# How to install Atlas Flex Track



## Bkubiak

Just got a surprise. Opened my package of 10 pcs of atlas flex track and went to the layout to get an idea of what I was gonna do where the tunnel will be. I know I have to install the track in the tunnel and work around it. The flex track I had as a 15 years old I could bend to shape and it stayed that way, this new flex track wants to spring back to straight.

Gonna need some help and ideas. Looks like each curved piece will have to have one rail cut except on long straight-aways.


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## CTValleyRR

You can still buy brands of flex track that hold their shape, Atlas isn't one of them.

Yes, you do have to cut one rail when you curve it. The way I do this is to put one end in position and fastenit temporarily (those long foam pins you have will work). Form it to the right shape (being careful not to kink it), and use enough pins to keep it there. Mark the cut point(s) with a sharpie, and use a cutoff disc on a motor tool to make the cut. Clean up the cut end with a small file.


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## Bkubiak

CTValleyRR said:


> You can still buy brands of flex track that hold their shape, Atlas isn't one of them.
> 
> Yes, you do have to cut one rail when you curve it. The way I do this is to put one end in position and fastenit temporarily (those long foam pins you have will work). Form it to the right shape (being careful not to kink it), and use enough pins to keep it there. Mark the cut point(s) with a sharpie, and use a cutoff disc on a motor tool to make the cut. Clean up the cut end with a small file.


I have a dremmil tool and cutoff disks. Guess I gotta set the track the way I want it. 
The start of the curve just outside the tunnel is 18R and it opens up a tad to 19R or more just before it comes out on a small straight. Once I get it marked off with a sharpie then I can glue the foam track bed in place and later glue the track on that, I don't want any track seams (connections) in the tunnel to avoid any derail issues in there and I do plan to have part of the backside of the tunnel open, just in case


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## Magic

I wouldn't cut the flex track till I had to. Take the long rail and slid it into the next section of flex, this way you stagger the rail joints and it will give the curve a smother radius and less kinks. With Atlas it's easy to do. 

To hold things in place I use T50 staples rather than pins, they will slip over two ties and placed tight against the outside of the rail will hold the track in place till you get everything set in stone. You can even run trains to check things out. The beauty of this is you can run the layout to be sure it's what you want and if you do need to make changes it's easier to pull up staples than to undo glue. I left the staples in till I was ready to ballast, my yard is still all staples. The trick is to insert the staples at an angle not straight down. They hold very good that way. 

Magic

OOOPS  I just remembered you are using foam roadbed, not sure how good the staples will hold in this, I started with foam roadbed but didn't like it as I have made many changes to the track and went with cork. Your layout looks more stable than mine was. :thumbsup:
By the way your making great progress. :smilie_daumenpos:


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## CTValleyRR

Magic brings up an interesting pint. I solder longer pieces together on my workbench into much longer pieces, then install.

That said, yes, make sure your track design is what you want before cutting anything.


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## Bkubiak

Magic said:


> I wouldn't cut the flex track till I had to. Take the long rail and slid it into the next section of flex, this way you stagger the rail joints and it will give the curve a smother radius and less kinks. With Atlas it's easy to do.
> 
> To hold things in place I use T50 staples rather than pins, they will slip over two ties and placed tight against the outside of the rail will hold the track in place till you get everything set in stone. You can even run trains to check things out. The beauty of this is you can run the layout to be sure it's what you want and if you do need to make changes it's easier to pull up staples than to undo glue. I left the staples in till I was ready to ballast, my yard is still all staples. The trick is to insert the staples at an angle not straight down. They hold very good that way.
> 
> Magic
> 
> OOOPS  I just remembered you are using foam roadbed, not sure how good the staples will hold in this, I started with foam roadbed but didn't like it as I have made many changes to the track and went with cork. Your layout looks more stable than mine was. :thumbsup:
> By the way your making great progress. :smilie_daumenpos:


Not sure what a T50 staple is or how to use the staples as you describe, a few pictures would be very helpful.
I think my track plan is pretty much set in stone at this time except for a few sidings.
Thank you for the nice comment.


