I have some benchwork completed, plywood top but no foam or anything on top. I’ve been playing with track, testing different arrangements etc and I’d like to use more of the 30 inch pieces of Atlas HO flex track on curves. Does it work well or not to nail this down to the plywood, leaving a little gap so that it can be removed, or would it be advisable to wait until the 2 inch foam is laid on the plywood?
Jacon
Jacon,
You can nail your track down, or pin it with map tacks. However, to really install it, flex track will have to be cut. The inside rail always ends up longer and must be cut off (always put the sliding rail on the inside of the curve). For that reason, it may be better to wait for “final installation” on the foam.
When you put the track on the foam, you will not be able to nail it - I would sugget that you use adhesive caulking to “glue” it down. Make sure to get a foam-friendly caulking. You can hold the track in pace with long pins until the caulk is dry.
Here is a link to a great article done by MR:
http://www.trains.com/content/dynamic/articles/000/000/004/379dcjrm.asp
It’s in pdf format, so you’ll need Acrobat Reader.
Andrew
It won’t hold the curve very well without being held down somehow. Since I alreayd have it, if I was experimenting like that I’d put small dabs of caulk to hold the track in position (NOT spreading it along the entire track path like the ‘final’ mounting - even though I have been able to peel up the track laid in that manner without damage). Tacky Glue would work also. You just want enough to hold things in place to test fit your track arrangment
If you wait until you get the foam, pushpins work wonders for things like that. I use the pushpins to temporarily hold things in place while I mark and fit track. ANd also to hold things in place on curves when fastening the track down (caulk is tacky enought hat on straights I don’t usually need pins to help - except where a curve joints, then I put in some pins so that the straight stays straight up to where the cirve is supposed to start)
–Randy
Thanks Andrew and Randy, that’s what I need to know. I’ll check out the MR article also.
Jacon
I’m in your same position.
Track directly on plywood is noisey. If you ballast it it’s even NOISIER. If you plan on eventually overlaying the plywood with foam, do it now before you’ve put too much stuff down. Remember, whatever you do now will have to be “bulldozed” to make room for the foam.
Af for attaching the track directly to foam, I’d put down a strip of cork first just to raise the track and permit a better ballasting job down the road.
Mark in Utah
Mark, I plan on using 2 inches of foam over the plywood, then cork roadbed then track. I’m not the worlds greatest planner so it helps me to lay track down, move it around, try this and that. I’ve learned a good bit already by doing this… like… don’t force it… 
I’m sure as time goes by I’ll learn a lot more!
Thanks,
Jacon
Jacon, if you want to play with different designs, you can download Right Track free from Atlas. It only goes up to a 24" radius, but it works. I designed my double level layout with it. If you’re using larger radius curves, you can lay the straights out then join them with flex track with a wider radius. If you’d like to see a jpg of the layout, email me at marlonothername@aol.com and I can send it to you.