Put electrical tape on turnouts prior to gluing?

Model Railroader Layouts and layout building
1

Hey all,

I am a long time Model Railroader, but I have always spiked my track to the cork/plywood. On this layout, I am using the Liquid Nails for Projects insted.

I seem to recall seeing somewhere that you should place electrical tape over the underside of the turnouts in the point area to prevent glue from messing up the operation of said points.

Am I correct in thinking this or did I just dream it? Any other tips?

Thanks

Chuck

2

Hmmm… That’s an interesting idea; I hadn’t heard that one before. I suppose it would work, but if you were careful with spreading the Liquid Nails, and didn’t apply it in the points areas, it shouldn’t be a problem.

The only thing I would caution for the electrical tape method is if you are using an under-table switch mechanism that penetrates up through the roadbed (e.g. a Tortoise), then you’d have to cut a hole in the tape for the actuating rod, which might allow some wayward glue to seep in.

3

Good Point on the turnout actuator rod.

Chuck

4

Taping under the turnout also allows you to do some light ballasting of the entire turnout. A light sprinkling of clean ballast will adhere to the sticky stuff, and it will leave the appearance of light ballasting that the prototypes often liked to do. So, the tape actually serves at least two purposes. In that vein, I would use duct tape since it has thicker and stickier glue for holding the ballast grains.

5

I’m using liquid nails with Atlas code 83. I don’t recommend gluing the turnouts down. I glue all the track leading up to the turnout, but I use a couple of track spikes to hold the turnout itself. This makes it easier to fix the turnout if you have any problems.

6

I would rethink using Liquid Nails for gluing down track. With acrylic latex caulk, you can remove the track with a putty knife. I’ve NEVER been able to remove track that has been glued with Liquid Nails without destroying the track. If you insist on gluing down the turnouts, mark the slide bar and keep any adhesive away from under that part of the turnout.

7

[#ditto] I made that mistake once. Then I decided to rip everything apart and re-do the track plan. What a PITA!

8

Painters masking tape works fine too. It’s been around for a while. You’re not dreaming. Or are you still dreaming now?

I would recommend latex caulk instead of the tenacious expensive stuff for gluing track. The caulk works extremely well and is peal-able.

Karl