When your trains get a little kinky

[Anonymous]

We've had some pretty cold temperatures here the last few days, and my basement has gotten down in to the 50's. Apparently it's enough to cause the benchwork to contract somewhat and here's the results (see below). Obviously, I'm going to be spending some time the next few days cutting in some expansion gaps. [:(!] So, for all you guys just now laying track, take heed - if the track has no where to shift to, it will flex outwards.

[Anonymous]

WOW, Eddie!

That's some incredible kinking. It got down to zero here a few days ago. Apparently the basement didn't get that cold. Good luck.

[jhoff310]

looks like some CSX track I have seen in the area. I had that happen to me on the old layout, spend the better part of a day redoing my track.

[hdbob]

hey ed where do you live ? cause i dont want to move there!

[cacole]

The temperature is not causing this, dryness is. Plywood shrinks when it dries out. To prevent this, the wood needs to be sealed on both sides by either painting it or using a water seal. Pull the nails out that you have used to hold the track down so it can move more freely, and most of the kinks will go away. The nails you're using are too big and don't allow the track to move. Gluing the track down with latex caulking is better than using nails because latex allows the track to move with changes in the weather.

The MOP is one of my favorite railroads, by the way. When I was young and innocent in the early 1950's, I used to ride my bicycle out to the MOP roundhouse area, where the hostler would let me ride around in the cab with him as he serviced the steam engines.

[Anonymous]

Here's a pic showing the joint after I pulled the nails out and separated the joint. You can see how much the rails were trying to move against each other. When I laid the track back this summer, I butted the rails up against one another, so now it looks like I need to nip a little off and rejoin. So, this summer I guess I should expect to see a small gap there now. I thought about using some latex caulk, but I like being able to reposition track as needed. Hopefully, nipping a little here and there will solve the problem.