Pin, screw or glue? Track fixing preference & order.

[centenary]

As the title says, pin, screw or glue your track down, what's your preference and why?

Im currently in the process of lightly sanding the cork trackbed to remove any high spots and once that's done, Im moving on to laying the Peco bullhead code 75 OO scale track. But Im currently pondering whether to pin, screw (with Piko track screws) or glue track down with pva. The latter sounds messy and probably is when I think how messy it was gluing the cork down! Not keen on tack pins while using boxes of Pikoscrews is another expense.

Then, Im thinking of the best way to start laying track. Should I pick a suitable points position and lay track away from there or, opt for the beginning of a straight section and lay towards the first curve?

Appreciate it probably doesnt matter in the scheme of things but was just wondering if one option makes life easier?!

[Dad-1]

Well, all three, for different reasons at different places.

As to laying, tend to look to placing points first as you need to make certain there are no supporting structures/beams
in the way of your point motors.

For placement where you're not certain screws - easy to make fine adjustments
Once final positions decided I always pin through a drilled pilot hole - often leave a mill, or two proud to help removal later
Final irrevocable fixing by well glued down ballast, nothing weaker than 50/50. When set pins can be removed, or occasionally
I just leave in - particularly in Peco points as there is a tendency for the central area to lift and ballast may not be able to hold.

I have also been known to use a little superglue in difficult, or stressed locations, just run under the sleeper ends. This before ballasting.

So a bit of everything.

Geoff T.

[Lofty]

It’s glue for me, neat PVA. If necessary I will put a couple of screws between the sleepers whilst the glue dries.

[End2end]

Purists would have a heart attack.
Mines pinned directly to the baseboard.
Thanks
End2end

[glencairn]

Track pinned down. Ballast not stuck down.

Glencairn

[Bigmet]

Pinned down lightly with thumbtacks, spikes in the gaps between the sleepers so that it is possible to fine tune the alignments. Glue down under weight. Remove tacks, none of those nailheads above the occasional sleeper, real giveaway that says 'model'.

[FatController]

Glue.
May do some pinning or screwing to get things in the right place - but once glue is set, they have to go. As Bigmet says, it just says "model".
Cheers Al

[Lancastrian]

I used to use pins for my indoor layouts but now I use PVA and for my G scale garden railway I use screws.

[Bigmet]

And while we are on the subject of track laying, a top tip from a previous millenium.

If intending to paint the rail sides with 'rust and filth', it is usually way easier to paint all points before fixing them down, because they can be freely attacked from all sides.

Before painting, complete all wiring of the points and test then paint and clean up as required to make sure no paint is where it shouldn't be, and test again to prove the job is good. And remember, leave the rail ends where the rail joiners will go as bare metal, they will be done when the plain track rail sides are painted after the track has been fixed down.

[centenary]

Thanks all, all good suggestions. I particularly like the suggestion of temporarily fixing with tacks \ screws between the sleepers to allow for adjustments etc.

Id thought about not gluing the ballast down as suggested so it's like the 'big' railway. Only issues I see is if you need to clean \ hoover up any dead flies or other detrius, you could easily suck up a lot of ballast if you wasnt very careful and around points, vibrations could cause some to move around the switch rails!

Im using Peco unifrog points with 'live' frogs and the tip about painting them first is a very good one easily missed!

[Mountain]

I usually pin, but if the base is made out of a more lightweight material that does not take pins then glue is appropiate. Screws are more suitable for garden railways or for behind the scenes on layouts where occasional adjustment is needed.

[pete12345]

I've never used any form of underlay under the track. With thicker than scale sleepers, the thickness of the sleeper itself does a good job of suggesting a bed of ballast under the track. Plus any sound-deadening properties of a cork bed will be lost by the time the ballast is stuck solid around it.

Either pin through the sleepers, or use hardboard tacks between them. The wide, flat head of the tack will grip the top of the sleeper and allow some adjustments. Don't ballast the track until it's completely wired and tested, as it's far easier to rectify any problems at this stage. Traditional pins should be flush with the top of the sleeper so they can be disguised by painting the track afterwards. One approach is to lay the track, then spray paint the lot with your chosen shade of track gunk, immediately wiping it from the tops of the rails afterwards.

Ballasting can either be done with the conventional method of laying it dry and soaking in a 50/50 PVA/water mix, or you can dry mix it with powdered wood glue (and possibly powdered paint to adjust the colour) and then spray the track with water afterwards. Once the ballast is firmly set, it will effectively glue the track to the board and the tacks if used can be removed. The small holes left behind can be filled in with some more grains of ballast and a drop of glue.

[TimberSurf]

Pins/screws never look realistic as they show
Both will distort the track if in too hard or not hold the track if too loose.
Both will connect to the board and transmit vibration, negating the use of cork for its sound deadening properties (as will glue ballasting)
Gluing is the best option.
Don't use PVA, as it will soften and the track will move, when you wet it with the ballasting glue!
I use Copydex or Evostick

[centenary]

Pins/screws never look realistic as they show
Both will distort the track if in too hard or not hold the track if too loose.
Both will connect to the board and transmit vibration, negating the use of cork for its sound deadening properties (as will glue ballasting)
Gluing is the best option.
Don't use PVA, as it will soften and the track will move, when you wet it with the ballasting glue!
I use Copydex or Evostick

Doesnt Evostick attack the plastic sleepers causing them to 'melt'?

[TimberSurf]

Your maybe thinking of polystyrene, sleepers are not the sort of plastic Evostick damages.