More track layin tips

[KevinKrey]

I am to a point where I can begin laying some track, but I cant remember what I was told when I asked some questions on the old forum about glueing down track, a lot of people dont if I recall, just tack and ballast and the ballast will do the trick. Anyway, for long curves longer than a piece of flextrack, whats the best way to make the curve and keep a nice smooth transition in the curve between the two pieces of track?

My other question is in my lumberyard scene I want the track to be "in ground", would it be better to cut a channel in the foam board base to set the track into, or somehow build up the ground around the track?

[Russ Bellinis]

You would actually want your track to be on the ground in the lumber yard instead of "in ground." Track in the lumber yard would probably not be ballasted, but it would not be in the ground like trolley tracks are "in the street."

[nachoman]

Are you talking about keeping things smooth between a straight segment and a curve (as in an easement), or how to keep rail joints smooth inside a curve? If the latter, my advice is to solder the two pieces of track together before bending.

[Charlie B]

Kevin, I think I know what you are talking about with the embedded track, I am thinking you mean buried track. I've seen old sidings that had been used so long that the ties were actually buried and all that was visible was the rail head, I've done this by using cinder ballast, actually taken from a railroad, screened, and then I use a magnet to pull out the metal, then I used the cinders, which were pretty fine, and buried all but the rail heads, and then I used the wet white glue to hold them in place. While the cinders are wet, you have to cut the flange-ways. After the glue dries, you have to clean the rail head if you want power for a locomotive.
Charlie

[doctorwayne]

Kevin, to get smooth curves when using multiple pieces of flex track, solder the pieces together before forming the curve. Use rail joiners, and don't forget to remove sufficient ties to allow the rail to slide as you curve it during installation. After the track is in place, you can re-install the removed ties by trimming away the spike head detail from one side of both tie plates on each tie - do this on the side that will be away from the viewer, then simply slip the ties under the rails from the viewing side. Once you apply ballast and bond it in place, it'll also secure these ties.

I used Atlas code 83 track, which has holes in the centre of several ties in each length of track. Most aren't visible on the ties' tops, though, so use pliers to hold a track spike, then poke through the holes from the underside before laying the track. Atlas sells the spikes for this job, and while some folks remove them after the track has been ballasted (the bonded ballast will hold the track in place) I find that they're not all that obvious unless you're looking for them:


Lots of people nowadays use a thin application of latex caulk to hold their track in place, especially if the sub-roadbed is foam. In that situation, the nails may hold the track in alignment while the caulk sets, but you might also have to apply some weights (bricks, books, etc.) to keep the curve from lifting.

For wood or plywood sub-roadbed, the nails hold just fine (don't install them too tightly, though - if they bend the tie, the track gauge can be narrowed at that point - just touching the tie is preferable). The advantage to using nails is that it's easy to make adjustments to the track after it has been installed and tested. Often, these adjustments will be minor, and can be done simple by pushing sideways on the head of the nail, using pliers. In other places, you may have to remove a nail, and re-align the track. It's surprising the degree to which well-laid track will move when current is applied and trains run over it. I left mine unballasted for at least a couple of months, running trains and making adjustments until operation was flawless.

After you've got your track performing up to your expectations, paint the rails (I use PollyScale, applied with a fairly stiff 1/2" brush). The wider brush means less dipping into the bottle, and the stiff bristles allow you to easily work the paint around the moulded-on spike heads and shape of the rails. There's no paint odour, no masking or messy overspay (a lot of which would end up as the dust that you'd be trying to get rid of every time you have to clean track) and clean-up is easy. I usually paint one turnout or 10' or 12' of track, then use a dry rag over my fingertip to wipe the dried (but not hardened) paint from the rail tops. Resist the temptation to run trains for at least 24 hours, and you'll have a durable finish. This simple task will give you one of the biggest "bangs for your buck" that you'll experience in this hobby: even unballasted, the change in appearance of your track will surprise you.

After that, it's on to ballasting to finish the basic tracklaying. In fact, ballasting with suitable material can give you that "two-rails-sitting-in-the-dirt-and-weeds-with-no-ties-to-be-seen" look, too.

Wayne