2mm Oh well

john lewsey

Western Thunderer
I've ordered the gears for the engine so checked the chassis which seems to run freely and I've been making sure that the motor fits inside the boiler all seems well so far
The pics seem a bit mixed up sorry about that
John
 

adrian

Flying Squad
Well the coach has a roof there are just a few more bits to add .
That's looking very nice - Where did you source the roof from? I'm partway through a Worsley Works Railmotor and the roof is not supplied. It looks quite simple so I think I'll try scratch building it from a bit of nickel-silver but an alternative supplier would be appreciated if it doesn't go to plan.
 

john lewsey

Western Thunderer
Hi Gents this is a test piece of track what's the best way of sticking this down (the ballast) without the shiny look and any clogging
Regards
John
 

adrian

Flying Squad
Hi Gents this is a test piece of track what's the best way of sticking this down (the ballast) without the shiny look and any clogging
Regards
John
Hi, I've still to try it on 2mm track but for my 7mm ballasting I have used a 50/50 mix of copydex and water. Careful if you have a latex allergy as the copydex does contain latex. I use this in preference to pva because the copydex doesn't dry solid like pva so allows a little flexing in the track.

However I don't drop it on or spray it on. I use a syringe and squeeze it onto the baseboard at the side on the shoulder of the ballast. By thinning it with the water you can watch the copydex being sucked into the ballast by capillary action. As the glue is being sucked in it doesn't disturb the ballast in the same way as using a dropper or spray. You can see how far it has gone because it is white but dries clear. In the past I have flooded the ballast up to the level of the sleepers. On your double track even applying the solution to the outside of the track you will be surprised but the glue can quite easily seep through to the centre of the 6ft. I've got a short 2mmFS test tracking if I get time I'll try and experiment to see if I can get a few photographs to explain a bit clearer the process.
 

David Varley

Western Thunderer
Another method I've been experimenting with is to mix the ballast with powdered glue before applying it to the trackbed and then, once the ballast's in place, misting it with water (with a drop or two of washing up liquid added) from a plant spray. Seems to have worked OK and less danger of clogging up pointwork than when you use the more traditional method.
 

David Varley

Western Thunderer
David,

That sounds an interesting method. Which powdered glue do you use ?

Paul,

The stuff I'm experimenting with is yellow dextrin powder (it's a water-soluble glue that's used for remoistable envelope adhesive - the sort where you lick the flap and then stick it down). I've always had problems in the past with clogging stuff up, especially in N and 2mm, but doing it this way seems to have eliminated that.

You've just got to make sure that you mix it in well with the ballast and get the proportions right and that's the bit where I'm still experimenting. Overdid the glue the first time round and it set like concrete!

Regards,

David
 

PaxtonP4

Western Thunderer
Another method I've been experimenting with is to mix the ballast with powdered glue before applying it to the trackbed and then, once the ballast's in place, misting it with water (with a drop or two of washing up liquid added) from a plant spray. Seems to have worked OK and less danger of clogging up pointwork than when you use the more traditional method.

That's a very old method that I used over 30 years ago. The glue used was Cascamite - a powered wood glue.
 

westernfan

Western Thunderer
Cascamite, that's a blast from the past . I remember my dad using that stuff to build his billing boat kits before the arrival of epoxy resin glue. I still use the pva mixed with water and a little bit of washing up liquid to fix my ballast , good thing with this method is if ones not happy with the result one just has to soak it with water and it all comes away .
 

Locomodels

Western Thunderer
Paul,

The stuff I'm experimenting with is yellow dextrin powder (it's a water-soluble glue that's used for remoistable envelope adhesive - the sort where you lick the flap and then stick it down).

Overdid the glue the first time round and it set like concrete!





Thank you for that David, is there a brand name to it and where would one get it ?

I would have thought that setting that well was a good thing.
 

David Varley

Western Thunderer
Hi David have you got any photos of what you done

If I remember, I'll take some next time I do an experiment! Got a couple of points to build before I lay any more track. Not sure photos would help much to be honest though, John - looks very much like any ballasted piece of track.

Thank you for that David, is there a brand name to it and where would one get it ?

I would have thought that setting that well was a good thing.

This is the stuff I bought - http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/800g-Yell...al-/140426924343?_trksid=p2141725.m3641.l6368 - comes in smaller packets as well.
 
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