Affixing track and switches to foam roadbed

On Jun 26, 8:09=EF=BF=BDpm, "Steve Woodall" wro= te:

Glue cork roadbed (I prefer to think of it as a ballast former) in place on top of the Woodland Scenics roadbed, and use pins to hold the track until you ballast it. Use a water-based, plastic compatible contact cement to hold the cork. Do not use the construction cement sold in tubes, it's too thick. The WS roadbed is not suited as a ballast former.

HTH

wolf k.

I've had decent success with Elmer's Pliobond. It is a yellow liquid similar to their carpenter's glue. I've used it to atach foam to foam, WS roadbed to foam, and Atlas C55 track to the WS roadbed. It holds well and can be separated with a steel putty knife or straight edge if necessary. It is also waterproof, and can be ballasted with PVA glue as usual.

Better places than here to get good answers would be the Trainboard or Atlas forums.

Thanks for the suggestion. I probably could use that in most situations, but there are a few spots that I would have difficulty raising the trackwork enough to get the nozzle or a brush ladened with the Pliobond into. If my trial method (see reply to Wolf K) doesn't work, then I will fall back to the way I've done track on cork before.

Steve

| > Steve Woodall | >

| >

| >

| | I've had decent success with Elmer's Pliobond. It is a | yellow liquid similar to their carpenter's glue. I've used | it to atach foam to foam, WS roadbed to foam, and Atlas C55 | track to the WS roadbed. It holds well and can be separated | with a steel putty knife or straight edge if necessary. It | is also waterproof, and can be ballasted with PVA glue as usual. | | Better places than here to get good answers would be the | Trainboard or Atlas forums. | | -- | Mike | "A man who thinks of himself as belonging to a particular | national group in America has not yet become an American. | And the man who goes among you to trade upon your | nationality is no worthy son to live under the Stars and | Stripes." | -- Woodrow Wilson |

I'd worked out when I first started this module to try the foam former, since this is a terminal and the ballast tends to become a tough shell when completed. I've got a test section going right now, using rubber toughened CA that has a sifferent formula than the standard CA adhesives. It hasn't burned through the foam yet, and it does have a bit of flexibility to the joint when set. Added bonus is the tiny applicator tip will fit between the ties in tight situations (of which there are many). I mainly just need to hold the track in straight lines until I get to the ballast portion of this project.

Thanks, Wolf. See you on the other NG later.

Steve

| > Steve Woodall | >

| >

| >

| | | Glue cork roadbed (I prefer to think of it as a ballast former) in place | on top of the Woodland Scenics roadbed, and use pins to hold the track | until you ballast it. Use a water-based, plastic compatible contact | cement to hold the cork. Do not use the construction cement sold in | tubes, it's too thick. The WS roadbed is not suited as a ballast former. | | HTH | | wolf k. |

Thanks, but no. Steve

Hi guys,

As an interested observer who's been following this newsgroup for years, but unable to post until recently, could you tell me which other newsgroup, or other forum that's in better shape than this one (I've been dismayed that this one has deteriorated to the point where the Greg and Ray show is 90% of what I'm seeing these days) you are referring to.

Thanks for any help,

Eric Curtis

Eric Curtis wrote: [...]

All new readers have filtering capabilities. Set up a filter to block posts that you won't want to see.

Or don't open the posts.

HTH

wolf k.

On 6/28/2009 4:09 AM Wolf K spake thus:

That's what I do; just ignore 'em. Easy, requires no configuration.

Steve, I have to agree with Mike. I strongly recommend against using WS foam roadbed. It is just too soft and squishy to provide adequate support for track. We used on about half of friends N scale layout but we ended up switching to cork. Not only it is difficult to glue, it is so soft that if you accidentally rest your hand on the ballasted track it will give in, cracking all the ballast in that area. Cork is much stiffer and you won't have that problem.

As far as glue goes, that foam is not styrofoam and it is very resistant to all glue solvents. You can basically use anything you want (even glues which would melt styrene).

We're seriously considering ripping it all up and replacing it with cork roadbed.

Mike really had a good suggestion.

Peteski

messagenews: snipped-for-privacy@g23g2000vbr.googlegroups.com...

As a follow up to this trial with the rubber toughened CA adhesive, the product works well for this purpose, with maybe 45 seconds of workable time before it takes a set. The area that it is applied to still retains some elasticity.

The problem lies in the delivery container. No matter how much I tried to clean the tip and the ferrel, this stuff is much thicker than even the gel style CA, and tends to slump and bridge inside the tip.

So, this method is a not to be repeated experiment. Back to good ol' Pliobond.

Thanks all for your suggestions.

Steve Woodall

Might the manufacturer supply it in other types of container? Often retailers only carry limited options.

Steve,

Have you tried a T pin like those used in Model Aircraft building? Some of them are really long and thicker than normal pins making them ideal for keeping the CA tips from gumming up. The T on the end makes it very easy to remove even when the glue is doing its best to hold it in place.

-- Ray