I'm helping a friend with an N-gauge layout. He keeps the layout in a garage which is not heated. We're finding kinks in track because of temperature extremes. Soon we're going to be gluing down track and adding ballast. How can we do this in a way that can tolerate temperature extremes through the seasons? The layout is in New Mexico and temperatures range from 20F - 100F. Thanks, Patrick
I had an idea-- What if you glue down the straight sections and leave corner curves spiked without glue? Maybe that would allow a fraction of an inch of "give" in the curves when the straight sections expand. Of course everything changes length with temperature, but the curves can bend slightly to take up slack. Has anyone done this? Does it sound legitimate?
You have to have some expansion joints (gaps) in your track. I too am building a layout in an un-heated garage (in Texas). I solder my flex track at the joiners in curves but do not solder any joiner to my turnouts. This allows the track to expand and contract a little bit with the temperatures. As an added benefit, the turnouts can be removed later (if needed for maintenance or replacement) without destroying adjacent track or the turnouts. Incidentally, I glue my track down with liquid nails and my benchwork is 2" insulation foam. The foam is inert (not affected by expansion or contraction) so this helps too.
Trainnut .. first, welcome to Trainboard Mike is right .. a certain amount of gaps are needed to counter expansion and contraction of rails. You and your friend are constructing his layout during February (a winter month) so everything is cold and consequently contrated as you build. If you experience extreme temp fluxuations I would recommend that you fasten the flex track the same way you would normally do it, but leave a gap of approximately 0.25mm (about the width of a heavy sheet of computer paper) between each joint. Do not solder the joints but solder jumper wires to each rail from a common power feeder and ground. This method allows all of the rails to expand when the garage warms up, and contract back to where they were originally when it cools down.
I am in a similar position, I live in the CA high desert. Temps from high teens to 115. I am planning on using Kato Unitrack, any peculiar issues with that I need to know? Russ
You'll definitely need to work on expansion gaps. If you can hold off on ballasting, until certain the kinking issues are well ironed out, I'd wait. It's a good thing you have a lower humidity. Or there would indeed be a tough task involved. Also, with those types of extremes, scenery could be effected as well. Boxcab E50
Middle Georgia weather seldom goes below 20F, usually gets a week of 100F. Garage layout is HO, Code 100. In hindsight, I think I got lucky. Started the layout in June of 2000. Layed all the track that summer. I haven't had any kinking because when I laid it when it was as expanded as it'll get. Any ideas on practical methods of "hot laying" track? Heat Lamps? Hair Blow-dryers? Pre-heating in the oven? Only problem with scenery has been water. Used the Woodland Scenics "melt and pour" stuff. River has a tendency to crack. Have to re-heat it with the torch every now and then. [ 26. February 2003, 12:53: Message edited by: Jackson ]
