I’m getting back into the hobby and had a newbie question. I got some Atlas Flextrack (seems to be among the best?).
It does not have any nail holes in it to secure to roadbed. What are the best practices for securing it to cork roadbed? Drilling a hole into the ties myself and using a brad/nail? Gluing it to roadbed (with ?)? Other?
Thanks in advance!
There are pilot holes on the bottom of the ties, a simple track nail pushed from the bottom leaves the hole ready from the top.
Mel
My Model Railroad
http://melvineperry.blogspot.com/
Bakersfield, California
I’m beginning to realize that aging is not for wimps.
For two layouts now, I have just used caulk. Fast, easy, and cheap. No hammer required.
–Randy
I use push pins to hold the track while the caulk dries.
Track nails are coated and work better than ordinary tacks might.
DAP makes a “translucent” latex or acrylic type low strength caulk which works very well instead of nails.
Water cleanup and it allows removal of track and underlay without damage to either. It sets up in a few hours but takes a few days to cure under foam roadbed.
There have been a number of posts recently that cover this and other alternatives for ‘track fixation’ in detail. Now that the search-the-community feature works again you can find them; hopefully someone here with a better computer will post some links.
What I’d use is clear adhesive caulk – acrylic, not silicone-based, and perhaps a ‘cheaper’ brand if you want to make reuse in the future less of an agony. (If you can’t find clear, use dark colored and not white, as it will simplify subsequent ballast coverage…) Use it thin, but spread it so it ‘beds’ every bit of the contact area the full depth of any voids in the cork. Use good track gages (like Ribbonrail or the ones Peco recommends) to get the track aligned and then pushpins as mentioned to hold lining laterally - and weight the hell out of it to ensure good surface, net of any superelevation and transition spiraling or equivalent you use. Be sure to let the caulk cure COMPLETELY before taking off either the weight or the fixation pinning…
This is not ‘my’ advice but some best practices of modelers with decades of firsthand experience on whose shoulders I can momentarily perch while pecking keys.
I’ve never had to use a hammer for track nails, either…simply push them in using pliers - works on cork, wood, and plywood.
Wayne
So far I prefer track nails to hold flextrack down. No wait for caulk to cure, I can tweak it as I go, and if I need to adjust or relay, simply pull the nail out and relay. I like that flexibilty and “instant-down” method of track nails and ME spikes so much I don’t see myself jumping on the caulk bandwagon.
You must be a good deal stronger than me - and most others complain that the nails bend when they try to hammer them into plywood. I’ve had similar experience using plywood and/or OSB, and bend some nails but keep going and get the job done. Cork is soft so can push through that NP. My yard is all Homasote and I can push track nails in with a nail set just fine. That’s my experience.
This has been going down past few weeks old school.
I still prefer track nails myself. Even after 25+ years of having my layout, I’m still tweaking some locations of trackwork. I just feel it would be a more miserable job to pull up track that has been glued down.
After I finish all my ballasting, I go back and pull out all the nails anyway, leaving the ballast itself to hold the track in place … so, I guess you could say my track is ultimately “glued down”.
Mark.
Hello All,
How old is the track and what code; 100 or 83?
I have a new pack of HO code 100 Atlas super flex-track and each 36-inch section has 3 holes drilled (like 9-inch sectional) then four ties and then another set of holes.
There are 4 sets of these factory drilled holes per section.
If your particular track doesn’t have the starter holes on the underside there are a few options that haven’t been posted.
You can use a pin vise with a 1/16-inch drill bit to make your own holes.
You didn’t mention what your sub-roadbed is; foam, plywood, MDF, etc.
Cork roadbed is definitely more substantial than foam.
If you choose mechanical fasteners through the holes; track nails, track spikes, or brads, I would recommend brads.
These are more readily available at hardware and big-box stores, usually cheaper than the “specialty” fasteners, and available in a number of lengths to suit your particular needs.
I use #19 x 5/8-inch wire brads to hold the track in place after securing the roadbed to the sub-roadbed with an adhesive.
Then I ballast the track and remove the brads. The ballast is sufficient to hold the track to the roadbed (I use Woodland Scenics foam- -add snarky comments here).
Another option would be to use an adhesive (I prefer silicone caulk) and 2-inch “T” pins to hold the track in place while the adhesive cures.
For this method, you don’t necessarily need to drill holes in the ties.
You can simply use the “T” pins on the gage (inside) or field (outside) of the rails to hold the section in place while the adhesive dries.
Hi Chris: You will get a lot of different answers. I will share what I do, but there are many ways to skin this cat.
I use mostly Atlas tracks components and Walthers/Shinohara turnouts.
The photos below illustrate my technique. They show a piece of sectional track, but the procedure for flex track is the same, there is just not a hole in the center of the tie to be filled in later.
I drill holes in the tie outside the rail, and spike the track in place there. When the nails and track are painted, it all looks fine. I do not like the nail head in the center of the tie.
For sectional track, I fill in the tie-center hole with green Kneadatite putty.
Then I paint all the ties.
I hope this helps.
