starting to lay road bed

[psychobeagle12]

Ok i gotta say im a little upset... it took me like five hours to successfully reset my password, even tho it has been the same since i started using this forum... anyhow i started laying roadbed today and i couldnt figure out how to get the measurements for the turns but it's all good now. now i was wondering what kind of bonding agent ppl use to put their roadbed down. I am using elmer's wood glue. Also, is it a bad idea to mix snap track with flex track? they are both atlas code 100 so i dont think it should be a problem. and the last question i have is, should i lay all of my roadbed before starting track? any help u guys could give me would be great thanks!!

 

[lmackattack]

Some people use glue others use a Home depot caulk gun with some bonding agent. all depends what your glueing the road bed down to. wood? foam? etc... I used a caulk gun and bonding type glue that is water proof yet sticks to foam and wood. never tried elmers it may work but Im wondering how stong it will be when it dries? cant comment on that? perfectly fine to mix snap and flex. it is suggested that you solder your flex joints before you try to make a curve. it helps keep a smooth radius thru the joint in the rails. I like to lay the roadbed out and then test the track plan as I move ahead. This way I can adjust any things that looked good on paper but did not work in reality.

Trent

 

[Outback]

Elmers will work fine and holds like a steel weld. I have used Elmers and other brands white and wood glues for years for various things and in particular a main staple for model railroading. I however used silicon caulk to adhere my cork to the bufallo board. It seems to have worked good so far, and easy to remove the roadbed if changes are needed.

 

[35tac]

Ditto on the caulk, its cheaper for sure and useable on almost any combination.
Wayne

 

[flh80]

I quit using cork bed.
I switched to Truck Topper Tape.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Blac...ptZMotorsQ5fCarQ5fTruckQ5fPartsQ5fAccessories


Its much cheaper, works great, comes on 30' rolls for $5-$10 and it comes with adhesive, just peel and stick. You can get it at any auto parts store but shop around. It looks better than cork after you balast, the sides don't look so Gaudy. A lot of guys I know cut off the sides of the cork making it even with the ties for a more real look after the balast is on, this is already the right size.

 

[bigB]

Hows that stuff for sound absorbtion?

thanks,

brad

 

[flh80]

Hows that stuff for sound absorbtion?

thanks,

brad

It's very quiet with out balast, once you glue your balast in solid it gets a little noisier but quieter than cork or Homasote.

One more note is, once the track is down it tends to stick to the foam after its been on a bit and this helps to lock it down better with out as many nails, but still removes easy if you need to re-do track. The suff doesn't seem to dry out either like cork does.

 

[bigB]

Ok, thats good to know. Im all done laying track on my current layout, but one day, if the time comes for a new layout, Ill explore this option.

Thanks for the low cost tip.

 

[TomR]

I am using rubber tape from McMaster Carr.

http://www.mcmaster.com/#catalog/117/3523/=be57mh

Paint it gray with a coarse roller and then after the paint is dry lay track. Glue ballast to the edges.

 

[psychobeagle12]

Thanks everyone for ur help. The elmer's glue worked really well and all of my roadbed stayed down, albeit I had to nail it at the ends to keep it from peeling up. I am not using cork, I'm using woodland sceneics foam i believe. I'm actually sick right now and cant get down my basement to check and see what it is . I know that in the past people advised me not to nail down the track but to glue it to the road bed. I don't think I want to use elmer's for that; what kinds of glue do people recommend? Or should I just nail it down? I already started laying some of the curves and I am using rail joiners, not solder. Mainly because I dont have any solder and I'm not very good at soldering... Thank you again for your help!!!

 

[flh80]

Thanks everyone for ur help. The elmer's glue worked really well and all of my roadbed stayed down, albeit I had to nail it at the ends to keep it from peeling up. I am not using cork, I'm using woodland sceneics foam i believe. I'm actually sick right now and cant get down my basement to check and see what it is . I know that in the past people advised me not to nail down the track but to glue it to the road bed. I don't think I want to use elmer's for that; what kinds of glue do people recommend? Or should I just nail it down? I already started laying some of the curves and I am using rail joiners, not solder. Mainly because I dont have any solder and I'm not very good at soldering... Thank you again for your help!!!

Sorry to hear your sick,
I wouldn't glue the track down, one reason, if you want to make changes later, it's a mess. If you plan to balast the track when done, that will glue everything down.

The main reason to solder stuff together is to get and keep a good connection. Things will work but depending on humidity etc will affect the joints. Some people don't solder the joints, but instead solder wires to each section guarantying a good connection, if your using Snap Track thats a lot of sections to wire.

 

[flh80]