Charlie B's Blog

Surely this depends on the permanency of the layout?

 

Gluing avoids having visible pin heads on the sleepers but is much less flexible, if you wish to change your track layout.

I always glue my track and have just lifted some to make a layout adjustment after 8 years. By slipping a Stanley knife under the edge of a sleeper and slowly doing 2 or 3 in turn, I then slid a thin artist’s pallet knife under and gently worked it across so it was under the full width of the sleepers, gently prising lifted track and a point for re-use. The glue was dabs of No Nails. With pins the problem is always one of breaking or distorting sleepers if you need to lift the track, and especially expensive points, later.

 

aac

Ah, Cap'n! You can still change your track layout if you use PVA glue. Just wet the ballast thoroughly and the whole of the ballast and glue holding the track down disintegrates so track can be removed. In some ways it's better than prising out buried track pins, or the risk of missing a pin and having it pull the sleepers off rails as you attempt to lift the track.

Some interesting advice here.  Thanks, I'm glad I dropped by.

 

Steve.

Quite right Dave/Ruston. Some of the points used on 'Engine Wood' and 'Bleakhouse Road' were salvaged from an earlier layout in exactly that manner!

use pins to hold the position ie outside the sleeper(s)  not through them while the glue dries  once dry remove pins, wire  up and thoroughly test prior to any further work

 

Nick