-Kevin
Pretty much after ballast has been glued and dried, taking up track tends to be a mess no matter method was used.
I do what Mark does but with a slight variation. Instead of using track nails in the center of the ties between the rails, I used track nails through the ties outside the rails.
I did this on my new layout to avoid the appearance of the nails when using a train mounted mini-camera. With the nails in place outside the rails, the camera does not pick the nails up through the lens.
Once the glue mix has dried, it is fairly easy to remove the nails if you so desire.
Rich
In 2012 I laid my Atlas flex (code 83) secured by a thin spread of Alex Plus clear caulk, on typical cork roadbed. I placed books on a section as it was laid, then continued with the next piece, being sure not to disturb the piece just laid.
I used temporary push pins against the ties at any area that might want to stray before cured, as on curves or where a straight piece needed a bit of help to be perfect.
Be sure you research how to make flex joints on curves, without kinks. If you are soldering the rail joiners (on curves) this is basically done by soldering the prior and next piece rail joiners with the track at the joint held straight. (Remove some ties to provide the room needed; replace them later.) When cooled, the pieces can be curved and the end of the prior piece, the joint and the new piece will be a smooth curve, ready to be secured.
I left the books on overnight. It worked well for me.
I really like the idea of using spikes instead of track nails and installing them where real spikes would go. I bought a pack of spikes by accident thinking they were track nails. Now I know just where to use them. They make lousy track nails if used in the predrilled tie holes in the centre of the ties.
Peco shows drilling holes in the ends of ties outside the gauge and using track pins there. Bad idea, very bad idea. Peco ties are not even close to strong enough. They are hollow backed and softer plastic than the American brands.
However, if you drill the holes in the tie plate and fasten the RAIL down and through the tie then the weakness of the tie is not relevant. The photo is very helpful for that.
Pinning plastic ties down with nails driven through the centre or either end of the tie is tricky, especially on foam roadbed. The problem is that you risk bending or even breaking the tie unless you are very exact about how far in the track nail goes. Much better to nail down the rail as it is much stiffer and stronger than the plastic tie.
Spiking the rail close to the joiners should also help align the gauge preventing kinks especially in curves and where using plastic insulating joiners.
Some apparently simple ideas just aren’t that obvious. I’m pretty pleased with this new information. I have one particular troublesome kink that is going to get fixed right away now.
Thanks so much for that really useful picture and description.
Of course, but my rebuttal to that is I still prefer Marks method of getting the track down in the first place. There are no “Pro tip:” cans to obscure the track preventing me from siting down the rails and check for geometry or smoothness while that caulk cures.
By the time I’m ready to ballast, I’ve settled on the track being laid how I want it. It’s the track laying phase and being sure it’s how I want it phase, that I much prefer not to use adhesives. Tweaking is not so easy with cured adhesives.
That last sentence is the key. If you don’t like the appearance of track nails in the center of ties, after the ballast is secured, you can pull the nails and u
Have to disagree on soldering straight track before a curve. Found out it works better to curve the track some before, then solder and then finish making the curve. Example I will do a rough curve of 26" or more for a final curve of 18.
[quote user=“riogrande5761”]
Doughless
Mark R.
I still prefer track nails myself. Even after 25+ years of having my layout, I’m still tweaking some locations of trackwork. I just feel it would be a more miserable job to pull up track that has been glued down.
After I finish all my ballasting, I go back and pull out all the nails anyway, leaving the ballast itself to hold the track in place … so, I guess you could say my track is ultimately “glued down”.
Mark.
Pretty much after ballast has been glued and dried, taking up track tends to be a mess no matter method was used.
Of course, but my rebuttal to that is I still prefer Marks method of getting the track down in the first place. There are no “Pro tip:” cans to obscure the track preventing me from siting down the rails and check for geometry or smoothness while that caulk cures.
By the time I’m ready to ballast, I’ve settled on the track being laid how I want it. It’s the track laying phase and being sure it’s how I want it phase, that I much prefer not to use adhesives. Tweaking is not so easy with cured adhesives.
I did this on my new layout to avoid the appearance of the nails when using a train mounted mini-camera. With the nails in place outside the rails, the camera does not pick the nails up through the lens.
Once the glue mix has dried, it is fairly easy to remove the nails if you so desire.
Using a track spike rather than a track nail and seating it so the head sits down on the base of the rail as for handlaid or prototype works really well. Really, really well but you need a bit of skill drilling the hole right next to the rail and then setting the spike. If a hammer is needed into plywood I recommend using a nail set on the spike head unless you can push it in with pliers*. You’re not going to seat that spike with a hammer alone, even the tiny model shipbuilder hammer I have.
I now intend to spike all joints on curves at a minimum. That’s whether I decide to glue any track down or not.
I use track nails and predrill the hole through the tie/roadbed/plywood. I use a big enough drill bit so the nails are a snug fit requiring only gentle tapping with hobby hammer and nailset. I tap the nails down close to but not tight to the tie in the middle.
My experience has been that I don’t really see the nails. In fact I have had trouble finding them when I need to adjust/redo the track. But at 73 my eyesight isn’t what it used to be.
Paul