I have a few sections of track that are not glued down so they could be removed when it was time to break down the layout, and move it from the garage to the train room. When it is time to permanently attach the track, is it sufficient to use the gluing of the ballast to secure the track, or should I glue it down first? (When I say glue, I do mean caulk.)
Yeah, if the ballast is applied properly, it will hold the track in place. The key to getting a good bond is to apply the wetting agent generously, so that it can penetrate right down to the base upon which the track is sitting, and then don’t skimp on the glue mixture. There’s a short how-to on ballasting here:
Wayne
Richard, gluing down the ballast will be sufficient to hold the track in place.
But, how is the track being held down right now, or is it?
Rich
Richard and Richhotrain:
It sounds as thou you are using a “bridge track " of 6” of 9" as sectional track between glued down sections, the way many travelling layouts do.
When the final move to the train room is made, caulking them down as you reinstall them would not be difficult, and would be the same as the rest of your layout.
Dave
I only ever use very dilluted white glue to attatch track before ballast. I tend to ballast track very quickly after laying and rely on that glue to hold everything.
It is just floating. The sections are relatively short and it seems to working fine, for now.
ahh, then just gluing ballast over that section of track will work just fine.
Rich
The only thing I could think of is if the track is just “floating” unsecured, it may be uneven, have a space between it and the substrate in places or could shift while ballast is being applied.
I don’t use adhesive to hold my track down, but it is secure and firmly stable with track nails or spikes. That way the track is firmly in place before any ballast is applied and glued in place. It seems if track is just floating with nothing to firmly secure it into place, there is some risk it may not be properly aligned or could shift. YMMV