Would it be possible or practicle to use the glue ballast to hold down the track? I would think the ballast would keep the track/ties from shifting but could the ballast be enough to hold it down? I guess I’m sort of looking for different ways to hold down track.
In the end, the glue in the ballast will help keep the track secure. But before then, you need to secure the track. I used latex caulk. Lay a bead down and then use a putty knife to spread it flat. Lay the track on top of it and the caulk will secure it. Make sure you don’t put too much down that it starts to ooze up between the ties.
Yes, I have found that if you use track nails initially to hold the track in place and then ballast them you can in ost cases remove the track nails without any repercussions. You may leave the nails in if you wish but they really don’t look all that nice especially when you photograph your trains. I have also glued the track down with yellow carpenters glue and also by gluing the track first just like when you ballast by spraying it with alcohol first then a 50/50 mix of white glue and water. When I am satisfied everything is running smooth I then paint and ballast the track. My reason for doing it this way is if you do decide to make a change all you need to do is soak the track with water and pry it up slowly and then wash is off. This way your not wasting or cleaning ballast off the tracks as well. Nothing wrong with the caulk method I just choose not to use it.
I use only the ballast glue to hold my track in place. I use some small nails to temporarily align the track until the glue dries. Then I remove the nails Depending on the type of roadbed, one could use straight pins (smaller holes). I spent about two hours running trains yesterday and had only one derailment. Some idiot (I’m a lone wolf by the way) forgot to align a turnout properly. LOL (at myself).
Tom
I use the ballast/glue to hold my track down for the most part. There are places where the track is far enough away from the viewer that I use some track nails and leave them. I use plastic and metal push pins to hold the track in place before ballasting. The push pins will really hold the track down against the roadbed and are very easy to remove. I spread the ballast with a foam brush cut down to fit between the rails. Once all looks OK I soak the ballast with Isopropol Aclohol in a squeeze bottle (this ‘wets’ the ballast so the glue soaks right in!) , then soak it with the glue/water mixture (50/50). After it dries overnight I go over it with a small stainless steel brush (like a tooth brush) and most of the loose ballast comes off. This system has worked very well for me and if you need to remove some track, it comes up quite easily without damage to the track.