I am never quite sure how to secure the bridge track to the bridge deck, so I don’t do anything. The bridge track simply sits unsecured on the bridge deck. I do wedge in some side bracing to keep the bridge track from shifting laterally.
How do others deal with this issue?
Rich
I let mine float as well on the last layout but adhesives would seem to be the solution if you wanted track secured in place. Perhaps a thick “goo” type adhesive applied fairly sparingly.
What type of bridge?
Tackyglue’ superglue’ caulk ect.
I too let my tracks “float” on the bridge. You could try double sided tape or liquid nails to really prevent them from moving. The two bridges I own don’t allow the track to move much. This is good for me!
The bridge is the Walthers Cornerstone Double Track Arched Pratt Truss bridge which I have modified and extended to 29.5". The bridge track is Walthers Shinohara Bridge Track.
Rich
That’s what I have done on my other bridges. There is nothing holding them down, but they seem to be heavy enough to stay in place without any adhesive. My main concern is always to prevent side-to-side movement.
Bridge track is expensive so I try not to do stuff that will make it harder to sell at a decent price if and when that day comes.
Rich
I really try to avoid stuff like super glue and caulk for reasons previously mentioned. But I have considered something like Tacky Glue, just to prevent side-to-side movement.
Rich
Turnouts and bridge track I let float. However a couple of times like where my bridge track is curved I have put a couple of dabs of caulk about half the size of a dime to hold things in place better.
I have had reason to pull it up and when I do I just roll the caulk off with my thumb and it comes right off. I then just dab a bit of new stuff on when I replace it.
With a 30" bridge I would probably only put 3 or 4 little dabs the entire length.
Because the track on most of my bridges is curved…
…I use a fairly coarse sandpaper to roughen the bottom of the ties, then apply contact cement to them and to the bridges on which they’ll sit. The bridge ties are engineering plastic, so cannot be cemented to the styrene bridges using solvent -type cement. Ca is also not an option, as all bridges are removeable and will flex vertically to some degree when they’re removed or put back into place, stressing the brittle joints created by ca.
After letting the cement dry for the recommended time, the track is put in place. Where alignment needs to be precise, waxed paper can be placed on the bridge, then slowly withdrawn as the track is jockeyed into position.
The same method is used to secure the guard rails, although the woodgrain detail moulded into the tie-tops is rough enough to omit the need to sand them, and the moulded-on spike heads also help to keep the guard rails properly aligned.
Wayne
Little bitty micro screws, #0 or #00. Machine thread, wood thread, or sheet metal thread. About 1/4" long. Insert through existing track nail holes or drill through tie with #62 bit and pin vise. The trick is lining up ties of track with beams and/or girders (or whatever substrate) of bridge structure. You only need a couple to secure track.
There are matching little bitty taps for these little bitty screws, but most substrates can be self-tapped by whatever screw you use. Don’t forget to drill little bitty pilot hole in substrate a little bit smaller than screw.
Robert
EDIT Added photo of a some little bitty screws, bolts, and nuts I have on hand and could readily find.
I use a stronger goop that I apply with the end of a toothpick to the stringers supporting the ties, something considerably stronger than, say, Aleene’s tacky glue. It will be closer to a contact cement. Turnouts, though, I generally ballast (carefully), and let that bonded medium hold them in place. Spray with water, wait-two-three, and then get the metal spatula under it. Again, very thoughtfully or you’ll snag the throwbar. [:S] [:(] [:|]
Thanks, Brent. Your comments give me something to think about.
Rich
Thanks, Robert, for your comments. I hadn’t given any thought to micro screws. Another option to think about.
Rich
Thanks, Crandell, for your comments.
Rich
Thanks, Wayne.I have thought about contact cement as an option. I need to give that more thought.
Rich
I have been finding more and more uses for these small, clear sticky dots on the model railroad:
I wouldn’t hesitate to use them for anchoring bridge track to the deck of a bridge. I seem to recall that the Walthers/Shinohara bridge track I used had a bit of an arc to it. You could place extra dots toward the middle section so it wouldn’t pop up in the future.
These are great for sticking acetate into brass cars and plastic structures, too. I also use them for sticking wiring inside locos during a decoder install:
Fugitive_dots-wire by Edmund, on Flickr
Generically it is known as “Fugitive Glue”.
Good Luck, Ed
Whale, on a previous layout, I installed the track before the bridge and figured to build a bridge around it.
How does the track flay through space without a bridge?
Lion went down to metal shop and cut two peices of sheet metal about 18" long by .75" wide. I then put the work in a brake the long way so that less than half of it was held by the clamp and half of it would be bent up. I pulled the brake so that I had a “V” shape peice of metal. I slipped each side of the track into the “V” and then glued the metal with the track in it across the gap in the layout.
I use either screws…#0 round head black wood screw’s or lately Loctite GO2 Gel adhesive. Goe’s on clear, drys clear very strong, once cured. It is Not a CA:
The bridge piers, pier bumpers, even the acetate water is held in place with it:
In the next photo, the bridge glued to the piers and the whole bridge is turned on it’s side with the GO2 adhesive is the only thing holding it:
Take Care!
Frank
Thanks, Frank, I appreciate those comments and recommendations.
I need to decide whether to secure the bridge track to the bridge deck or just let it “float”, so to speak. If I do decide not to secure the track to the deck, I will still need to install some sort of side-to-side bracing to prevent lateral shifting of the bridge track.
I really do appreciate all of the replies and I need to re-read them all several times to decide upon a course of action.
Rich