Fluesheet's Shelf Layout

[Fluesheet]

Next it was time to experiment with ways to attach the rail to the ties.


Spiking:
Spiking not only secures the rail to the ties, but has the added benefit of anchoring the rail / tie structure to the roadbed. I spiked every 10th tie or so, counting on the tie plates to keep the rail in gauge between spikes. See the photo in the “Ties” post.
Notes:
• Drill a #75 pilot hole through one of the tie plate spike holes to prevent the tie from splitting. I also found that spikes (even relatively fine Micro Engineering spikes) have to have their heads shortened, which is tedious.

Gluing
I used the method described on CVMW's web site; they recommend using Barge Glue diluted 50:50 with MEK


The mixture is “painted” onto the bottom side of the rail’s base and on the tie plates and allowed to dry.


After the rail is set in place then apply straight MEK with a very sharp paint brush right where the rail / tievplate meet – you should see it wick into the space beneath the rail. This reactivates the Barge. Allow to dry, and it should be good to go.


NOTE 1: The rail has to have solid contact to the tie plate for this to be successful. I weighted some sections, most I temporarily spiked in place prior to applying the MEK (as in the photo above) and one section I simply worked slowly and held the rail down with my fingers as I went along. This last method worked best for me.
NOTE 2: from experience, I found that this technique works better if a second coat of the dilute glue is added to at least the rail base – there doesn’t seem to be enough glue for a really strong bond with only one coat. YMMV. Alternatively, it would probably work equally well with one coat that is less diluted, but a thicker glue gets hard to brush on evenly, and can sometimes leave messy glue “strings”.
NOTE 3: Be careful how accurately and how much MEK is applied as it *can* soften the styrene ties and potentially blunt detail.

Central Valley Cast Spikes
The 8'6" Mainline strips have tall spikes and rail clamps / anti-creepers molded onto the ties that are intended to bent over the base of the rail to hold it in place (picture those little nubs on tires, and you’ll get the idea, or better yet, see: <!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.cvmw.com/imagecvmw/2003album/pages/2003_05.htm">http://www.cvmw.com/imagecvmw/2003album ... 003_05.htm</a><!-- m -->). This feature is NOT available on the branchline or 9’ mainline ties.
Once bent over onto the rail they look essentially the same as the spike detail on Micro Engineering track. Use a nail set to bend the spikes over onto the rail base. I used a combination smearing – rocking technique that worked well, though I had to be careful that the smear too hard as it could end up shearing the spike.

(Folded spikes can be seen in the foreground of this photo.)

Notes:
• Central Valley recommends a specific nail set for doing this task. I used an old set that I cleaned up a bit. If you choose to buy one, don't (as I initially did) get one that has a dimple cast into the set's tip. This may be great for centering on nails, but that void does a lousy job of bending spikes over! The tip should be flat, with rounded edges. Sharp edges increase the risk of shearing the spikes off the tie.
• Along with the spikes, anti-creeping clamps are also cast onto the tie strips. These also need to be bent over the rail base and create a much stronger physical connection than the spikes alone due to their heftier size. I cut these off for this layout as I don't think they were prototypical for an industrial flat switching area for my era. I may be wrong on this, but the damage is done!


Hybrid(?)
The last technique I tried was a combination of gluing and spiking. One rail was glued using barge, leaving the strip flexible while I fiddled with the alignment. When it looked good, I spiked the second rail, securing the second rail and the entire strip. Why do this? This was the first curved track I laid, and I wanted to be sure I wasn’t left with a kink where it joined the crossing. Sticking one rail in place allowed me to ensure that the kink didn’t develop while I messed with the curve. Like a standard section of flex track.
As you can see from this photo, the Barge had no trouble holding a rail in place while experimenting with some sharp radii (I used a double application as noted above for this experiment)!


Conclusion
For mainline ties, I think I prefer the cast spikes on the 8’6” mainline ties, for a couple reasons.
• No prep is needed (glue or drilling)
• The rail isn’t fastened to the ties, so track can still be adjusted after all the spikes are bent over – like flex track. With glue, once the second rail is glued in place, the curvature is fixed.

For Branchline ties (I won’t be using any more of the 9’ mainline ties as they are too long for my era), it’s pretty much a toss up between spiking and gluing. Both have advantages and disadvantages. I’ll use either, depending on what suits my fancy that day. I may be more opinionated, however, after I gain experience.

I have one last rail attachment idea up my sleeve, but will hold off on that until I have a chance to experiment with it.

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