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## tjcruiser

You can bend flextrack to hold its shape. First, remove the "removable rail". Then bend that to desired contour. Next, reinstall that rail back into the plastic ties. Bingo ... prebent flex.

TJ


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## jesteck

A "T-50" staple is the style of staple used in Arrow's DIY staple guns, available in several lengths. As for me, I prefer the flexibility and springiness of the Atlas flex track; it makes for smoother curves and fewer kinks. When I know where I want the track to go, I tack it at intervals (not every hole) and cut and solder joiners to the next length as I go. This works best for me.


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## Bkubiak

jesteck said:


> A "T-50" staple is the style of staple used in Arrow's DIY staple guns, available in several lengths. As for me, I prefer the flexibility and springiness of the Atlas flex track; it makes for smoother curves and fewer kinks. When I know where I want the track to go, I tack it at intervals (not every hole) and cut and solder joiners to the next length as I go. This works best for me.


Do you have any close up photos of those solder joints?


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## Magic

Here is a pic of how I use the T50 staples. This will hold the track nice and firm, a couple of staples every few inches.
This is into pink foam board but is also good for cork roadbed, not so sure about foam roadbed.
Might work for a time?








Tried to get a pic of a solder joint but a good one does not show up very good, you can't see it.

Magic


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## Bkubiak

Magic said:


> Here is a pic of how I use the T50 staples. This will hold the track nice and firm, a couple of staples every few inches.
> This is into pink foam board but is also good for cork roadbed, not so sure about foam roadbed.
> Might work for a time?
> View attachment 38369
> 
> 
> Tried to get a pic of a solder joint but a good one does not show up very good, you can't see it.
> 
> Magic


Now I see what you were talking about, how did you install the staples, did you shoot them in with the staple gun????

For grins and giggles I put a section of flex track on foam track bed and put a car on it and rolled it back and forth. It is virtually silent. I did not think it would be as quiet as it was. Surprise!!!


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## DonR

The foam roadbed does a good job toning down the train noises, but,
unfortunately, if you over glue your tracks and ballast it will void
the foam damper and the noise comes back. Why would I know
this? Yep...there's a couple places that on my layout that sound
like the trains are running directly on the plywood.

Don


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## Bkubiak

DonR said:


> The foam roadbed does a good job toning down the train noises, but,
> unfortunately, if you over glue your tracks and ballast it will void
> the foam damper and the noise comes back. Why would I know
> this? Yep...there's a couple places that on my layout that sound
> like the trains are running directly on the plywood.
> 
> Don


What did you mean by over glue the tracks??

What glue should I use to glue the track to the foam roadbed, want something that will dry clear?


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## jesteck

Bkubiak, sorry. I don't have any closup shots of the solder joints, but like Magic says, a good one is hard to spot anyway. The solder flows into and fills the space between the joiner and the rail. Use the smallest diameter resin core or multicore solder you can find (the stuff I had was maybe the thickness of a replacement lead for a mechanical pencil), heat the joint, not the solder, and it will flow in beautifully as soon as the temp is right. Do all your soldering before you paint or ballast; as others have discovered, the ballast glue can seep into the space between the joiners and the rail, breaking the electrical contact; this can't happen if you solder first. As for glue, diluted Elmer's white will dry essentially clear.


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## Magic

Bkubiak said:


> Now I see what you were talking about, how did you install the staples, did you shoot them in with the staple gun????
> 
> For grins and giggles I put a section of flex track on foam track bed and put a car on it and rolled it back and forth. It is virtually silent. I did not think it would be as quiet as it was. Surprise!!!


You just push them in with your fingers they are just going into foam or cork.

Magic


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## DonR

There are many opinions on the best glue to use to attach track
to foam. I used Elmer's white. As I mentioned, my first sections
were over done and the sound deadening was gone.

The tracks are not going anywhere, so just use a dab every few
inches. You may need more to hold flex track to your radius
on curves. Pin it temporarily until the glue sets. Do the
same where your flex sections join. Another
plus to the light gluing, you can easily remove the track from
the foam with a broad blade knife.

