I am getting ready to start a new layout. I have always done the old fasion way of plywood, cork roadbed, then track. Now I am going to put track on my foam insulation. What do I use to secure the track to the cork roadbed? What is a good glue/adhesive to secure the cork roadbed to the foam board. Please help, I am ignorant on this.[:D]
ive always heard never tried because im jsut starting benchwork that laytex caulking used in minimal amounts dries clear and holds well and worse comes to worse it is fairly easy too remove
NOTE: dont use to much or you can kiss ur track good by, this also work to secure the roadbed
I found that using the paint that I normally use to paint the blue and pink foam will hold the track quite well.
I found this by accident as I was painting around some trackwork and some of the paint ran under the ties.
When the paint dried I found that the track was secured quite well and it took some effort to remove the track.
SO I have been using the method for a while now and have found no problems other than the track might be down too tight!
It just saves me from having to go out and spend more cash on caulk when I have gallons of paint for the base coat on the layout.
BOB H – Clarion, PA
Todd, you will still most likely want some sort of roadbed (cork?) to give you the correct track profile. The advantage of using the foam is that you can easily create ditches and land formations below the suface.
I used Liquid nails for projects (Foam compatible…V important) to glue the cork roadbed to the foam and then a very fine bead spread thin for the track to the cork. Caulk works well as well. I happen to like LN as it is smoother and easier to spread thin, but that is just a personal preference.
The caulk method is described in this PDF
http://www.trains.com/Content/Dynamic/Articles/000/000/004/379dcjrm.asp
I’ve been using acrylic caulk for attaching the cork to the foam and the track to the cork.
Somebody wrote (on another site?) that they put a couple of drops of liquid super glue every few inches - the superglue seeps under the ties and holds the track well. How much you use will most likely determine how much track can be saved if you take it up again. And stay clear of your turnouts.
Somebody else said they spray the cork with texture paint to simulate ballast, lay the track in that and then add a little more ballast on top.
I haven’t tried either method, but it might be time to experiment since I have a HD gift card with some $$ left on it.
Will paint work to hold track down on AMI roadbed? ,What is better Cork or ami roadbed?
Cheap, clear latex caulk is the real deal. Other things work, but not quite as well. For one thing, it comes up easy when needed. I put road bed under all my track, even in the yards, and then filled in with goop. I do have some temporay track directly on foam, I don’t know how it would last. I held that down with straight pins.
I prefer cork instead of the AMI roadbed only because the AMI will not keep the track held tight to the roadbed for long periods of time. If you are putting the AMI down and then ballast very soon afterwards then the AMI is OK! But if you are like me and wait for a couple of months or longer then the track seems to come loose from the AMI. Now you could pin the track down to the AMI but isn’t that defeating the main purpose of the sticky roadbed. If you are going to do that, than then just use the cork and use track nails to hold the track in place until you ballast.
And the AMI is really hard to get a level smooth surface to put the track on. You always seem to get little humps and dips in the stuff. This is especially true for N scale track.
I like to operate my layout more than spend time ballasting the track so my track has been down for several years with no ballast. It makes it a lot easier to make changes in the track (move a turnout a few inches, etc.) and not have to fight the ballast.
I usually use white glue to hold the cork down and just a little bead along the length of the cork. That way it is easy to remove the cork just by taking a putty knife and slip it under the edge of the cork and lift it off the Homasote. I can move it over and reuse it.
And now that I have found the Latex paint holds the track to foam I don’t have to mess with the caulk and worry about getting too much under the track and end up with the caulk oozing up between the ties and getting humps in the track by having too much on the subroadbed. The paint is self leveling!
And you already have the paint there to paint the foam so Why not use it instead of buying more stuff to lay around. There are better and easier ways!
BOB H – Clarion, PA
You can use a low tempture HOT Glue Gun. Don’t make lumps. Use a stick or something to spread the glue thin. When using the glue you don’t have to spread it under the complete length. Glue down in spots as needed. Can be used to secure track also. Say a 3’ length of track will only need about 4 to 5 glue spots. Of couse make sure the cork is ready for the track, first by sanding it flat then vacumn.
k well then i think im going to go with cork then, because ballasting isnt my favorite thing and in the long run as rell it wi;l take me awhile to finish it. and i used AMI befroe and it did leave bumps and things and it wasnt the easiest thing to make turns, i just liked it because it was flexable at the time, in the long run is cork cheapier then AMI cause i kno ami is like 3o$ a box
I use regular white glue.
Nick
Bob,
I’m intrigued by your paint idea. Have you found that the adhesion strong enough for flex track curves?
jxtrrx
What little I have done so far it seems to hold almost too well. I have the turns held down with long pins and once I get the track set where I wan ti I then do the straight sections. I then work my way towards the curves.
The only reason I am doing it this way is due to finding out about the paint long after I had most of my industrial area laid in.
Like I said the paint thing was an accident but worked out real well!
BOB H – Clarion, PA
Many great things where invented by acciednt like chips 
I like Liquid Nails for Projects. It comes in a caulking gun tube for a couple of dollars. It holds firm, but I’ve found that when I want to change the track a bit, I can get it up with a putty knife pretty easily. I use it to hold the Woodland Scenics foam roadbed to the pink base foam, and also to hold the track to the roadbed. WS roadbed is not the same stuff as AMI. It doesn’t self-stick. From what I’ve heard, the AMI stuff doesn’t self-stick the way you want it to, either.
it will hold for a littel then adventuly it will loose its grip, whats what it did in my old layout
White glue does work pretty good, and its easy to remove with some warm water. The only hard part is keeping the track were you want it until the glue dries.
I use the green (water soluble) contact cement.
Ditto what MisterBeasley said. I use Liquid Nails for Foam Board Insulation. It’s easy to apply with a caulk gun and comes up easily with a putty knife if (and when) you make goofs.
I also use the Woodland Scenics black foam roadbed. The combination makes for amazingly quiet trains…
Good luck…
I use push pins and some wieghts for that.
Nick