to start ballasting again I need to figure it out. Pretty hefty, near 50/50 I think. With this mix it all soaked right in and saturated th ballast in one step, no pre-wetting needed. The caulked track on my test section did not come loose when I tried this.
–Randy
I used DAP clear caulk and it worked great. I’ve made some recent changes and all I did was slide my exacto knife under the track to break it free from the cork bed. Worked fine.
I can’t help with the question about ballast though because I haven’t got that far yet. However, that being said, I did a small section of test track with plywood, cork roadbed, track held down with DAP clear caulk, paint for the ties and rails, then ballast and that turned out great. No problems.
Gluing track to any roadbed is a very bad idea. It assure a mess if you ever want to change or adjust the track alignment. Spike the track down instead; changes will be far easier.
I use the cheapest priced caulk I can get & have had no problems with it. Yes its messy but keep a box of baby wipes handy & you’ll have no problems. I’ve also found that the caulk keeps the track bed flexable enought for seasonale climate changes & small childeren. I have also swichted to useing foam tape (pickup topper seal tape) on my last 3 layouts & love it, you can watch TV in the same room. It’s cheaper, much easier to lay down & the noise reduction is great. I also use caulk to lay the tape & the track on top & have had no problems with it in 5 years & cutting the track loose useing a bent razor saw is no problem. Have fun & just use your finger.
Mr. Wallace. I’m confused by your statements. HO track was white glued down all through the 50s through '70s by thousands of model railroaders. Prior to caulk it was probably the most used method other than spiking or nailing. Oncer the ballast and glue are applied why is it any easier to remove spikes and not make a mess? There is still plenty of glue present in the ballasting process alone.
My intention if it wasn’t clear is to nail the track lst and then apply white glue sparingly under the nailed track or over it in the ballasting process.
Even with caulk holding the track down, the overlay of glue/ballast still must be removed to make later track changes. Could you clarify a bit? Thanks.
I had to pull up nearly an entire corner to correct what turned out to be too big a dip on the surface. All I did wa sslide a putty knife under the ties and gently work my way along the area to be adjusted, then inserted some shims to correct the excessive vertical curve. I don;t see how this would have been any easier with spikes instead of the caulk, not to mention spikes generally do not hold in foam anyway.It was not messy, and no track was damaged during the lifting process. This of course is before ballast - after ballast the Capt. Grimek’s point comes into play. The ballast part is equal as far as messy/difficult regardless of how the track is fastened down. Unless you keep your ballast loose - which I wouldn;t recommend except possibly in O and larger scales - G scale outdoors of course generally does not use bonded ballast.
–Randy
I agree.
After installing my roadbed, I temporarily tacked the track on with track nails while I tested the operation of the track. This phase lasted about a month. Then I used gray adhesive caulk to glue the track down. As pointed out by others, it’s not hard to get it up with a putty knife if absolutely necessary. Clear caulk would be ok, too, but white would show through if the ballast didn’t cover completely.
I use wet water to pre-soak my ballast prior to gluing, but I’ve never heard of alcohol causing the caulk to lose adhesion before. I use a 1:4 mixture of matte medium to water (w/ 1 drop of dishwashing liquid per cup) to glue the ballast in place.
Did you also glue your turnouts to the cork roadbed, or do you attached turnouts differently? Thx.
I read on one forum by a caulk professional that the clear latex is the strongest as the coloring agents added to give caulk its color actually weaken the “gluing properties.”
I glued the ends of the turnout where the track is fixed. The area under the points has no adhesive under it.
I wouldn’t presume to disagree with a professional. But what you have to ask yourself is if you need the extra strength.
After all, you could build a car out of 1/2" steel plate… but why would you want to?
I’ve never had any trouble with the “gluing properties” of my gray caulk not being strong enough.