My mainline cork roadbed is laid on top of extruded foam, and now I’m turning my attention to how to handle the roadbed for turnouts. What do you do? Do you simply lay down a section of cork under the diverging track of the turnout, mark it on the foam? Do you try to cut the diverging corks underside so that it fits the mainline cork? Or do you just cut out a ‘squared’ section of the mainline roadbed, cut the turnouts roadbed at the proper angle to fit?
What’s your method?
Thanks for suggestions and tips!
Jarrell
The method I use is to glue down the outer cork pieces through the turnout, both the through side and the diverging side, leaving a triangular shape in the middle.
Next, I glue down the inside piece of the through side, extending it all the way into the trianglar shape in the middle. You will have to trim this piece to a wedge shape to get it to fit all the way in.
Next I glue down the inside piece of the diverging route, also extending this into the trianglar shape. This piece will also need to be trimmed to fit and you will see where the piece from step two needs to have the shoulder part trimmed so this piece will fit tightly against it.
After the glue dries, lightly sand the top of the roadbed until it is level.
If you haven’t done this before, I suggest trying the procedure on a test section, using push pins to hold the cork down while you determine where the pieces need to be trimmed for the best fit.
After your first few times, you will be an expert at this!
Darrell, trimmed, and quiet…for now
You really don’t have to be too fancy fitting the cork together under the turnout. Just get the outlines right on the diverging tracks and do the best you can where everything comes together. Fill any holes with lightweight spackle or similar. Smooth the whole thing with a surform or sandpaper.The ballast will cover everything, even a few leftover holes and poorly fitting joins.
george
Ballast in turnouts can be problematic, so you should use caution in that regard. Jarrell, support as much of the turnout as you can with the cork you have using your judgement and ingenuity. Some folks buy sheets of cork so that they can custom fit where needed, or to raise buildings to meet rail heights.
Try to find places where your heavier locos may deflect the rails so much that they cause a wobble. If you find one, then add odds & sods of cork until the turnout is firmly supported. Remember that the point rails and the throwbar must move freely, so be sure to level the whole thing like Doug warns you to, and keep ballast outside of 1/2" on either side of the throwbar (use masking tape over the entire mechanism while you are ballasting). Ballast as much of the turnout as you can for appearances sake, but at some point you must control them. Best to figure all this out, pilot it for a test, and then save the ballast finishing for when your turnouts work well.
Well dang it! Looks like I already went wrong by not ‘splitting’ the mainline cork and letting one side follow the diverging rails at the turnout.
Now I guess my other option is to trim away a part of the corks beveled edge, back to where it’s level… something like this…
cut the diverging piece at the correct angle, butt it up against the mainline section, glue it down and later sand it smooth.
Thanks for the help and replies!
Jarrell
Jarrell:
Have you thought about using the precut T.O. cork pads? They’re out there…
Yes, I was told about the ready made t.o. pads and didn’t go with them because of the price. I’ve already glued down the all of the mainline so if I went with them now I’d have to cut out that section so they’d fit. If I remember right, I’d need about 14 of them and at full retail that’s about $70. But… before it’s over that might start to look like a bargain… 
Jarrell