Newbie-Securing/Installing Track ?

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etraindude

New Member
Feb 27, 2007
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Hello all and I hope 2007 is going well for all of you!

This is my first post and question on this forum...have mercy on my lack of knowledge :)

I am a beginner and setting up an N gauge setup. I did some Model railraoding when I was young but....
I forgot how I need to secure the track and I have done MANY searches without an answer to my specific questions.

I have a base setup and it is covered with woodland scenics grass. I have the layout of the track setup on it the way I would like but have not secured to anything. Basically temporarily put together to test the layout but not attached to anything,just lying their!

What steps do I take to secure the track? Do I take up the temp layout and the lay the roadbed? I have the woodland scenics trackbed.

How will I make the curves with the straight trackbed? What is the best way to seccure the track to the roadbed?

I basically am looking for some step by step to explain how, and in what steps do I lay the trackbed and secure the track.

And also, I hope that as I learn I can contribute to the group!

etraindude
 
I've had the same dillema when i started back in decemeber:).

What i've learned from reading and asking similar questions is glue .. lots of it ;).

http://www.nmra.org/beginner/
This link is basically where i got most of my direction, specifically this part about laying the track:

http://www.nmra.org/beginner/track.html

Roadbed:
I would be remiss if I omitted some discussion of roadbed. This is what real track and ties sit on. First class railroads spend a lot of time keeping it in shape on the mainline. Smaller roads, yards and branches do not get as much care. Adding roadbed under our track smooths out the plywood, which we will call sub-roadbed, deadens the sound, makes it easier to fasten the track in place with small track spikes or brads, and provides the raised right-of-way. I like at least 1/2" sub-roadbed under my track; plywood well supported with crossmembers or risers periodically is good. Some of the products used for roadbed are the commercial boards Homasote® and Upson Board®. These are sold in lumber yards and are cut up to the shape of the track by the modeler, For readymade roadbed, there is vinyl, foam and split cork from several companies, split Homasote® and a wooden roadbed. At least two firms make a flexible self-adhering asphalt type of roadbed, too. As you can see, you have a choice. In my shop I sold a lot of the vinyl and split cork products. To install them, you draw the centerline of the track on the sub-roadbed, then use white glue thinned 50:50 with water to fasten them, if appropriate. Thinning the glue makes it easier to take up later if you decide to make any changes. The split cork goes down a half at a time, following the centerline. You may have to lightly tack the roadbed in place on curves; use brads and remove them when the glue is dry The vinyl roadbed has to be laid carefully, since you cover up the track centerlines with it. You can use the split line on the cork for a centerline.
The vinyl and asphalt roadbeds may be cut with a utility knife or scissors. At turnouts I lay the curved piece over the straight piece and cut them together. Scrap pieces are used to fill gaps and to support switch machines. When you install the track, make sure you don't compress the roadbed when the track is tacked down. This will cause those ornery dips. On sectional track I use every other hole in the tie centers.
When you put in a turnout, remember that the throwbar must remain free. If it binds on the roadbed, trim away some of the roadbed to free the turnout. One note about split cork roadbed: when you go around curves, the ends of the pieces will not line up - just overlap them. The same is true for the precut Homasote® pieces. Before I get any letters, let me say that you don’t have to lay your entire roadbed half at a time with these split types. By all means have each half progress along with the other. And, where you need some shims to level track or to make a transition to a yard area, cardstock will work fine. The roadbed itself will eventually be hidden by ballast (fine sand) to represent the gravel on the prototype, anyway, so the shims are fine. Roadbed is like the rest of the railroad. There is no correct way and no correct material for every situation. You do what works best for you.
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I've also read that a mix of water and white glue works well, but there have been a few posts on the forum about caulk and that may work a little better becuase you can pick it up, remove the caulk and reuse the track.

I've personally opted to use nails as i'm new to the hobby and i don't want to laydown something to find out that i did it wrong and have to go buy new stuff :). Ironically that is precisely what happened and i'm glad i used nails, i put 18" curves on my layout, 6 axle trains don't like 18" turns much :) so i have to replace them w/ 22" turns. i'm fiddleing around w/ the atlas layout program now to see how i can do it w/ the least amount of deconstruction.
 
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