Hello all,
I am currrently laying track for my layout. I am using HO Atlas code 83 sectional track and since my layout is a small industrial scene, I am choosing not to use roadbed. I went to my local hobby store today to get track nails and they were all sold out and they weren't getting more back in stock for awhile. I do, however, have a Menards down the road... Is there any size of nail that I can get there to substitute the ones sold by Atlas or should I just wait until my hobby store gets more in stock? I have to nail the track directly into the plywood.
The finest half inch brads that they have should work. Make sure they have a flat head, not a finishing nail head. They will also be silver coloured, not black.
In case I'm wrong don't buy more than one package, and quit if they cause tie splitting. I use these for laying cork.
Dave
Some ideas:
Good luck.
LION buys nails of him at Runnings (Farm and Fleet) also at Menards, Lowes would surely have them. There is no Home Depot in town. They had the extreme hubris of trying to open a store across the street from Menards. They moved out, and the building was torn down by the next owner who wanted something other than a big empty box building.
MACS hardware is a good choice since they sell fasterners in bult and you do not have to put up with little packets. LION remembers when nails and screws were sold by the gross.
18 ga is as big as you want to get, 19 or 20 ga is better. Flat head for a brad will go right through the hole. A half inch is mostly long enough, LION prefers 3/4 inch nails. You can "paint" them with a magic marker.
ROAR
The Route of the Broadway Lion The Largest Subway Layout in North Dakota.
Here there be cats. LIONS with CAMERAS
I found these at MB Klein. NEW old stock. Although they say N scale they are the same as the out-of-stock Atlas ones I have been using.
https://www.modeltrainstuff.com/urlrewrite.asp?404;http://www.modeltrainstuff.com:80/AHM-5663-N-Track-Spikes-with-Round-Head-220-Pieces-p/ahm-5663.htm
69¢ each how can you go wrong. Excellent quality. Only 40 left in stock. Where else can you buy a brand new AHM item?
http://cs.trains.com/mrr/f/11/t/242466.aspx
They work great for me, Ed
M.B. Klein has Peco SL14 code 100 track fixing pins that are very small, 9/16ths long, sharp and strong with round flush heads. Once you paint and ballast the track you won't even notice them. The best center tie nail I have ever used. Doug
Atlas has had supply problems but you should be able to buy their track nails if you hunt around or buy online. They work great although one pack I got at a an LHS last year had about 20% of the pack missing the nailheads - faulty from the manufacturer. I took a photo and notified Atlas and they sent me a replacement package.
Anyway, the are the right size and in this day and age of internet on many choices of vendors, there is no reason you shouldn't be able to find and order a pack.
Cheers, Jim
Rio Grande. The Action Road - Focus 1977-1983
Hello All,
Wire Brads; #19 x ⅝” work for me. I picked them up at my local hardware store. Much cheaper than track nails.
This length penetrates through the Woodland Scenics foam roadbed, adhered by silicone and into the foam base, in my case.
If you’re not using roadbed they offer shorter sizes to tack into the base (plywood) directly.
They hold well without splitting or damaging the ties through the stock holes in the track and can be removed after ballasting.
Take a section of track in to determine the length best for your application.
Hope this helps.
"Uhh...I didn’t know it was 'impossible' I just made it work...sorry"
If you are not using roadbed then even regular track spikes should work - perhaps the LHS has those?
Dave Nelson
Unless you are nailing down lots of track and a nail in every nail hole, one package of the Atlas track nails should be plenty. I bought two packages of the Atlas track nails back in 1993 when I first got into HO scale; seems I have a lifetime supply.
All of the other suggestions that have been offered here should work. Also, I would think that Atlas would have plenty of track nails if you order from them direct, or even special order them through your local hobby store. Walthers, too, will have track nails.
It's true one package of Atlas track nails will love you good long time.
I used a magnet to hold them, and just peal a few off the magnet when I need to used them - that keeps them all in one place mostly.