This is a one stumps me. Last Christmas I put some track around our tree and want to do so again this year. My kids loved it. The track sat on the hardwood flooring and of course shifted whenever the train hit a curve. Is there anything I can do to temporarily secure the track without ruining the floor? Maybe there is a bedding I don’t know about?
It was a long time ago (50’s), but I think Lionel had some sort of clip to hold the track sections together. Don’t know if they still have them or not.
Go over to the Classic Toy Trains section of these forums and they may know. This section is mostly HO and N scale folks. Over there are there are more O scale folks. Also, let them know the brand of track you have.
I have a 4’x4’ piece of plywood with a 1"x2" frame that I can put down and it is strong enough to hold the tree. If I remember correctly a loop of O track will fit on it with a section of straight track (or turnout) on each side. I could mount the track on that, though I haven’t mounted it in the past. I don’t know what you have for storage space, but with it standing against a wall, it doesn’t take much space to store it. Rolling stock, buildings and other things are stored separately (now if we could only find my wife’s train stuff that got buried when my son moved home). If you don’t leave the track on the plywood, one screw every section or two should hold it in place unless the ends are badly damaged.
Have fun,
Richard
Assuming your loop of track is not too big, you could try a large tree skirt - the kind that does not have a slick surface.
Good luck.
Paul
What comes to mind is to first get the track secured to something stable. I would recommend mounting the track to a 4 x 4 foot or larger sheet of plywood with short screws that don’t stick through the other side… Then get those little self stick rubber or plastic feet and put them all over on the opposite side of the plywood. That will reduce or eliminate scratching to the hardwood floor during setup, takedown and though the season. Be sure to place extra little rubber feet on the area below where the tree will go to support the weight…
This brings to mind a TV commercial from the mid-late 70’s for Bowmar calculators.
“The Bowmar calculator has little rubber feet.”
LOL! Give it a try. Your valued hardwood floor may thank you.
Mark H
3Bean3,
The way I used to do it, was similar,to what has been suggested, but cheaper, I thought anyway! A 4x4,exterior grade 1/2 ply,one side smooth, with the corners cut to form, a circle,sand all the edge’s smooth, get 1/8 inch flat cork,from a Big Box store, along with a can of contact cement and glue,circles, where support will be needed,like perimeter and where tree will be sitting. Paint flat white,attach your track,with flat head wood screws and you are basically done. Did it that way for years, with American Flyer trains, with real tree’s and those big old clumpy lights they used to have. So you know that had to be heavy…
Have Fun!!
Cheers, [D]
Frank