I've finished the refinery track ballasting, and had no additional problems with track and cork lifting away from the base. Just to be sure, I weighted each newly-ballasted section until it dried for about 24 hours:
The oil loading tracks are now finished, at least until I extend the benchwork and add another couple of cars worth of tracks and loading racks.
Mark P.
Website: http://www.thecbandqinwyoming.comVideos: https://www.youtube.com/user/mabrunton
where men are men, and sheep are nervous?
Rich
Alton Junction
hon30critterPruitt It wasn't to save on the amount of glue I used (I ain't that cheap!), but to make it more spreadable with a brush. Dave
It wasn't to save on the amount of glue I used (I ain't that cheap!), but to make it more spreadable with a brush.
Dave
PruittIt wasn't to save on the amount of glue I used (I ain't that cheap!), but to make it more spreadable with a brush.
Sorry Mark, I shouldn't have assumed that you were trying to save money. I agree that spreading full strength glue is a pain.
I'm just a dude with a bad back having a lot of fun with model trains, and finally building a layout!
hon30critterHi Mark, Without wishing to rub salt in your recent wound, I would suggest that using diluted glue might have been a false economy. Is the risk worth the savings? Dave
Without wishing to rub salt in your recent wound, I would suggest that using diluted glue might have been a false economy. Is the risk worth the savings?
nealknowsHi Mark, As far as your ballast issue, maybe I'll pass on your help to do my ballast work. The offer to visit still stands along with the inspirational tours to my friend's layout. Neal
As far as your ballast issue, maybe I'll pass on your help to do my ballast work. The offer to visit still stands along with the inspirational tours to my friend's layout.
Neal
Hi Mark,
Glad to hear everything went well, and you'll soon be home.
I'm glad to see that you are home again and doing well! I'm also glad that your repair seems to have worked.
Time to put a cork in thi....wait...never mind.
doctorwayneDid they sew you up, or use diluted yellow glue?
Yellow glue????? Does this mean trouble when Raquel comes along to give you your sponge bath?
Brent
"All of the world's problems are the result of the difference between how we think and how the world works."
You guys have got me in stitches!!! ROFL
doctorwayne Well, I'm glad to see that I was wrong about your repair work, and happy to see that you came through your slice and dice episode, too....Did they sew you up, or use diluted yellow glue? Wayne
Well, I'm glad to see that I was wrong about your repair work, and happy to see that you came through your slice and dice episode, too....Did they sew you up, or use diluted yellow glue?
Wayne
Oh, the humanity!!!
Glad to hear that you're doing OK!
doctorwayneDid they sew you up, or use diluted yellow glue? Wayne
Now that's funny!
York1 John
I asked my doctor if I gave up delicious food and all alcohol, would I live longer? He said, "No, but it will seem longer."
BATMANYou are a real cutup Mark! It will be good when you get this little slice of life behind you.
You are a real cutup Mark! It will be good when you get this little slice of life behind you.
quote user="hon30critter"]- Too much alcohol
Dave[/quote]In me, or on the track?
doctorwayneI'm wondering when the cork was glued in place...did it have time to create a bond before you did the ballasting? Most yellow glue is resistant to water, but I wonder if the alcohol played a part in the delamination. Most of my cork roadbed was put down with yellow glue or contact cement, and a lot of it was literally drenched with "wet water" during ballasting, due to the depth of the ballast and the underlying rip-rap (crushed Durabond plaster left-over from castings) alongside areas where the landforms sloped away from the track. Drying times for those areas took several days, but none of it ever lifted like that, and I've never seen cork absorb water...it literally floats like a cork if it's not secured in-place. Wayne
Most of my cork roadbed was put down with yellow glue or contact cement, and a lot of it was literally drenched with "wet water" during ballasting, due to the depth of the ballast and the underlying rip-rap (crushed Durabond plaster left-over from castings) alongside areas where the landforms sloped away from the track. Drying times for those areas took several days, but none of it ever lifted like that, and I've never seen cork absorb water...it literally floats like a cork if it's not secured in-place.
selectorAlas, this was just waiting for an excuse to happen, Mark. ...it is about 85% likely to happen again, maybe not quite as drastic or extensive.
kasskabooseGreat photos and explanation of what happened. That is terrible to read/see. What type of glue did you use? I'd rebuild the area b/c you don't want future derailments or other issues.
York1Since I'm still fairly new at this, my answer probably means very little. When the cork sheet swelled (or whatever it did), it did not go back to being flat even after it dried. I eventually used a knife and putty knife and cut out the sections of cork that caused the problem. It was not fun, it made a mess, and I had to redo a lot of ballast, scenery, and several pieces of track. I'm sorry that I clicked on this thread. It has brought back some bad memories that I had put out of mind.
When the cork sheet swelled (or whatever it did), it did not go back to being flat even after it dried. I eventually used a knife and putty knife and cut out the sections of cork that caused the problem. It was not fun, it made a mess, and I had to redo a lot of ballast, scenery, and several pieces of track.
I'm sorry that I clicked on this thread. It has brought back some bad memories that I had put out of mind.
Sorry about dredging up bad memories. Look at it this way - you'll have stories to tell when you're in the old modelers' home.
rrebellThe sheet cork is not the same stuff as track cork even though they both have cork in them. Cork bulletin boards warp all the time when made wet, roadbed dose not. Different fillers and proubly glue.
