Track Laying Pins or Screws

[DallasOZ]

Hi, I'm new to the hobby and guess this question has been asked before but I couldnt find the answer. I have bought Hornby Mixed Trafficc DCC set plus addtional track.

My question is should I pin or screw the track. It will be semi permanet but I will need to remove the track in about 12 months from the plywood baseboard which is 10mm.

I have Hornby pins but thought screws may be a better option. If so what size is best.

Many thanks for your indulegence.

Dallas

 

 

 

 

[Kevin Hodges]

 Hi DallasOz, welcome to the forum.

 

I bought a pack of 100 screws (and the mini screwdriver) from a chap online. He supplies these specificaly for Hornby track.

 

They work great and can be backed out (obviously) when you need to dismantle.

 

Here you go;

 

http://www.alansrobinson.co.uk/model%20railway%20track%20pins%20and%20track%20screws.html

 

 

 

Kev.

[Chrissaf]

Dallas, I have removed your two malformed reply attempts using the blue button where you never added any new text. Note... there is no 'Reply to this post' button embeded within each individual reply on this forum.

 

TIP: As a newbie poster on the forum, just be aware that the 'Blue Button with the White Arrow' is not a 'Reply to this post' button. If you want to reply to any of the posts, scroll down and write your reply in the reply text box at the bottom of the page and click the Green 'Reply' button.

 

See also – further TIPs on how to get the best user experience from this forum.

https://www.hornby.com/uk-en/forum/tips-on-using-the-forum/

 

[RDS]

Hi DallasOz

On the basis that time flies and 12 months will soon disappear, I think it is worth considering if you actually need to fasten it down.  I personally went for a bout 5 years before I fastened mine down, mainly because I could not decide on the best layout and not fastened down made it easier to move.

 

When I did decide to fasten it down I used the track pins (into Sundeala board in my case)  

The screws that Kevin has referenced above, must be incredibly small and it is likely you will need to drill an even smaller pilot hole to fasten them into plywood.

[96RAF]

All the screws I have seen (links to them are lost) have been 1.2mm diam x 20mm long. The existing sleeper holes (Hornby track) are 1m  So a similar pilot into plywood is ideal. I even use a 1mm pilot for Hornby track pins Into ply as it makes pulling them out easier when necessary, which is more often than you would think In the early stages or if you have to lift a point for instance.

[OssieB]

After originally using track pins, not fully knock in, to temporarily hold my layout as I developed it, I then finally fix it in required locations using track screws. I found that these were much easier to use and it eliminated the danger of damaging the rails with hammer and punch. Track screws are also much better for using to hold down (and adjusting) the frog on insulfrog points where these cause problems with short wheelbase locos. The pins I use are 10mm long x 1.37mm dia. If necessary to drill a hole in a sleeper, I use a 1.5mm drill and then a 1.0mm pilot hole in the baseboard.

 

I do not remember where I bought my last screws from, but if you search for "model railway track screws" on eBay, you will find plenty of suppliers with a large range of sizes.

 

BarryO