Flex Track Moved!!

[MaineCentral]

I'm working on my first layout and using flex track. Recently I noticed that on a curve the track has moved to the outside of the turn. It appears that the track has expanded and now has a "sharper-turn" area than inttended.  I know this wasn't there originally but I can't figure how to remove it either. I'm using Foam Tack Glue and flextrack completely on my layout. Any suggestions please.

[JM]

My suggestion.....don't use glue on flex track curves...use nails.....when you bend flex track you put pressure on it and if  if the glue isn't very strong or not completely cured...it will let the track move.  I always use nails to secure my flex track.

[jayl1]

JM is right - use nails!  Also Ribbonrail makes various alignment gauges FOR CURVES- 15" to 48" - AND STRAIGHTS - 5 OR 10".  They retail for about $4 - and are worth it!  cHECK YOUR LOCAL SHOP.

[Nigel]

Nails do NOT work into foam; and they distort the track.

I recommend against using nails for laying premade track.

[JM]

Nails do work on foam...if you've put the foam on wood....which you should do anyway....you just have to use longer nails....and don't drive them down so far they dimple the track, only pound them in till they are SNUG....not all the way down to China....the forces exerted on a piece of flex track when you bend it into a curve will cause it to want to straighten itself back out [the way the ties are made is the reason]....so unless you want to use some heavy duty permanent type glue....nails are the best bet.  Small brad type nails work very well and you'll find them in several sizes are your local home improvement warehouse.

[Jim Banner]

On the one and only small scale layout that I built on foam, I simply glued the track to the foam with Weldbond.  Some places I pushed a few 1-1/8 blue lath nails into the foam to keep the flex track horizontally aligned.  To hold the track down while the glue dried, I used both bricks and sand bags (I didn't have enough of either one.)  Once the glue was dry, I removed the nails.

Our group's large scale is also built on foam, 1-1/2 inches thick, bordered with 3/4" plywood.  The track is hand laid on ties glued to a roadbed of 1/4" plywood which in turn is glued to the foam.  I suspect that one could use the same idea in H0, gluing a roadbed of 1/4" plywood to the foam, then nailing the track to the plywood.  Predrilling the holes for the nails and simply pushing the nails in place instead of pounding them with a hammer would protect the foam from deformation.

[Craig]

I've installed 100 yards of HO flex track in the past 2 years. I don't use nails. I run a bead of adhesive caulk down my centerline, then spread it very thinly with a putty knife. The thin layer of caulk is slightly narrower than the width of the ties. The layer is thin enough that it does not come up between the ties but does slightly reduce the amount of ballast required. Working time is about 4 minutes. Upon installation, I secure the track with pushpins and quilting pins and I weight the track briefly. I can lay about 5 sections per hour on curves- more if the sections are bench-soldered.

I employ a similar technique when installing cork roadbed, in which case I use quilting pins exclusively in place of pushpins. Adhesive caulk is excellent for track to cork, track to foam, cork to foam, and cork to wood applications.

I’ve never seen a track nail that would work on 2” extruded foam or 4” Woodland Scenics inclines and risers. It doesn't matter what's under your foam subroadbed if your nail can't reach it.

Craig

[JM]

The issue of nails through foam  is why I suggested long nails of the brad or finishing variety.....I have several boxes of 1'',2'' and 3'' nails I use for nailing through foam,  these are not the ''track nail'' variety sold at hobby shops , they are nails for moulding or paneling, they are larger than the ''track nails'' so some pre-drilling of holes is needed, I like to nail my foam down rather than glue it [except in rare occasions where I use acrylic caulk to hold the foam to itself ....in a terrain building layer, as an example], so in the future I can remove any areas I might want to re-do  and I always nail my track, the issue of the slipping radius is most likely directly caused by a failed bond of foam to track because the foam doesn't  lend itself to gluing....reason....most foam [that I've used anyway], has a clear moisture barrier sheet over the actual foam and this doesn't allow the glue to stick very well.
   Glue with some nails to help hold the shape of the curve and weights placed on it till it dries thoroughly ...as craig suggested...should also work well, if you don't want to try to find long nails.

[Craig]

"most foam [that I've used anyway], has a clear moisture barrier sheet over the actual foam and this doesn't allow the glue to stick very well."

I don't find that on the Owens Corning extruded foam, but I do find it on the Dow. It peels off like the protective film on a new appliance. I don't think any of us leave it there.

Craig

[Jim Banner]

Not everything sticks to foam.  That is why I reccommended "Weldbond" by brand name, not just "white glue."  Our group's large scale portable layout is subject to a great deal of physical abuse as it is moved around the country and to a great deal of temperature stress in storage (+50 to -40 C. or a range of about 160 Farenheit degrees.)  Not only are the ties held to the roadbed and the roadbed held to the foam with Weldbond, but the scenery, which is a "porridge" made of diluted Weldbond and sawdust, is also bonded to the foam with Weldbond.  So far, after 10 years of road trips, and 9 winters in cold storage, nothing has come loose.  Incidentally, we used white "bead board", pink closed cell foam, and blue closed cell foam for the tables and even some ground up "packing foam" in the scenery.