Looking for recommendations on roadbed for sectional snap track.

[Doneldon]

a method of attaching the track to the road bed that would make it easiest for future removable if necessary?

jb-

Screws are the easiest to remove but are probably the slowest to install. Nails are both quick and pretty easy to remove. Glues are the easiest and fastest to install but they can be a real hassle to remove depending on what kind is used. I've found adhesive caulks to be the easiest to remove because you can sort of peel it off with a putty knife. Hard setting adhesives are the worst. There is also a good chance that they'll stick to the ties and rails tightly enough that the track gets damaged (often badly) in the removal process. The cork is a throwaway no matter how you attach the track. It gets hard and set in shape within a few months of installation.

                                                                                                                                                                         -- D

[jbrock27]

Very good info Doc.
Thanks again for the help.

[jbrock27]

Sorry Doc, forgot to ask you, what size spikes/track nails would you recommend for using with let's say, cork roadbed?
Also, tossing aside the kitty litter idea, do you have a suggestion of type, size, maker of ballast?
Thank you.

[Doneldon]

jb-

You can use small wire nails, say, one inch, to hold down your roadbed and track. Hobby shops sell nails marked for such use
but, in my experience, you can buy more of the same nails for a lower price at a hardware or building supply
store like Home Depot and others. Be sure to use nails; brads have too small of a head to hold well and
their heads are taller than the thin heads on nails.

Woodland Scenics has an excellent selection of ballast in several colors and sized for various gauges. You can use their materials straight or blend different colors if that suits you better. Railroads ordinarily sourced their ballast fairly near where they were building right-of-way to limit the shipping costs so one consideration is to have ballast which is a similar color to what your terrain has. Also, older lines often used cinders for ballast, especially in industrial sites, on branch lines and in yards. I think the idea was to make use of something they would otherwise have to pay to get rid of while saving money by not buying new ballast. I kind of like the look myself, but it might not sell for a contemporary pike because the cinder makers are all gone.

                                                                                                                            -- D

[jbrock27]

Thanks again Doc.
The other day in Home Depot, I did see packages of #18 nails.  I believe they were 5/8" in length.   Probably about 1/16" or less in thickness with a wide head.