In any case, I bought a big roll of the cork, and I think I've learned enough now to be a bit more careful when working with it. Or not; we'll know soon enough!
And now, the climax of the story -
SUCCESS!
The repair apparently worked. I got home this morning, and half an hour ago went down and removed all the stuff off the track and cork. It looks like nothing ever happened!
I put a few tank cars on the track and rolled them back and forth to see how the turnout worked:
Except for some rough spots where I haven't yet cleaned the track and ballast, the cars ran through fine. I also ran them through the diverging route as well. All seems well. I'll watch closely for a few days to see if it starts lifting agian, but it seems thoroughly dry.
Where track continues near the edge past this point, I'll be a bit more careful and maybe ballast between the rails, then do outside the rails separately (on another day). That should help keep the moisture down across the width of the track.
Thanks also for the well wishes. Short version - I had a roughe parathyroid gland pumping out too much hormone, so elevating my calcium levels. Over time this can rob the bones of calcium and weaken them, so it had to come out. Day surgery, except mine was apparently buried within the thyroid rather than just behind it, so they had to remove half the thyroid as well. So I spent the night in the hospital so they could check all those hormone levels this morning. All is well.
I should have delayed this until late October though - I would have given the kiddies a real treat come Halloween (note the throat)![Mods - please delete if too far over the line]
PruittA slight complication kept me in the hospital overnight, so I haven't been able to check the repair yet.
Mark, I hope you are doing OK, and that it is nothing serious.
The sheet cork is not the same stuff as track cork even though they both have cork in them. Cork bulletin boards warp all the time when made wet, roadbed dose not. Different fillers and proubly glue.
PruittA slight complication kept me in the hospital overnight
I hope all is well. Best wishes for a speedy recovery.
A slight complication kept me in the hospital overnight, so I haven't been able to check the repair yet.
Some really good comments here - thanks! I'll post the results when I have a chance to check things out. Probably later today.
York1 7j43k I'm still voting for the shrinking going down over a few days, and all being OK. Since I'm still fairly new at this, my answer probably means very little. When the cork sheet swelled (or whatever it did), it did not go back to being flat even after it dried. I eventually used a knife and putty knife and cut out the sections of cork that caused the problem. It was not fun, it made a mess, and I had to redo a lot of ballast, scenery, and several pieces of track. I'm sorry that I clicked on this thread. It has brought back some bad memories that I had put out of mind.
7j43k I'm still voting for the shrinking going down over a few days, and all being OK.
Since I'm still fairly new at this, my answer probably means very little.
Being new at this doesn't lessen what you've experienced. YOU have had the problem, and can report on it. I have not.
What happened to you might also happen to Mark. It's looking more likely now. But I still hope not.
Thanks for reporting your experience in the matter.
Ed
7j43kI'm still voting for the shrinking going down over a few days, and all being OK.
I just did a quick search online for "cork swelling". Some people say it does. Others say it doesn't. Yikes.
Since this swelling of cork roadbed so far SEEMS to only happen on occasion to the lucky winners, I wonder if there is a difference in the qualities of the cork. And how much of the cork is Cork. And whether or not OUR cork should or shouldn't have some sort of (waterproofing?) treatment.
I dunno.
I'm still voting for the shrinking going down over a few days, and all being OK.
I hope.
richhotrainSwelling is the appropriate word for cork sheet. If moisture gathers under the cork sheet, swelling can and will occur. Don't ask me how I know.
If moisture gathers under the cork sheet, swelling can and will occur.
As with Rich, I also request that you don't ask me how I know.
7j43k The ripples in the cork in the one picture tell me that the cork expanded when it was wet. Swelled. So I think there's something IN the "cork" that absorbed the water. And swelled.
The ripples in the cork in the one picture tell me that the cork expanded when it was wet. Swelled.
So I think there's something IN the "cork" that absorbed the water. And swelled.
I used Elmers glue and a putty knife on sheet cork, but I did not get 100% coverage. The base was foam. Perhaps I should have sprayed water or alcohol on the glue to get complete coverage, but I did not. I was worried about:
Problem 1 the glue bleeds through sheet cork in places. Wax paper underneath the paint cans and boards solved that.
Problem 2 There were areas of cork that were not glued and felt like bubbles. As a doctor, I had access to syringes so I mixed up diluted white glue and injected the bubbles and weighted them. Whatever the date is on my avatar is how long they have remained glued and trouble free.
Henry
COB Potomac & Northern
Shenandoah Valley
That's really unfortunate. Re-doing things is never fun. I nailed all my cork, so hopefully I won't have that problem when I ballast (next few weeks actually). I like mechanical bonds, and hate chemical bonds.
Simon
Great photos and explanation of what happened. That is terrible to read/see. What type of glue did you use? I'd rebuild the area b/c you don't want future derailments or other issues.
I think it likely that when the water dries out, it will contract. In a few days, you'll find out.
I think Rich's comment is the most useful and realistic.
And I also think there was something wrong with the "cork". There's a reason that word is in quotes. And I'd be wary of using that brand again.
Like Wayne, I've drenched my little bit of cork roadbed, and it just sat there.