Attaching track to foamboard?

[viperman]

I'm considering soldering my tracks now, before I even finish detail painting and weathering the tracks, as I'm sure paint will get in the joints and cause problems too

Thanks... I'm thinking this is a good thing to do to avoid problems in the future. I had painted & weathered the track on my previous layout & that may have caused some of its current problems as well.

This is such a small layout -- roughly 3x5' -- that soldering shouldn't take up too much time.

Some of my older locos -- that have larger-flanged wheels & don't run as smoothly as the brand new ones -- didn't run that well on my old layout but seem to run fine on this new one. So I'm thinking the current is quite good on this one and I want to keep it that way!

BTW, neither layout is DCC -- they're both conventional, old-fashioned DC which is fine for me.

Rob

I use DC too, I don't have a big enough layout, or enough switching, etc to run DCC

[RobertInOntario]

I'm not going to use the Gorilla Glue anymore. I think I'll try Andrew's first suggestion of using a thin layer of caulking.

Wherever I've used the Gorilla Glue, the track has "reacted" weirdly. For example, the trains are running very noisily through the sections of tracking that have been glued via Gorilla Glue. In most areas, this is extra noise tolerable but I had major problems at one of my turnouts -- lots of derailments and rough running. It was almost as if the glue had warped or distorted the turnout. This may not have been totally due to the glue but I don't think it helped any.

As far as I can tell, there is no glue or gunk on the tracks so it's a mystery as to why the glue would make the running rougher or noisier.

I have to admit, though, I probably also applied too much glue -- that might have been part of the cause, even though I knew I should use it sparingly. I have this annoying habit of over-doing things and being heavy-handed.

I plan to keep "playing trains" on this layout for a few more weeks yet, testing the track and double-checking that it's working OK. Then I hope to solder the track-joins and start ballasting this winter.

Rob

[MountainMan]

Could it be that the dried glue lacks the felxibility of the caulk, thus transmitting the sound a little better?

[RobertInOntario]

Could it be that the dried glue lacks the felxibility of the caulk, thus transmitting the sound a little better?

That might be it. The sound/noise is similar as if I've lightly ballasted the track -- it's that sort of effect.

[MasonJar]

I'm not going to use the Gorilla Glue anymore. I think I'll try Andrew's first suggestion of using a thin layer of caulking.

Wherever I've used the Gorilla Glue, the track has "reacted" weirdly. For example, the trains are running very noisily through the sections of tracking that have been glued via Gorilla Glue. In most areas, this is extra noise tolerable but I had major problems at one of my turnouts -- lots of derailments and rough running. It was almost as if the glue had warped or distorted the turnout. This may not have been totally due to the glue but I don't think it helped any.

As far as I can tell, there is no glue or gunk on the tracks so it's a mystery as to why the glue would make the running rougher or noisier.

I have to admit, though, I probably also applied too much glue -- that might have been part of the cause, even though I knew I should use it sparingly. I have this annoying habit of over-doing things and being heavy-handed.

I plan to keep "playing trains" on this layout for a few more weeks yet, testing the track and double-checking that it's working OK. Then I hope to solder the track-joins and start ballasting this winter.

Rob

Hi Rob,

Some modules at the club are noisier than others - even those that have foam decking in common. The only thing I can put it down to is how the track is attached. Not knowing the difference in how they were made and scenicked, I unfortunately cannot comment. However, our first meet of the 09/10 season is in a few weeks, so I'll try to get some answers for you. I agree that the foam board can amplify the noise, but as I said, not all modules do it at the club.

As for too much glue - it is easy to do with the polyurethane. It foams up quite a bit, and can easily put things out of alignment if they are not tightly held in place.

Andrew

[RobertInOntario]

As for too much glue - it is easy to do with the polyurethane. It foams up quite a bit, and can easily put things out of alignment if they are not tightly held in place.
Andrew

Thanks, Andrew. I'm wondering if that's what happened then -- the Gorilla Glue may have pulled some of my track out of alignment, especially the one turnout that I'd mentioned.

BTW, as an experiment, I glued 1-2 sections down just recently with white glue and it seems to be holding fine with no extra noise issues. I think this should work OK for the time being and, when I get around to ballasting, everything should stay nicely in place (I hope!).

Thanks for looking into this further at your club.

Rob

[MasonJar]

The only caution with white glue is that it is water soluble - so if you really wet down your ballast, there is the danger that it will loosen the track too. Just be sure that it does not come out of alignment.

Andrew