Don


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## Bkubiak

DonR said:


> There are many opinions on the best glue to use to attach track
> to foam. I used Elmer's white. As I mentioned, my first sections
> were over done and the sound deadening was gone.
> 
> The tracks are not going anywhere, so just use a dab every few
> inches. You may need more to hold flex track to your radius
> on curves. Pin it temporarily until the glue sets. Do the
> same where your flex sections join. Another
> plus to the light gluing, you can easily remove the track from
> the foam with a broad blade knife.
> 
> Don


Let me ask this to be sure I have it right, 
Do you pin then track in place on the foam to make sure it is good and then drop the glue between the ties, 
OR 
Do you place the glue on the bottom of the ties and set it on the foam track bed?


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## CTValleyRR

Bkubiak said:


> Let me ask this to be sure I have it right,
> Do you pin then track in place on the foam to make sure it is good and then drop the glue between the ties,
> OR
> Do you place the glue on the bottom of the ties and set it on the foam track bed?


Just to confuse the issue, I use adhesive latex caulk. Mark where your roadbed is going to be, lay a thin bead of caulk in the center, and spread it. I use those fake credit cards you get in the mail as speaders. Then lay your roadbed and adjust as necessary. The caulk has good initial tack to hold things down, but doesn't cure right away. Just to be sure, once ecerything is positioned, I use scrap lumber and books or pavers to weight it down for about 2 hours. You can also pin it in place. Repeat this process for the track, centering it on your roadbed.

Another advantage to latex caulk is that, being rubber, it doesn't transmit sound very well.


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## Bkubiak

CTValleyRR said:


> Just to confuse the issue, I use adhesive latex caulk. Mark where your roadbed is going to be, lay a thin bead of caulk in the center, and spread it. I use those fake credit cards you get in the mail as speaders. Then lay your roadbed and adjust as necessary. The caulk has good initial tack to hold things down, but doesn't cure right away. Just to be sure, once ecerything is positioned, I use scrap lumber and books or pavers to weight it down for about 2 hours. You can also pin it in place. Repeat this process for the track, centering it on your roadbed.
> 
> Another advantage to latex caulk is that, being rubber, it doesn't transmit sound very well.


ok i have a foam glue in a cailking tube to glue the foam road bed down, but it is blue in color, i need something that is gonna dry clear sand not destroy the foam. What brand are you using?


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## CTValleyRR

I use DAP Latex Adhesive Caulk. It comes in clear, but I use gray.


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## D&J Railroad

When gluing the track down be careful if you are using pins or nails to secure it. They can cause dips in the track if you push them in to far. Lumber or other items that can spread the weight out would be better for a smooth finish.
You noted that the track radii will be 18" and 19". When coming out of a tunnel at that tight a radius, you might want to check clearance of your locos to the tunnel portal walls before you secure your track.


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## Bkubiak

D&J Railroad said:


> When gluing the track down be careful if you are using pins or nails to secure it. They can cause dips in the track if you push them in to far. Lumber or other items that can spread the weight out would be better for a smooth finish.
> You noted that the track radii will be 18" and 19". When coming out of a tunnel at that tight a radius, you might want to check clearance of your locos to the tunnel portal walls before you secure your track.


Thanks for the tips, I am entering and exiting the tunnels at a straight or almost straight, I checked the clearance with my longest car a 6 axle crane car to be sure.

When bending the flex track is is best to have the sliding rail on the inside or the outside of the bend??? Curious


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## DonR

I didn't pay that much attention to which way I had the sliding
rail when I installed my flex. But, I'm told by others that it
does make a difference. It is going to be easier to flex in
one direction or the other. I'd choose by that standard.

Don


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## D&J Railroad

Bkubiak said:


> When bending the flex track is is best to have the sliding rail on the inside or the outside of the bend??? Curious


Actually, I never had a problem either way and I have a very extensive layout with lots of curves in the Atlas flex track, i.e. over 12 scale miles of it not counting the sidings and yard leads. The video gives ya a look at the layout, still lots of scenery to install.


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## CTValleyRR

Unless you're using the entire length of the flex track, it doesn't really matter, but try putting the sliding rail on the outside of a full-length piece and see what happens!


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## Bkubiak

CTValleyRR said:


> Unless you're using the entire length of the flex track, it doesn't really matter, but try putting the sliding rail on the outside of a full-length piece and see what happens!


