With hand laying track for many years I have been away from flex track, with the latest look of flex track it now looks good. I will be handlaying the front tracks on the logging layout but five lengths of peco code 83 flex track that I will be putting down on the back of the layout where most of it will be hidden by trees, buildings and hills. My question is as there are no holes to put spikes through on the ties, do you put the spikes on the outsides or insides of the rail through the ties. I will be piloting small holes so as not to brake the ties when putting the spikes in. Thanks for the input..Ron..
putting flex track down
- Thread starter farmer ron
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You can drill small holes in the ties where you want to nail it down, but I would second Jim Currie's suggestion and just use some pins through holes to locate the track and use glue to hold it down in place. If you use contact cement, it will bond as soon as it touches so you won't need the pins, but it might be a problem because with contact cement, once it bonds it is hard to move it.
i am laying flex for my first time i bought a couple of peices just to start with .do you not use rail joiners to connect them i couldnt shove one in on the ends do you break out a tie ??i know that you have to trim the ends with nippers when you have it where you like it.do you keep the sliding part to the inside of your curves?is there a method to all of it im kinda lost my corkboard roadbed looks good tho that was easy elmers and pins..any help would be apreciated..:thumb:
Atlas N/S flex track normally has a hole in the center of a tie every few inches. I just finished laying a bunch. I did have a couple of pieces that didn't have holes in them. I think those are brass and came from some box lot buys at trade shows. I used one or two pieces of those on some sidings. I nailed the ones that had holes, and used white glue for the others just in case I had to adjust them I could. I've used hot-melt glue before but it became a problem if I had to change anything.farmer ron said:
I've tried drilling pilot holes in ties before and really didn't have too much sucess. I seemed to break more ties than I got holes in.wall1
Yes, use rail joiners. I cut off one or two end ties in order to get the joiner to slide in place. I solder each joiner usually as I go, then go back and slide some tie pieces under the areas where I removed them. I solder the joiners not only to get a good electrical connection, but mostly to maintain a good mechanical connection.darius28z said:
It doesn't matter which side has the loose rail, you can curve the track in either direction. Some people secure their tracks with nails, some with glue. As I said in the post above, I prefer nails so I can adjust the tracks as I need to. Maybe some people are good at getting their tracks down right the first time, but it seems like I'm alway screwing around with them as I go, then when I'm testing them.
The bottom line though is each person has their own way of doing things. To me, laying track is about the hardest part of putting together a layout so I need all the help I can get.
Others may find it easy and have their own method that works best for them. You have to do the same thing, try different things until you find the easiest way for you.Ron: I put the spikes between the ties. I tend to use a larger spike to get into the roadbed.
If you use a fine spike, Peco ties are soft enough (code 100 and code 75, anyway) to push it through with no pilot. Depends on the stiffness of the roadbed, not for the W.S. foam stuff.
Had a friend who pinned his throgh the tie plate on the outside of the rails. Couldn't see them until he told me.
If you use a fine spike, Peco ties are soft enough (code 100 and code 75, anyway) to push it through with no pilot. Depends on the stiffness of the roadbed, not for the W.S. foam stuff.
Had a friend who pinned his throgh the tie plate on the outside of the rails. Couldn't see them until he told me.
I'd go with the nails, too, putting them in the centre of the track like the Atlas flex track. If the appearance of the nails bothers you, you can remove them after you've ballasted the track. I find that the nails aren't that noticeable unless you're looking straight along the track from a low angle.
Wayne
Wayne
Thanks everyone for the assistance..as most of it is on curves I think I will stay with the spike method ranther than glue. I have cork as roadbed on this spot, great idea of putting them in amongst the tie plates, will try a few without the pilot first to see how it goes. I don't think any nails or spikes down the center or even along the sides will even be noticed as this trackage is at the back and it would be difficult to get a view along the track. thanks again..Ron..