Laying track

I wanted to put together a post about how I went about laying my Central Valley tie strips with code 83 Rail.

First thing I did was is to make sure the area is clean:

Next run a line on acrylic adhesive down:

Then using a puddy knife, I smooth out across the entire top of the roadbed:

This is what it looks like when I was done:

Then I started laying the tie strips:

I used thumb tacks to hold the tie strips in place when drying, here is what it looks like when I walked away to let it dry:

For laying the code 83 rail, first thing I do is make sure that the tie underneath the rail jointer is cut to ensure the rail does not lift due to the extra with of the jointer, you can see where I cut the ties here:

I have been using the contact cement that comes with the fast-track turnout kit to also glue the rail down to the tie strips. This is not needed but I know that this layout will be moving this summer and I want to ensure that nothing will come loose. After the cement has dried enough to just be tacky I lay the track down:

Final I bend over the molded on ties over to hold down the rail while the glue is drying:

I hope you have found this instructional.

Chris