The reason I asked that question is because I temporarily pinned a full length of track on the foam road bed with foam pins. One end being almost straight going into and out of the tunnel and one end is twisting up off the foam and hard to keep down. Right now I am not sure which way I have it bent because I am constructing my hill over it and I have things glued down on the hill platform and I don't wish to move anything for a few hours.
I just did not seem right that it was twisting up off the foam bed that way.


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## Bkubiak

D&J Railroad said:


> Actually, I never had a problem either way and I have a very extensive layout with lots of curves in the Atlas flex track, i.e. over 12 scale miles of it not counting the sidings and yard leads. The video gives ya a look at the layout, still lots of scenery to install.


Foe some reason the video will not play. it keeps saying there is an error


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## D&J Railroad

Bkubiak said:


> Foe some reason the video will not play. it keeps saying there is an error


Try clicking on the video title at the top of the video frame.


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## Bkubiak

D&J Railroad said:


> Actually, I never had a problem either way and I have a very extensive layout with lots of curves in the Atlas flex track, i.e. over 12 scale miles of it not counting the sidings and yard leads. The video gives ya a look at the layout, still lots of scenery to install.


All I can say is WOW that is extensive and a very, very long train


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## MtRR75

D&J Railroad said:


> Actually, I never had a problem either way and I have a very extensive layout with lots of curves in the Atlas flex track, i.e. over 12 scale miles of it not counting the sidings and yard leads. The video gives ya a look at the layout, still lots of scenery to install.


I have never used a pusher. How do you control the speed of the pusher? It seems like it could easily push a little too hard and derail the cars in front of it. Or end up being a drag on the train on the down grades, when the train speeds up.


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## Bkubiak

Bkubiak said:


> Let me ask this to be sure I have it right,
> Do you pin then track in place on the foam to make sure it is good and then drop the glue between the ties,
> OR
> Do you place the glue on the bottom of the ties and set it on the foam track bed?


I did a test yesterday with a piece of foam track bed and a length of damaged track, I placed the track on the foam and put a drop of blue between the ties here and there. it dried clear overnight and was very difficult for me to pull then track off the foam today.
SO
Based on that test I pinned my first piece of flex track to the foam bedding that is running thru the tunnel and I put a drop of glue between the ties and a given space along the whole track. I did the tunnel track first because once I construct that diorama on top of it I will not be able to gain access to lay that track 
BTW I have the movable rail on the outside of the curve


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## ScrewySqrl

thats inside of a tunnel, so won't matter here, but I'll suggest ballasting at the same time you do this gluing.


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## D&J Railroad

MtRR75 said:


> I have never used a pusher. How do you control the speed of the pusher? It seems like it could easily push a little too hard and derail the cars in front of it. Or end up being a drag on the train on the down grades, when the train speeds up.


Trying not to hijack this thread. The pusher is MUd to the front locos. The train is long enough that the DPU is always pushing a section of the train. I can go about 15 cars up and watch the couplers slack and tighten. This is the node point. When the front locos are going up hill, the DPU pushes more cars or the node point shifts forward. When the front is going downhill the node point moves toward the rear but as the DPU is running the same speed as the front, it is always pushing some of the train. Track work and condition of the rolling stock is a large part of this operation too.


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## jesteck

Just a thought, but if you keep the sliding rail to the inside of a curve, you only lose (cut) the piece of rail that extends beyond the ties; you use the maximum amount of the piece of flex. Keep it on the outside, and you lose a bit of useable length as well as needing to carve off some spike heads to install joiners. No big deal, and either way works equally well, but it's easier to cut a single rail with any of the common methods than it is to cut and prep the other rail and ties to match the end of the short rail. Also, unless you're a glutton for punishment or obsessive/compulsive, there is no need or reason to ballast beyond a few inches at the entrance insde a tunnel, and never put any track anywhere you can't reach it to clean it.


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## Bkubiak

Bkubiak said:


> Now I see what you were talking about, how did you install the staples, did you shoot them in with the staple gun????
> 
> For grins and giggles I put a section of flex track on foam track bed and put a car on it and rolled it back and forth. It is virtually silent. I did not think it would be as quiet as it was. Surprise!!!


