Central Valley Ties - Styrene Glue

Hi Bert,

I experimented with several approaches when I was testing Central Valley ties on my shelf layout about five years ago.  I tried white glue, spikes, caulk and styrene glue. The two approaches I ended up using most often was styrene glue and spikes, depending on the situation. On my current, larger layout, I use the styrene glue most often.  I use Homasote spline for my subroadbed, but I would expect both to behave similarly on cork.

The process is simply to apply a dot of glue on the end of the Central Valley ties, then leave them alone for an hour or so.  The result is a tie that is firmly anchored in place, but easy to dislodge (if needed) by running a hobby knife along the tie/cork contact point.  I have been doing this every ten-thirty ties, depending on the situation. For example, if the rail has a slight vertical bend to it (which will in turn pull the ties off the roadbed), I'll apply additional dots or insert a spike. I'll also add dabs at certain hard points, such as where I want a curve to begin or end. The long spacing between anchored points then allow plenty of flexibility for tweaking the alignment, which is super easy with CVT. 

Note that this approach won't work worth a lick with Micro Engineering or any other ties made of engineering plastics. A photo of this can be found at the following link, along with some of my other experiments.

http://goodman312.zenfolio.com/p802892396/h1816d9be#h1816d9be

What I Use

I attach both Micro Engineering and Central Valley ties to roadbed, both Homasote and cork, using DAP Alex Plus clear sealant.  The bond is more than strong enough, but track can easily be removed and re-used.

DAP Caulk

I use DAP 230 caulk to fix Central Valley ties to cork and homasote.  It is white when you apply it, but it dries clear.  I spread a thin layer in two parallel bands- one running on each side of the track centerline.  That way, I can still see my faintly drawn track centerline (which shows through the brown latex paint I put on the roadbed) and use it along with the alignment marks molded into the tie strips.  (the centerline eventually disappears under ballast).   I put some weight on the tie strips while the caulk is drying.  I find the bond is plenty strong, yet it is easy to slide a blade underneath the ties to break them free.  By the way, in breaking Central Valley ties free, you are likely to also break the relatively thin plastic strips that hold the ties together at the correct spacing.  I find that routine handling of the tie strips often results in that kind of breaking.  Don't get me wrong, I love those tie strips.  I don't care about trying to reuse regular track, but I do care about being able to reuse my turnouts, which are made from Central Valley turnout strips.  The turnouts are sturdy because of the soldered pcb ties used as part of their construction, but even so, I don't put the DAP caulk down under most of the turnout- just the ends to help keep it aligned with the adjoining track.  That also helps insure I don't screw up the motion of the points.

I don't doubt Matt's positive experience with styrene glue, but I am a bit surprised that it bonds well enough to cork or homasote.  Once again, many different ways to get there.

Dennis

I Suspect

That in Matt's situation, he is softening and making tacky the plastic of the ties just enough so that it attaches itself to its substrate when it dries. The real bonding comes when ballast is applied and fastened in the conventional manner.

I used the same principle to attach a wooden stripwood walkway on the side of a bridge with the extension ties made of styrene. The styrene got tacky and the wood was imbedded into it with some light weight.

IMHO

Espee over Donner

  I suspect that in Matt's

Patrick is correct. Styrene glue dissolves the styrene, which then migrates into the porous Homasote (or cork), which then makes a nice mechanical connection. With small dabs, no tie detail is lost and the hold is strong; the only way I can find the glued locations after the fact is via a slight stain on the roadbed (or by poking at each tie until I find the one that doesn't move).  A quick pass of a sharp blade along the tie/roadbed interface releases the connection with no damage.