I’ve got a good starting layout going and am ready to lay in a piece of Atlas Code 83 Flextrack, as per the instructions in the book “HO Railroad Start to Finish”
This is where the gap is. Right now, the track is not tacked down and won’t be for a while, as I need to plan out the rest of the layout. I need to fill the gap with a piece of Flextrack, but I was under the impression, however mistaken it might be, that you have to glue the Flextrack down on the table to set it. I was thinking of using track nails, because I am going to be using graphite trackbed under the track, so gluing the track to the homasote is really out of the question.
Any pointers? Do I need to nail the other pieces down as well (I would assume yes) to keep them from shifting while I lay the flextrack?
If and I say if, you’re modeling modern era, I cannot help BUT if you intend to model a branchline switching road with very light traffic, then fastening your track directly to the Homasote is perfectly OK. Our modeled 1:1 had cinder ballast and MOST ties on the 26 miles of r-o-w were buried to their tops, so we modeled very accurately; is exactly what my old HO modular club did in late '80s - early '90s on 26 modules! If you read, in ’ Prototype Info for the Modeler ’ section of Forum, thread titled: ’ Learn about a UNIQUE NH Shortline RR, you’ll see firsthand what a shoestring operation was like on a day-to-day basis. My new, small HO narrow shelf switching layout will also be very similar, with NO roadbed of any kind, as I look at it as a waste of my precious layout capital; would rather spend it on some new Peco Code 100 #4 turnouts & wyes, which I badly need. My 2 cents…papasmurf
Small pushpins will work. Not the kind with the big plastic ‘hat’ on top that you use for a cork board, these are all metal and have a T shape to them. This is what I use to hold my track while the caulk dries, and they are small enough that cars and locos with properly adjusted couplers (no low hanging trip pins) can run right over them - so even before the caulk is dry, I can test run the latest track addition. This should work fine in homasote as well. ANd yes, secure the other track as well. One pushpin in each piece of track should work, maybe 3 on each turnout - one on each leg. Put the pushpin between two ties, with the head parallel to the rails, it should sit down on 2 ties. Should hold plenty to test things out before permanently attaching the track.
I’ve had temporary flex-track down for years in places. I use 2-inch foam as my base, and WS foam roadbed. This lets me easily hold down track with paper clips, un-bent into a U shape.
For flex track directly on homosote, I would try short U-shaped staples. Put them only on the outside of the rails, one on each side of the track. Paper clips might work, but I think you’d have a hard time getting them into the homosote because they lack the stiffness of the staples.
Here’s a trick to simplify your life. Pre-curve the flex track. It calls for carefully bending the flex to a much tighter radius than the final curve, then letting it relax. The last 4 - 6 inches of the length will probably require a bit of special attention with pliers to get the entire length to conform to the desired curvature. If you find that you’ve ended up with too tight a curve, it’s easier to convince it to relax than it is to try to force un-curved flex into the desired configuration.
2 layouts ago I had flex track on cork roadbed held in place with just track nails. I never did get it ballasted, but some of the track was in place for over 10 years. I used about 6 or 7 on the curves with one at each end and one about 3 ties from the end. The others were spaced along the middle. My flex track is very flexible unlike some others that are stiff, so pre-bending wasn’t necessary.
Chuck, OP is using Atlas flex. It will spring back almost to straight. That’s OK for sizing to approximate the length for cut and tie removal. This is of coarse nec for the stiffer Walther’s/ Shinahara and for sure w/ ME.
I am also an Atlas flex track user - my Code 83 has concrete ties - so I know whereof I type. Atlas track CAN be pre-bent, and will hold a desired radius (even 14") once the rails have been forced past their elastic limit. It takes a gentle, but firm, hand, and a willingness to bring the flex down to about 6 inch radius to overcome that natural springiness.
Chuck (Modeling Central Japan in September, 1964 - Atlas flex and hand-laid specialwork))
Guess I’m not that brave to have tried to overbend that much. It does make some good sense that removing a significant amount of springiness would actually help with the gauge on the tighter turns.
While I laid out my HO scale MRR, I used sewing ball-headed pins {small ball} and sewing “T-pins” to hold down the track while I laid it.
Since I quickly decided to expand it, I have left eht samll ball-headed pins and T pins in. They do not interfere with ops. {unless you have a very low hanging magnetic uncoupler.}
