Try to save the turnouts

cleaning track

A Little water and a toothbrush will clean it up. a blow dryer to dry the track will help. This makes a mess so outside is the best venue. Dont be afraid to cut out any portion of track that is kinked or cant be straightened out.  

john

Yup

A large proportion of the track on my layout was salvaged from earlier ones.  I use either diluted Elmer's white glue or plain wood glue, which remain soluble in water.  With a good soaking, all the ballast came right off and the track was ready for re-use.

Rob & John

I salvaged all but one of my

I salvaged all but one of my six or seven Peco Streamline Code 83 #6 turnouts from my last layout.  I wet around them, waited, and then used a knife to gently and carefully saw under them to separate them from every material under and around them.  Once I was able to slide back joiners (I never solder turnouts), and lift the turnouts intact, I immersed them in hot water into which I had dissolved a couple of tbsp of tri-sodium phosphate.  I left them over night, ran a medium-stiff bristly brush over them the next day, and they came out slick as a whistle.  An hour's work saved me the expense of about $120 at discounted prices.

Flex track?  Umm...no.  It's really a pain, and you'll not get happy results for the most part.

-Crandell

I agree with Rob, and was

I agree with Rob, and was able to recover virtually all of my flex track, too.  I also used Elmer's as the ballast fixant.

I've used a slightly different "formula".....

A friend was scrapping his basement layout and was wholesale tearing up the track. He told me I could keep any track that I could salvage, including turnouts! The track and ballasted were secured with white glue.

I went to the store and brought back some 70% rubbing alcohol and dish soap. I mixed a little soap in warm water and generously lathered it on. After a few minutes, I went back over the wetted area with the 70% rubbing alcohol.( I wasn't trying to save the roadbed or the cork, just the track.)

After about 5 minutes of soaking, I was able to get a putty knife under the track and carefully remove it from the cork. After the track was salvaged, it soaked in a similar "bath" to loosen the ballast between the ties.

Hope this helps!

Tim Moran

Akron, Ohio

...

This is the number one reason to use thinned elmer's white glue for ballasting and all your scenery work.  When it comes times to remove the track, put a little warm water on, or alcohol, and it UP!!!  You won't believe how easy it comes up!!

Don't toss anything in the dumpster

Don't toss the old track in the dumpster. 

If you can't salvage the flextrack pull the rails out of the ties and leave them lying along the side of your new track the same as you see alongside prototype tracks.

un3k

Recycle old track

If the rail itself isn't kinked it is easy to re-lay as handlaid or as raw material for making turnouts. 

I saved a lot of track from

I saved a lot of track from the last layout using the water/soap/alcohol method as well. Some didn't clean up as well, I left it outside for a few months and it was good to go.

As for the turnouts, I put duct tape on the bottom of most of them (the real stuff) and press the ballast in from the top so no problems there.

Be gentle and patient....

....and give enough time for the glue to soften. Rushing things will distort the track.

Now here is something I never heard before

I put duct tape on the bottom of most of them (the real stuff) and press the ballast in from the top

This would be a great tip for a chainsaw layout....

Worth the effort