04-18-2012, 04:08 PM
First time for both. Peco track & using clear acrylic caulk as an adhesive. Used the caulk a hundred times, but never for this.
Problems are;
1. The rail joiners are smaller than Atlas (which I had little trouble with 15 years ago). They look better, but are hard to slide on after the rail has been cut which is ok for contact, but what happens is due to the size and design of the joiner, there isn't enough 'lip' on each end of the joiner to act as a guide for the heel of the rail to slide into the slot unlike Atlas. This is especially true with turnouts.
2. The other problem is the 'mess' from the caulk that was spread over the roadbed. Before I just used nails to hold the track in place. No mess. Now, you apply the caulk first, after your sure the track fits, then place the track, then try to get the joiners to line up (problem #1). In doing so, you wind up getting caulk all over your hands including the rail itself.
I thought about placing the track, no caulk, lining it up, then with a putty knife lift up the track and apply the caulk, somehow spreading the caulk out with a 2nd blade.
Problems are;
1. The rail joiners are smaller than Atlas (which I had little trouble with 15 years ago). They look better, but are hard to slide on after the rail has been cut which is ok for contact, but what happens is due to the size and design of the joiner, there isn't enough 'lip' on each end of the joiner to act as a guide for the heel of the rail to slide into the slot unlike Atlas. This is especially true with turnouts.
2. The other problem is the 'mess' from the caulk that was spread over the roadbed. Before I just used nails to hold the track in place. No mess. Now, you apply the caulk first, after your sure the track fits, then place the track, then try to get the joiners to line up (problem #1). In doing so, you wind up getting caulk all over your hands including the rail itself.
I thought about placing the track, no caulk, lining it up, then with a putty knife lift up the track and apply the caulk, somehow spreading the caulk out with a 2nd blade.