Another surprise, this morning I removed the pins that held my first piece of flex track in place while the glue dried overnight and two things were noticed, 
ONE It was hard to see where the glue was, it was almost invisible, 
TWO I put two cars on the track and rolled them back and forth and they were not as quiet as they were before the track was glued down????? Not near as loud as when the track was on the wood tabletop, but just a tad louder then I expected.
It does look good tho.

Why do I need to add ballast, the track looks real good on top of that black foam road bed?
I am wondering how to treat the area where the track enters and leaves the tunnel, I plan to put my grass mat about 6 inch's outside the tunnel, that has got to be a dirty area on real trains, and I doubt if anything would grow there.


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## Bkubiak

bkubiak said:


> another surprise, this morning i removed the pins that held my first piece of flex track in place while the glue dried overnight and two things were noticed,
> one it was hard to see where the glue was, it was almost invisible,
> two i put two cars on the track and rolled them back and forth and they were not as quiet as they were before the track was glued down????? Not near as loud as when the track was on the wood tabletop, but just a tad louder then i expected.
> It does look good tho.
> 
> Why do i need to add ballast, the track looks real good on top of that black foam road bed?
> I am wondering how to treat the area where the track enters and leaves the tunnel, i plan to put my grass mat about 6 inch's outside the tunnel, that has got to be a dirty area on real trains, and i doubt if anything would grow there.


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## MtRR75

Bkubiak said:


> Why do I need to add ballast, the track looks real good on top of that black foam road bed?


You don't need to ballast. It does not affect the running of trains. It just adds realism to the layout. There is NO END to the things that you can do to add realism. Each of us has to decide how much effort we want to put into making a realistic-looking railroad layout. It's your railroad. If you don't want ballast, no problem.


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## D&J Railroad

You could try laying down some ballast just to see how it looks. Buy a bag of it on line or at a train show. Wet it with wet water, i.e. 16oz of water with a drop of dish soap in it. That lets the water soak down into the ballast. Add a Elmers glue mix of 50/50 glue and water, add dish soap to that water too. The glue goes into the ballast and makes it all stick together, to the ties and to the cork road bed. Let it dry over night then go back and chip the little bits of ballast off the sides of the rails with a small screw driver.


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## ScrewySqrl

D&J Railroad said:


> You could try laying down some ballast just to see how it looks. Buy a bag of it on line or at a train show. Wet it with wet water, i.e. 16oz of water with a drop of dish soap in it. That lets the water soak down into the ballast. Add a Elmers glue mix of 50/50 glue and water, add dish soap to that water too. The glue goes into the ballast and makes it all stick together, to the ties and to the cork road bed. Let it dry over night then go back and chip the little bits of ballast off the sides of the rails with a small screw driver.


if you don't want to chip it off afterwards,you can just fill the areas between ties, only to the height of the ties, them glue those down.

But it's also true that it's not needed. The main reason I suggested ballasting at the same time was it would get all the gluing done at once.


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## DonR

Bkubiak said:


> Another surprise, this morning I removed the pins that held my first piece of flex track in place while the glue dried overnight and two things were noticed,
> ONE It was hard to see where the glue was, it was almost invisible,
> TWO I put two cars on the track and rolled them back and forth and they were not as quiet as they were before the track was glued down????? Not near as loud as when the track was on the wood tabletop, but just a tad louder then I expected.
> It does look good tho.


Yes, hardened glue will take from the sound deadening qualities of the
foam. Maybe you were too generous with your glue. On straight aways
it takes only tiny amounts here and there, perhaps a bit more on curves,
especially on flex track with a tight radius.

If you ballast you'll likely lose more sound deadening.

Don


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## wvgca

elmers glue dries hard, and definitely reduces sound deadening feature of foam track bed or underlay..
DAP adhesive dries rubbery, holds well, and can be thinned with water to retain ballast .. i tried to use only dap, but a couple of times i ran out while ballasting, and there is a noticeable change in noise level on those pieces of track...


