I am getting back into the Little Trains....

Well I have been away from Z Gauge for a while now. And my Wife said no more O Scale on the Dining room table every Fall. So I am slowly building up a 20" x 20" picture frame platform. Growing up with Lionel and Bachman I was never much into the intricate Scale detailing - I was more into the sights and sound than how much ballast should go under each track to be sufficient.
So my first question to all you Z Folks - I want to nail down my Marklin track over cork - the base I have is 1/2" foam with a Grass mat over top. How easy is it to tap these little nails in? Honestly I can't even see the holes in the track pieces. My layout (for now) is just a std. starter oval with a switch and a short run off. Thanks Folks for your help. Ken

Ken-- I'm sure others will pipe up with other suggestions but I would steer clear, nailing down Z track.
I have used white glue and put weights on track until dry. The weights can be bundels of coins, or as the more "sophisticated" amoung us- Fishing weights. Make sure the track is alined correctly before gluing. If you find a problem later on, you can wet that area with water to release the glue and realign. Some use double sticky tape- this also allows for adjustments. Those little nails are a pain with the added possibility of damaging track when you hit your thumb.
Fred

Thanks Fred! Great advise - Ken

Ken, I agree with Fred. Use glue. Also make sure you have all your track and switches installed
correctly. Before you put your ballast, grass, buildings trees, or anything else down. run your
trains on it in both directions, also run your switches. If you don't, you will find out how
big your hands really are, when you try to redo your track with all that other stuff in the way.
I'm speaking from experiance. Good luck and remember this is supposed to be fun. It will be if
you take your time. Good luck and have fun.

Thanks Kin - I appreciate that. Ken