01-20-2009, 11:32 AM
Robert, if the plywood board has warped, I would suggest getting some steel studs designed for wall construction use. Remove the old frame, all structures, and any removable details, and lay the studs on a couple of saw horses with the plywood layout board laying on the studs. Starting at the center of the layout and avoiding the need to drill through or under any track work, drill hoes for screws and nuts to bolt the plywood securely to the steel studs. If it is bowed up, use long enough screws that are threaded all the way up to the head or nearly to the head so that you can use nuts and washers to pull the board down to the studs. After the nuts have pulled the board down to the studs, you can cut off the excess screw with a hack saw. You don't need huge bolts for this, #10 machine screws are probably plenty strong enough, #8 might even work. Plywood warps because it is easy to bend. It can be flattened out just as easily. I think the steel studs are made of "channel" shaped steel like the "hat section" steel used for bracing on gondolas. When you secure the plywood to the studs, the studs will not bend, so the plywood has to conform to the straightness of the studs. You can still use some 1x3 or 1x4 or even 1x2 lumber for cross bracing, so you would only need 2 of the steel studs to form the main part of the frame. By the way, use flat head (counter sunk) screws so that you can cover the heads with scenery materials to hide them when done.
Next, if the track is uneven because the cork was not leveled when the track was first laid, and if you used a water soluble white glue like Elmer's to secure the track, you can repair and smooth out the track work easily. Go to your local auto parts store and pick up some cork and/or paper gasket material in a couple of thicknesses. It is difficult to lower high spots without pulling up the track to start over, but if you just bring up the low spots you can improve the track work tremendously. Start by locating any low spots. If you have Kaddee or other knuckle type couplers, the easiest way to locate low spots is to push two coupled cars around the layout by hand. Use your longest cars with the most overhang between couplers and trucks. You will notice a dip when the couplers slide up or down against each other. When you find a dip, mark it with a non water soluble felt pen. If you put a little mark on the top of the rail before and after the dip, the mark will stay through the next step, but can be easily removed with a Brite Boy track eraser when you are finished.
Next, pull up any track nails in the area of the dip, and soak the ballast with a LOT of water until the glue dissolves. Now carefully use a thin blade putty knife or similar tool to gently pry up on the track, cut some shims out of your gasket material about the width of the ties or slightly narrower, and slide them under the track. Retest with the cars to see if the dip is gone or needs another shim. Once the dip is gone, allow the area to dry to a damp condition, add fresh ballast and glue. When everything is dry and set up, recheck with your cars to make sure the operation is smooth, and use the Brite Boy to remove your marks from the rails. Use the same technique for the entire track until everything is smooth.
If you have any "kinks" in the curves and you built it using flex track, you can fix those to. Just remove any track nails in the area of the kink, soak the area down with water to dissolve the glue and soak for about 6 inches to either side of the bad spot. Then using a large flat blade screw driver (doesn't have to be huge, but bigger than the micro screw drivers we use for coupler screws, less likely to slip and cut you) push the track over so as to remove the kink. It will only need to move 1/4 inch or probably less to solve the problem. When the track is in position, glue it down with a little gap filling acc between the center of the ties and the cork road bed. Hold the track in place with your screwdriver until the acc has time to cure (probably 5 minutes or less).
The only reason that I can see for actually tearing down the layout and starting over is if you are going to build a bigger layout, or have decided to radically change the track plan and it is easier to remove and replace everything than it is to modify the existing layout.
Next, if the track is uneven because the cork was not leveled when the track was first laid, and if you used a water soluble white glue like Elmer's to secure the track, you can repair and smooth out the track work easily. Go to your local auto parts store and pick up some cork and/or paper gasket material in a couple of thicknesses. It is difficult to lower high spots without pulling up the track to start over, but if you just bring up the low spots you can improve the track work tremendously. Start by locating any low spots. If you have Kaddee or other knuckle type couplers, the easiest way to locate low spots is to push two coupled cars around the layout by hand. Use your longest cars with the most overhang between couplers and trucks. You will notice a dip when the couplers slide up or down against each other. When you find a dip, mark it with a non water soluble felt pen. If you put a little mark on the top of the rail before and after the dip, the mark will stay through the next step, but can be easily removed with a Brite Boy track eraser when you are finished.
Next, pull up any track nails in the area of the dip, and soak the ballast with a LOT of water until the glue dissolves. Now carefully use a thin blade putty knife or similar tool to gently pry up on the track, cut some shims out of your gasket material about the width of the ties or slightly narrower, and slide them under the track. Retest with the cars to see if the dip is gone or needs another shim. Once the dip is gone, allow the area to dry to a damp condition, add fresh ballast and glue. When everything is dry and set up, recheck with your cars to make sure the operation is smooth, and use the Brite Boy to remove your marks from the rails. Use the same technique for the entire track until everything is smooth.
If you have any "kinks" in the curves and you built it using flex track, you can fix those to. Just remove any track nails in the area of the kink, soak the area down with water to dissolve the glue and soak for about 6 inches to either side of the bad spot. Then using a large flat blade screw driver (doesn't have to be huge, but bigger than the micro screw drivers we use for coupler screws, less likely to slip and cut you) push the track over so as to remove the kink. It will only need to move 1/4 inch or probably less to solve the problem. When the track is in position, glue it down with a little gap filling acc between the center of the ties and the cork road bed. Hold the track in place with your screwdriver until the acc has time to cure (probably 5 minutes or less).
The only reason that I can see for actually tearing down the layout and starting over is if you are going to build a bigger layout, or have decided to radically change the track plan and it is easier to remove and replace everything than it is to modify the existing layout.