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How to Lay Curved Railroad Track

Installing curves for model trains is easy with flexible track, which comes in three-foot sections for HO, O and N scale. Sectional curved track, in contrast, is very limiting because it only comes in a few sizes. Flexible track can be easily cut to fit. You just have to make sure you don't make any curves too tight for your types of trains; you can do this by carefully calculating the easements and radius, or you can just mark it by eye.

Things You'll Need

Wire cutters or rail cutters
Flexible track
Wood glue, white glue or caulk

Instructions

- 1
  
  Wire cutters are easier to find than rail cutters.
  
  Lay a piece of flexible track directly on the trackboard, whether it's made of wood, Homasote or Styrofoam. Cut the rail with wire or rail cutters. If connecting to a rail previously laid, you may have to cut rails on the existing track to make it match up. Use the same tool to trim off one or two plastic ties, if necessary, to make room for the rail joiner. Keep these ties for use later in the project.
- 2
  
  Any type of file will work on track.
  
  File the trimmed rail ends (wire cutters mangle rails) until they are smooth enough to receive rail joiners. Ten seconds of filing is plenty.
- 3
  
  Caulking guns can be difficult for small hands to operate.
  
  Connect your new rail piece to the track and lay it down. Dab caulk or glue every few inches, mostly on the outside of the curves, to keep them from springing back. The tighter the curve, the more glue or caulk you will need. Caulk dries quickly; wood glue is stronger than white glue, but takes at least 24 hours to dry completely.
- 4
  Hold down the track using weights while the glue or caulk dries. Small jars of nails, blocks of wood, small cans full of paint or anything heavy that will not fall off the track can be used. If the curve is sharp, you will need more weight to hold the track in place. If you're laying track on Styrofoam, you can stick in short lengths of wire to hold the track; remove these the following day.
- 5
  Test the track by rolling your longest pieces of rolling stock over it. If everything works, file the molded spikes off the ties you've saved and slip them under the connections between track sections where you need ties. Add ballast, which provides more long-term stability.

Model Railroads