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## Bkubiak

wvgca said:


> elmers glue dries hard, and definitely reduces sound deadening feature of foam track bed or underlay..
> DAP adhesive dries rubbery, holds well, and can be thinned with water to retain ballast .. i tried to use only dap, but a couple of times i ran out while ballasting, and there is a noticeable change in noise level on those pieces of track...


Does dap clear come in little bottles or tubes other then regular caulking tubes so I could apply it one drop at a time?


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## wvgca

all i ever bought were the regular tubes for caulking guns, think they were just over two dollars a tube, never did look to see if there were smaller sizes, i just got it at walmart ..
it doesn't come out in 'drops', it's thick as most caulkings are, i used a small putty knife to spread it in a very thin layer for under the track, complete coverage rather than 'spots' .. for ballast i thinned it three parts water to one part caulk, and a drop or two of dish soap, and mixed in an old blender, hand mixing seemed to take too long,  ... three hundred feet of track took maybe six or seven tubes in total, for both track and ballasting, and i'm very satisfied with the reduced noise level .. i turn down master sound to maybe 90 instead of the default 255 cv, and i like the clickety clack of metal wheel sets


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## Bkubiak

wvgca said:


> all i ever bought were the regular tubes for caulking guns, think they were just over two dollars a tube, never did look to see if there were smaller sizes, i just got it at walmart ..
> it doesn't come out in 'drops', it's thick as most caulkings are, i used a small putty knife to spread it in a very thin layer for under the track, complete coverage rather than 'spots' .. for ballast i thinned it three parts water to one part caulk, and a drop or two of dish soap, and mixed in an old blender, hand mixing seemed to take too long,  ... three hundred feet of track took maybe six or seven tubes in total, for both track and ballasting, and i'm very satisfied with the reduced noise level .. i turn down master sound to maybe 90 instead of the default 255 cv, and i like the clickety clack of metal wheel sets


Check this out, loctite clear in a 3 oz tube safe for foam, do not know what is costs yet, I found it on their website

http://www.loctiteproducts.com/p/12...-Clear-Construction-Adhesive-Squeeze-Tube.htm


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## CTValleyRR

Hopefully, it's Loctite. Lactate would probably dry milky.

Seriously, Loctite is fine. I use DAP because it's cheap and available everywhere. I use the size that fits in a small caulk gun, and would never bother to try to dilute it. Waaaaay too much effort for no benefit.


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## CTValleyRR

However, I just looked at the particular product you linked. It's a cyanoacrylate adhesive, also sold as Super Glue, Crazy Glue, and a bunch of others. CA is not very flexible, and even adding some rubber compounds, may not deaden sound very well. I'd stick with caulk.

if you want to be our guinea pig, try it and let us know how it works.


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## Bkubiak

CTValleyRR said:


> However, I just looked at the particular product you linked. It's a cyanoacrylate adhesive, also sold as Super Glue, Crazy Glue, and a bunch of others. CA is not very flexible, and even adding some rubber compounds, may not deaden sound very well. I'd stick with caulk.
> 
> if you want to be our guinea pig, try it and let us know how it works.


Back to installing track, I started to fool around with the flex track today, specifically to connect one piece to a piece coming out of the tunnel and I ran into a problem, took me a little while to figure out what was what there. When I broke off one tie to make room for a joiner I did not notice a piece of the tie was still under the rail attached to the tie behind it and I was having a hell of a time trying to get the rail to line up smooth, that piece of tie was jamming the joiner.

Does anyone have any suggestions how to install the foam track bed under a turnout, gotta be some tricks there


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## ScrewySqrl

Bkubiak said:


> Back to installing track, I started to fool around with the flex track today, specifically to connect one piece to a piece coming out of the tunnel and I ran into a problem, took me a little while to figure out what was what there. When I broke off one tie to make room for a joiner I did not notice a piece of the tie was still under the rail attached to the tie behind it and I was having a hell of a time trying to get the rail to line up smooth, that piece of tie was jamming the joiner.
> 
> Does anyone have any suggestions how to install the foam track bed under a turnout, gotta be some tricks there


Use a very sharp knife and protractor to cut some of the foam trackbed at an angle to match the curved part of the turnout. It'll match up to form a "y" shape that will be a 'close enough' match to the turnout


