# Attach Track to Plywood



## jimben (Jun 27, 2018)

What do you use? Black tacks, Elmers glue, or?


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## D&J Railroad (Oct 4, 2013)

I don't apply track directly to plywood. I use cork road bed. I attach the cork to the plywood with liquid nails then attach the track to the cork using a soft flexible drying caulk.


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## mesenteria (Oct 29, 2015)

D&J Railroad said:


> I don't apply track directly to plywood. I use cork road bed. I attach the cork to the plywood with liquid nails then attach the track to the cork using a soft flexible drying caulk.



If I may add in the way of 'splaining, the purpose of the ballast is to suspend the ties and rails and to permit drainage. The cork roadbed adds that needed height from the surrounding 'terrain' on your plywood, and it will help to deaden the sound of the metal tires on the metal rails...if that is desirable. So, for those who look for a bit of quick realism, the cork or foam roadbed, which can be adhered directly using acrylic latex caulking spread thinly, adds that needed height and helps to make the profile of the ballast grains more natural and realistic in appearance.


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## jimben (Jun 27, 2018)

mesenteria said:


> If I may add in the way of 'splaining, the purpose of the ballast is to suspend the ties and rails and to permit drainage. The cork roadbed adds that needed height from the surrounding 'terrain' on your plywood, and it will help to deaden the sound of the metal tires on the metal rails...if that is desirable. So, for those who look for a bit of quick realism, the cork or foam roadbed, which can be adhered directly using acrylic latex caulking spread thinly, adds that needed height and helps to make the profile of the ballast grains more natural and realistic in appearance.


I am good with dark green painted plywood.


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## MichaelE (Mar 7, 2018)

Track nails for the roadbed and the track. Semi-permanent and no waiting or weighting.


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## Lemonhawk (Sep 24, 2013)

Use that thin Laun (sp) plywood. Track nails work on it, but regular plywood is difficult to impossible to push track spikes into. You could also cover the plywood with 1/4" drywall, you can spike into it and it deadens some noise! That is if you don't want to mess with cork or milled Homasote roadbed.


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## Deane Johnson (Sep 19, 2016)

Years ago I naively attached track direct to plywood. What a mistake. In addition to the noise, I had to use my Mototool to drill a hole for every nail. No pushing them into the plywood. Never did finish the layout.


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## LateStarter (Mar 12, 2016)

A neighbor has a plywood 'doughnut' that gets put on the floor before the Christmas tree is placed.
He painted the plywood green, and then used _contact cement_ for a circle of rail-joined flex track, powered by an _old_ MRC power pack.
As much as I laugh and shake my head about it, he's never had a stoppage or a 'quit', and it's been running for over five years.
Go figure. hwell:


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## D&J Railroad (Oct 4, 2013)

The benefit of gluing the track down is that you can make the fine adjustments before the glue dries whereas with nails, you have to pull the nail back up and keep trying to get the perfect track alignment.


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## 65446 (Sep 22, 2018)

Lemonhawk said:


> Use that thin Laun (sp) plywood. Track nails work on it, but regular plywood is difficult to impossible to push track spikes into. You could also cover the plywood with 1/4" drywall, you can spike into it and it deadens some noise! That is if you don't want to mess with cork or milled Homasote roadbed.


You're right about how tough it is to drive spikes into plywood (which is because the spike has to pierce though a layer or two of laminate glue which tends to bend them).
But your suggestion to use dry wall ? Homasote yes. But D wall is plaster between cardboard and is for formation of inside walls and ceilings. This would be awful as a sub roadbed. Maybe you meant Homasote ?.. :dunno:


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## 65446 (Sep 22, 2018)

mesenteria said:


> If I may add in the way of 'splaining, the purpose of the ballast is to suspend the ties and rails and to permit drainage. The cork roadbed adds that needed height from the surrounding 'terrain' on your plywood, and it will help to deaden the sound of the metal tires on the metal rails...if that is desirable. So, for those who look for a bit of quick realism, the cork or foam roadbed, which can be adhered directly using acrylic latex caulking spread thinly, adds that needed height and helps to make the profile of the ballast grains more natural and realistic in appearance.


To add to this, there is a prob with the cork when depicting non-shouldered ballast in yards/spurs..Best way to tackle that is to cover an entire yard area with a large sheet of cork/foam same thickness as your shouldered track..


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## D&J Railroad (Oct 4, 2013)

telltale said:


> To add to this, there is a prob with the cork when depicting non-shouldered ballast in yards/spurs..Best way to tackle that is to cover an entire yard area with a large sheet of cork/foam same thickness as your shouldered track..


I used homasote for my yard. Matched the roadbed height for transition.


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## mesenteria (Oct 29, 2015)

telltale said:


> You're right about how tough it is to drive spikes into plywood (which is because the spike has to pierce though a layer or two of laminate glue which tends to bend them).
> But your suggestion to use dry wall ? Homasote yes. But D wall is plaster between cardboard and is for formation of inside walls and ceilings. This would be awful as a sub roadbed. Maybe you meant Homasote ?.. :dunno:



Don't knock it 'til you've tried it. Worked nicely for me. Very, very quiet, too. It's one great problem, however, is that it absorbs moisture like the dickens, and that isn't so good when gluing ballast. So, for a while, on a temporary mockup of my layout, I used strips of drywall. Later, back to the cork.


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## jimben (Jun 27, 2018)

Ok, glue appears the best way to attach track. What type of glue is best?


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## DonR (Oct 18, 2012)

I dab a spot of Elmer's white glue here and there 
along the track. Do NOT overdo it. You'll likely
want to make changes and small glue dabs are not
difficult to get up. On curves, use push pins to hold
the track until glue sets.

Don


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## Lemonhawk (Sep 24, 2013)

Yes, it was surprising to me how well drywall worked with rr spikes! I got the idea from Model Railroad Hobbyist. I think if you painted the drywall before doing the ballast it would prevent it from absorbing so much. I'm thinking of using 2 layers or 1/4 drywall ( so it bends for elevations) as a sub-roadbed, then paint it and used actual milled Homasote beveled roadbed on top. I use CV ties so I glue my rail down to the ties and don't use any spikes. I think the drywall will dampen the sound board effect. The thin strips of drywall would lay on wood or composite splines to make nice flowing track around the walls.


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## J.Albert1949 (Feb 3, 2018)

I put together a modified version of the MR "Black River Junction" plan, using Kato Unitrack.

The framework is 1x3 and I used birch 1/4" plywood for a top. Not thick, but the birch plywood is more stable than "the cheaper stuff".

I found that after I had attached the terminal Unijoiners through holes drilled in the plywood, along with power leads for the switches, that these tend to keep the track from moving around much.

That's all I'm using to "hold it down"...


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## beepjuice (Sep 17, 2014)

I use a layer of soundboard on top of plywood. It works like homosote but is easier to handle(cut) and is much cheaper. A 4' x 8' x 1/2" sheet is about 8-9 bucks.


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