Track Issue's

[jeffrey-wimberly]

Very good advice, Dave. I sealed the plywood base of my layout years ago when I originally built the benchwork and did the same to the extension that I added on last year. Instead of paint, I used shellac. I'm not having ANY of the expansion/contraction issues that I had with previous benchwork and bases.

[Dave Vollmer]

This bit of advice comes way too late, I know, but remember this for the next go-around...  Seal your benchwork.  The door upon which my layout is built received two coats of paint to seal it.  You can go one step further and prime it first.  Make sure you seal all side of everything so nothing curls.

[msowsun]

The track is not expanding, the benchwork is shrinking!

This is due to contraction of the benchwork because of the low humidity in the winter. Wood swells up and expands with moisture during the humid months in the summer, and then drys out and contracts in the winter.  

If you correct the problem areas now, leave some joints unslodered so that they can open up slightly when the benchwork expands again in the summer. 

[conrail92]

Parts of my tracks are starting to kink and bend and expand and its causing a few derailments on curves and other places, I know why it does this but is it preventable ? i layed track and summer. if i cut the track again too out it back to working order when in retracts too original form will i end up with more problems?