I need help. I am trying to nail my track down through roadbed directly onto plywood. My problem is, the nails get so far, then they bend and therefore screwup the track. Any suggestions? I took it off of foamboard because the expansion of the foamboard was pulling the joints apart causing electrical problems.
SamsC, If you can't glue with something like liquid nails, the only way to do a good job nailing is to predrill the hole with a SMALL bit in a pinvise. I had to do this once myself and that was the only way I could get it to work well
Some folks like to hear the rumble of the train. Nails through the track into plywood is one way to transmit some of the sound the roadbed would otherwise dampen out. If you are not looking for that rumble, a flexible glue would be a quieter method of installation, IMO.
I predrill each hole with a Dremel and a bit just smaller in diameter than the Atlas track nails. I then push each nail in with needle nose pliars and finish with a nail set so that head of the nail just touches the tie - anymore and you will decrease the track gauge. I remove the nails after ballasting.. It is almost impossible to drive the nails directly into the plywood without damaging the track. Al
I often wonder why modern track doesnt come pre drilled... if you use tacks, its a bonus, if you dont, it wouldnt matter...
i sometimes use a brad pusher. kinda looks like a screwdriver with a hole in the end. inside is a magnet and spring loaded driver. the trick is to start the nail and then push. if you drop the track nail in the pusher, it is almost impossible to line it up with the hole in the tie as track nails are somewhat shorter than the brads for which the tool is designed. find a local home improvement center of tool store. david
I always predrill the track ties and then a small hole in the ply then use a pin pusher to push the track pin home. It's quick and easy that way. I lay my track straight to the board anyway. I'm very hard of hearing so if it does make more noise, I can't hear it Regards, Dave
If you want to nail down track, use a nail set, available at any hardware store. Keeps the hammer well above the track, and you have no damage as long as you don't drive nails too deep. I used the smallest one I could find back when I was nailing.
What kind of foamboard are you using? Foam in general should be inert. It should not be susceptible to moisture and should not expand or contract.
We were using hemasote and we were talking to another train person about the fact that we seemed to be having electrical problems with the trains after we moved back to Texas. We had lived in a high moisture area before, and it is still pretty high here, but without as many trees around the humidity isn't quite as bad. He said that the hemasote would expand and contract with the increase and decrease of moisture. But we have gotten a small pin-drill and that seems to be working. Do a lot of people use the foam / hemasote?
It does, just not all the way through. If you turn a piece of atlas code 55 over you will see holes that go partialy through the ties from the bottom. You just have to finish them through before you lay the track if you want to nail. It wouldn't matter except for the 8" scale holes that would be in the middle of your ties
I think there is some confusion at work here. Homosote and foamboard are 2 completely different animals. Homosote is a paper based product, prone to absorbing moisture, and expanding and contracting. Foamboard is made out of molded expanded polystyrene, extruded expanded polystyrene, or polyurethane. Use foam board, skip the Homosote. A very large percentage of model railroaders use foamboard these days. Before the advent of foam board, Homosote was widely used. Jeff
Our expansion and contraction problems on the NTrak layout are the effects of Monsoon weather on homasote roadbed. The modules are typically open grid framework, FWIW.
I'm not a fan of using nails to attach track to plywood. Use roadbed as a base and glue the track to the roadbed. The roadbed can be glued to the plywood. Stay cool and run steam.....