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## CTValleyRR

ScrewySqrl said:


> Use a very sharp knife and protractor to cut some of the foam trackbed at an angle to match the curved part of the turnout. It'll match up to form a "y" shape that will be a 'close enough' match to the turnout


What he said,


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## Bkubiak

ScrewySqrl said:


> Use a very sharp knife and protractor to cut some of the foam trackbed at an angle to match the curved part of the turnout. It'll match up to form a "y" shape that will be a 'close enough' match to the turnout


kinda got the idea, a few pics would help, what about the angled edges of the foam trackbed


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## DonR

I just laid my Pecos right on top of the foam road bed. I joined the
diverting track foam by cutting it at an angle. You do split the
foam to make smooth curves. The angled sides simply fall in place
with a little trimming where they meet.

Don


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## Bkubiak

CTValleyRR said:


> Hopefully, it's Loctite. Lactate would probably dry milky.
> 
> Seriously, Loctite is fine. I use DAP because it's cheap and available everywhere. I use the size that fits in a small caulk gun, and would never bother to try to dilute it. Waaaaay too much effort for no benefit.


Went to home depot and found a small 5.5 oz tube of DAP DYNAFLEX 230 Clear Sealant, goes on white and dries clear, just made a test glueing a small piece of track bed right on top of a piece of grass mat and put another dab on a piece of white foam to see if it does anything to it

It says it has outstanding adhesion and durability and use indoor or outdoor. we shall see. It was only 3 bucks


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## Bkubiak

I was reading all the small print on the tube while waiting for the test stuff to dry and it says dries clear in 7-14 days

Doing another small test with Loctite polyseamseal all purpose white and loctite foam blue, gluing a piece of track bed right onto a sample grass mat just for grins to see what happens.

The dap Dynaflex has not yet set up and it is well over two hour since I made the first test, I might just return it, they had another clear there marked for bathrooms and tubs, the one I bought is marked for doors, trim and windows

Polyseamseal was always my first choice for years and years but when I used it a year ago on some white foam insulating board in my RV it melted the board.


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## Bkubiak

It is over 4 hours and surprise surprise, the Loctite polyseamseal has had no detrimental effect on the foam track bed and it is the best of the three holding the track bed to the grass mat, I had to really pull it hard to get it apart, the other two came right apart. 
I am pretty sure it comes in a clear


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## CTValleyRR

Bkubiak said:


> kinda got the idea, a few pics would help, what about the angled edges of the foam trackbed


Foam roadbed isn't intended to be the top layer, but to be covered with crushed rock (or something that simulates it. If you really wanted to get anal retentive about it, i suppose you could trim it and butt the two sections together. I just cut the foam at an angle appropriate to the turnout and leave the gap there. No one will see it once you have ballast (the crushed rock) on it.

Another thing you can do is to use a scrap piece of roadbed upside down against the angle, which yould give you a vertical face to butt into, but again, that's awfully fussy for most people.


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## Bkubiak

CTValleyRR said:


> Foam roadbed isn't intended to be the top layer, but to be covered with crushed rock (or something that simulates it. If you really wanted to get anal retentive about it, i suppose you could trim it and butt the two sections together. I just cut the foam at an angle appropriate to the turnout and leave the gap there. No one will see it once you have ballast (the crushed rock) on it.
> 
> Another thing you can do is to use a scrap piece of roadbed upside down against the angle, which yould give you a vertical face to butt into, but again, that's awfully fussy for most people.


I got a tad retentive and made it nice and smooth and clean, even cutting a piece of road bed to fit under the turnout motor just to make it look nice. I found I could use my Foam pins to hold the track tight together, worked out OK.
Getting the track as perfect as I can get it is more difficult then I thought. Especially at the rail joints, found a few places as I was going along where one rail was just a tag higher then the adjourning rail, and in few spots where two rail sections came together, I discovered that one rail might be just a tad longer then the other requiring some careful grinding on my new grinding wheel to take that 32nd of an inch off so the rails all butt together. Did not want those little gaps between rails. I found that what looks OK is not always OK. I have about almost 1/2 the track down and about 1/2 of that secured. My better half found some things that needed my attention more then my train set did.


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