It sounds like you lay track in warm weather, when it's expanded the most. How do you approach glue and ballast? It seems like ballast would also be affected, or is that just rail that expands and contracts? How do you do ballast in a situation where the temperature fluctuates? Thanks, Patrick
While laying track only in warm weather probably would solve the expansion problem....there's no way I'm waiting until summer time to lay my track. I'm ready to run trains NOW!!! However...I'm NOT soldering my joints and I AM leaving space between the joints to allow for expansion (I don't need to solder my joints because I'm soldering feeder wires to the bottom of each section of track). As far as ballast and glue...I really think that the only thing you have to worry about expanding is the metal rails. IF the ballast and glue expands, it won't be enough to do any damage I don't think. I wouldn't give it a second thought.
Hoss, just stick a credit card between the ends of each three foot long rail when it is cold weather in the layout room and you will have enough room for expansion. My old roundhouse machinist's manual says: From 32 degrees F, brass expands in length 1/8" in 5.66 feet at 180 degrees F. silver = 5.50 lead = 3.46 pewter=4.56 white pine=25.49 Real rails expand enough on hot sumer days to warp rails out of gauge and derail trains, so at least its prototypical. Ice will expand and bend switch points out of shape. I shrivel up in the cold, and swell up when hot.
