this question is from my dad. we got a old layout from a friend who died and we are takeing it a part and should we try to save the flex track and cork road bed? the guy did not know what he was doing.
If it’s easy enough to soak the glue to reconstitute it and gently pull up the track to save it, fine.
If not, then prying up the track can damage it and twist it or take it out of parallel and render it useless.
SAddly, It may be better to write it off and throw it out.
Was the track put down with nails or was it glued? Seems the difficulty of taking up the track would determine if it could be saved or not. Did he solder it together? If so bummer that makes things harder.
Cork is yet another issue. How old is it. Was it nailed or gluded? Does it crumble when it is jostled? All these things will determine if it is worth it to try to save it.
If the track is glued down, after a good soaking (alchol works well I hear) be sure to use a putty knife or similar tool to help lift the track. It will also help lifting the cork.
If the track is nailed down and you can’t pull the nails easily, you could consider cutting the tie each side of the nail. The occasional missing section of tie could be easily filled with a short chunk of wood or use the track in your less noticeable areas.
Good luck,
If it’s brass track, I wouldn’t bother.
For NS track I would make the effort. You can use rail nippers to clip either side of soldered joints. For rail nails, a small screwdriver will usually pry it up enough for pliers to pull it. For ballasted track or glued track it depends on the glue.
For cork, if there is any glue it probably is not worth it. Otherwise, it depends on the condition of the cork - if it’s at all brittle then I would forget it.
Enjoy
Paul
Unless the cork is pretty new, it’s probably toast. I agree that you shouldn’t use old brass track - too many headaches.
But even if the track is hard to pull up and gets broken, i would save a bunch of the rails (brass or not) and maybe some ties. They would make nice scenic items stacked next to the working rails, in a yard, or even on a flatcar.
If the flex is nickel-silver and comes up without too much of an argument, re-use it.
If the flex is brass, there is a lot less you can do with it - but it still isn’t useless. It can be laid at the ends of spurs where locomotives will never go, cut up into model ‘panel track’ for flatcar loads or MOW department scenery or used to simulate abandoned track or the place where ‘that other railroad’ crosses your main line.
Raw rail is ALWAYS useful, even if the flex track ties are toast. It can be used to provide short lengths for automobile wheel stops in parking lots or vertical fence posts. Longer lengths on the ground, on racks or on flat cars and in gons can be either re-lay, scrap or new rail, depending on how you paint it. You can even stretch long lengths along the main line right-of-way, to simulate the welded rail that will shortly replace the jointed rail.
If you have a quantity of raw nickel-silver rail, you can even screw up your courage and try hand-laying some specialwork. It’s not that difficult, and the rewards are priceless.
Chuck (Modeling Central Japan in September, 1964 - with several-times re-laid flex and hand-laid specialwork)
we threw it out too big of a hassale