Putting track down temporarily

[fieryturbo]

So I have seen some sites discuss putting track down temporarily.  How does one go about doing this safely? Track nails?Do I need to have road bed down first? I'm using foam roadbed on pink foam, with plywood under that.  The plywood is bare right now though.  I'd like to try a "test" layout.

Also, is it possible to do this with flex track?

Thanks!

[superbe]

I strongly suggest you put your foam down first. You can secure the track temporarily much easier and in different ways such as track nails as you mentioned and various types of pins. In fact I used women's hair pins after shortening them, placing them over the ties. And yes, this goes for flex track as well. In fact it is more important with flex traxk. imo.

Good luck

Bob

[riogrande5761]

All of my track is laid with the old fashioned method of Atlas track nails and/or MicroEngineering medium spikes on either Homasote or OSB wafterboard with cork roadbed.  It's permanent enough that it will stay put indefinitely like it is, but if I am not happy or need to remove the track, all I have to do is get a small thin screw driver and/or needle nose plyers to pull them out.

The track is flex, however, I have done extensive trimming and cutting the rail to get it all to fit, so it's not like modular track, it's all custom fit.  But is is possible to fasten track down using the holes in the ties. 

The track in the photo below was removed on both mainlines when I had to remove the adjacent two sections to remove dry wall to work on the foundation wall.  

Foam of course won't hold nails or spikes so you have to use adhesives - thats why I don't use foam, at least for roadbed or sub-roadbed.  I may use it for scenery at some point.

[rrebell]

Pins work great on foam.

[cowman]

T-pins go deep into the foam and have a nice size head to grip when you go to pull them out.

If you have a spot that needs a little extra holding power put an inch or two of latex caulk, pin it and set a can of something on it (vegatables, soup, beverage to be consumed later).  When removal is needed, just slip a putty knife under the ties and it will come right up.

Good luck,

Richard

[kasskaboose]

Before putting down track, I would draw out where the middle of the track with sharpies.  Then, put down the middle of road bed (I use ME cork) temporarily with long shirt pins before putting down the track with pins put in at an angle with the nail going from upper left (top) to lower right (bottom).  By doing that, you avoid anything potentially catching the nail. 

I read that you're using plywood as the base.  I don't know whether shirt pins or nails would work better.  I use 2" foam, so the shirt pins easily go through the cork and foam sub roadbed.

[BroadwayLion]

You can layout the track on a temporary basis directly on the sub-roadbed (foam?) and once you find something that works, you mark the centerline with a sharp point into the foam, then remove the tracks.

draw your centerlines according to these holes, place your cork roadbed centered against these, other kinds of roadbed need other kinds of marks, and then glue the cork with perhaps a removable glue. Then mount your tracks to see if everything work.s

 

LIONS on the ohterhand use not roadbeds, tacks his tracks, and can make adjustments after the comensment of full operations as him discovers the cahnges that can be maid.

 

ROAR

[NP01]

Unless your track plan is likely to change a lot, I would put the subroadbed down. The cork product has 1/4 inch left over on both sides so you have a lot of adjustment room afterwards without removing the roadbed. 

I understand experimenting, but your plan should be pretty well finalized as you get to actually laying track ... Use us here for comments on your layout diagram ... Will save you hours of frustration in redoing. 

NP. 

[wjstix]

If you're using one of the 'click track' brands (Kato, Atlas, Bachmann) you don't need to use pins / nails etc. You can lay out the track, run trains, and see how it works before doing anything permanent. I find no matter how much planning I do, I always end up finding something that will work better when I actually run trains and try things out.

[MisterBeasley]

My layout uses a 2-inch pink foam base with no plywood.  I use Woodland Scenics foam roadbed and mostly Atlas flex track.

I do temporary placement all the time.  I take paper clips and unbend them into a U shape with a pair of pliers.  These fit well over ties, slip easily through the foam roadbed and hold very well in the pink foam.  For flex track, I place extra paper clips on the outside of the rails, particularly near joints, to keep the track from shifting outwards and kinking.

I've had "temporary" track laid like this for years, while I worked on other parts of the layout.

[doctorwayne]

For temporary track laying on plywood, you can use track nails or carpet tape.  However, no track should be considered permanent if you need to alter it.
This curve, ballasted and sceniced, was formerly the location of two curved turnouts and a crossover track:

While it worked just fine, it wasn't needed because there were others added nearby which better-suited my operational requirements.

Here's another, where I took the time to document the change. The turnout needed to be moved to accommodate a new industry:

Wayne

 

[Anonymous]

I used the Woodland Scenics T-pins, then I found out those were something you can buy at Michaels, and you get more for half the price.

[HObbyguy]

I use T-pins or carpet tape depending on what I am fastening to and how "temporary" it is going to be.  I've held a couple of temporary curves down with bits of carpet tape since I first started the layout almost three years ago, and finally planning to pull them next week when I lay permanent track in the area.

If using carpet tape use very small bits spaced out.  Otherwise the track will be much more permanent than you want- maybe even impossible to remove without tearing the rails off the ties.

I prefer T-pins, and cut the heads off with a good set of electrical nips so I can run trains.  But T-pins don't work well if laying track down directly on plywood and may not be secure enough on foam especially on tight curves.