A few questions about this technique.
How many feet of HO track do you get out a tube of caulk?
I’m laying track on hardboard splines so the push pins aren’t going to work. What else has been used to “clamp” the track down while the caulk dries?
Has anybody noticed any sound deadening advantage to the caulk vs other more rigid attachments?
A full size tube of CLEAR caulk will fasten down more track than most people will ever install. Put it on VERY thin. If it oozes up between the ties it is too thick. I use pins on curves, but you can use a clamp, just put a small scrap of wood on it to protect the track from the clamp. On most of the layout I just put cans or bottles on it to hold it while it dries. It is absolutely invisible when dry.
Sure they will. I use hardboard spline topped with cork, and held the cork in place with push pins while the glue dried. You won’t necessarily be able to push a pin entirely into the hardboard, but you normally won’t have to. The pins are useful to maintain horizontal alignment, and don’t have to go in very far. It’s also possible to gently tap on a push pin with a hammer to get it to hold in hardboard. You may break some over time, but a typical package provides more than you’ll need for laying track so you can afford to sacrifice a few.
For best results, track should be laid on some type of roadbed, like cork or WS foam roadbed material, not directly on the sub-roadbed. Why? For a more prototype track ballast profile look. Why? Because track is a model too.
You can use weight to hold the track in place also, books, paint cans, beverage cans (to be consumed later at the Golden Spike party) have all been shown on the forums as possible ways to hold track in place.
To keep your caulk fresh in the tube between uses, I put a 2" sheet rock screw in the nozzle, then wrap the tip in Saran Wrap, secured with a rubber band. I have kept a tube fresh over 6 months that way. The long screw helps if you have left it a long time and the caulk in the nozzle starts to harden, the threads seem to pull out the dried material better and leave a channel all the way in to the body of the tube.
Good luck,
Richard
I built an 8x10 ‘donut’ layout (hole in the middle), double tracked, and used 1 tube of caulk for all the roadbed AND track. That’s how little you need to hold the track and roadbed securely in place. If you draw a centerline to lay the track or roadbed - when you spread the caulk over it, a pencil line should still be visible through the layer of caulk. I WILL hold.
–Randy
If the OP’s using hardboard spline roadbed, the spline structure itself can provide elevation for the ballast and base fill slope, as it can be built only as wide as the ties. I prefer to use something like cork or Homabed atop spline, but many users attach track directly to it and the look is the same.
I get the impression the OP is using the “splines” as sub roadbed also. That would take care of the scale look after ballasting.
The outer two splines will be cut at a 45º angle to provide the ballast profile.
One tube of caulk will last forever if just used for track. I weigh it down with beer cans as the trainroom has a bar in it and they are closer than soup cans that are in the kitchen.
Putting cork or foam roadbed on spline is a waste. One of the main advantages of going with spline is it is so cheap. The two outside splines give you your beveled shoulder. This can be done on the saw or with a rasp. Easy peazy. So why drive the cost up?
I like having a nice, smooth surface right under the track. I cut Masonite into spline on a table saw, but all the pieces don’t always line up perfectly during installation. I can eliminate most of the irregularity with a belt sander, but it’s not a big deal. Add cork or Homabed atop the spline and I have a perfectly smooth surface for the track. It also provides a bit of noise isolation. Plus I just prefer it that way.