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When the track kinks it is not from humidity or the wood base swelling . Wood will swell in dampness & shrink in dry hot weather but only until the moisture content is removed after about a season after milling. Plywood has no moisture (only glu) and wont swell unless you soak it in water yourself. Most of us use some sort of roadbed on top of the wood sub base & this is flexible, so dont blame your benchwork if your track kinks. Quite simply it is caused by the metal rail getting hot & expanding. Kinks will be most noticable on tight curves as the rail naturally pushes outward. I use 42" radius curves, solder my rail before laying & have very little problem. I do leave small gaps at the end of the curves on a straight section. My layout is in an uninsulated garage & summer heat is over 100 degrees at times. Pelle is wrong when he says to not leave gaps. It may work for him in his location but others will regret it.........Paul (spsmoke)
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