Hi. One with my relentless questions. lol. I just wanna get everything right ya no? [swg] But I’ve been thinking, I’ve got pretty much everything about the layout down (well, except a track plan, lol.) and I was thinking since I have found so much good in layout construction other than WS (well I feel it is better for my givens & druthers, the Mod-U-Rail system could work very, very well for someone else) so I decided to look up some cork roadbed, and Midwest cork seems to have some very reasonable prices when bought from Cherry Creek Hobbies, 25 3’ sections for 26 & 1/2 bucks? Sure!!! But, the WS track bed is $7.59 for 24 feet. Obviously way more expensive foot-by-foot. But who knows, it could be better. So I am asking you people what should I get? I know this is like asking what shoes should I buy, but I am asking that you list advantages and disadvantages for each you have used. (I.E If you have used only cork, list Pros & Cons of Cork, if you’ve used Track-Bed, list the Pros & Cons of TB, etc) As always help is appreciated! You guys are real life savers!!! [:D]
hello there. Cant give ya much feed back as I am just starting on my own layout. I did do a small diarama that i used the woodland scenics roadbed. to me the cork was by far easier to put down as far as curves go. I had to notch the woodland scenics a bit to keep it from buckling on the inside of the curve. nothing major tho. Also, right now standard hobby has cork roadbed on sale for 18.99 for a 25 piece case of 3 foot lengths. Goodluck with whatever you decide.
There are other similar threads on this topic. I went the WS route. I like working with the rolls and 12"x24" pieces in yards. Easy to work with, cut, fit and looks nice. Contrary to what some may say, it can be pulled up but you need a putty knife and go slow. I used yellow wood glue to put mine down. The cons are that it is a little soft (I personally don’t mind) and some folks like that cork is slightly higher. Again I am fine with the height. You can beat the speed of laying down those 24’ rolls. It is easy to lay on curves too. I find no real faults for my use.
I went with WS foam on plywood this time and am glad. It sure was easier than the things I used 25 years ago. I assume cork is just as easy these days. Getting “it just right” may have more than one way these days.
Thanks guys, while I still haven made a final decision, I’m still leaning towards cork because of how budget efficient it is, I want to start on this thing ASAP. Only becuase, A. Money Burns a Hole in my pocket, and B. Because I dont want to spend my money on something stupid because money burns a hole in my pocket!!!
I never had the WS but I did have cork on one of my older layouts and it’s easy to work with and never had problems. And I plan on having it for my new layout.
After a bit of thought, I will go with cork. Its cheap, easy to work with, and since it is technically wood, I can glue it down with elmers! Wow. I have almost completely moved from the woodland scenics system! All I am buying from them now is scenery supplies!
…and you can sand it to better represent the shoulders…
David B
At those prices, it appears that the WS is about 3 cents/ft cheaper, no?
Hmm, it appears so. I think I’ll stick with cork though.
Go with cork. WS is soft and spongy. It’s loud, hard to ballast and a pain in the butt to smooth the shoulders down.
http://www.nhshobbies.com/category_s/134.htm
Check this place out for price. He’s usually the cheapest on track and roadbed. Call him for a case price. Hans is a great guy to deal with.
Huh? [?][?][?]
$26.50 / 75 feet = 35-1/3 cents per foot for cork
$7.59 / 24 feet = 31 -5/8 cents per foot for WS.
I don’t think that cork is more expensive. Personally I like the WS stuff, it goes down faster and with fewer seams. They both work. What ever you’re used to will probably work best for you.
Karl
Ya, I fudged up with that, that’ll teach me to not do my math! [#wstupid]
I’m still gonna stick woth cork though.
I plan to use the WS risers and grade units. I might use Midwest Cork where necessary. But it will be the rubberized roadbed that will probably go under my Kato Unitrack.
The traditional method of building wooden bridges for the old Cork is still valid today however the WS Riser system is so well done it’s no longer necessary to consume all that wood.
You can use both the cork and the WS if it pleases you. When the scenery is completed around the track, no one knows if you got wood or WS under that roadbed.
The old school thought of laying cork on plywood or other surface involved constant checks of radius, track alignment, relaying, checking again etc etc etc… with the WS stuff, you just flop the track down, peg the risers or whatever to the proper alignment and squirt glue and wait a day or two with weights stacked along the line. You can run miles of track in a evening’s work.
Agreed that it is spongy but I’ve had no problems with ballast. I use real stone from Arizona Rock & Mineral. As for loud, how can foam be loud ? I’ve not had that experience and would wonder how foam can be loud.
The same way a very large O scale engine can set the entire home to humming/viberating when drumming on straight plywood. Or tracks setting directly on the floor.
If you have something to soak it up Cork or Rubber will do it. Sometimes Ive put rubber pads under the legs or casters of the layout to further dampen the “Army ant march” from spreading to the rest of the room.
It’s cushiony foam between the track and the subroadbed. It deadens sound not transfers it. You hit it with a hammer it makes no noise other than the sound of the hammer and the hammer is quiter. I’ve heard folks claim it gets louder with ballast. That could be the sound resonating through the ballast (which is stiffer and glued) to the subroadbed. That would be a ballasting issue, not an issue with the foam roadbed.
I’ve got a length of mainline that’s 1/2 WS and 1/2 cork. The train sounds nice and quite when it’s on the cork. As soon as it hits the WS foam the sound from the train gets louder. Like the foam amplifies the sound somehow.[%-)] I thought ballasting might help, but it only made it worse. I’ve had problems with my ballast not wanting to stay put too because the glue doesn’t soak into it. I just REALLY dislike that stuff and I’m sorry I used the little bit that I did.[2c]
I was thinking (it happens 
If one where to try and do a bit of super elevating, would not the WS foam be useless???
I used WS foam on 2inch pink foam, used white glue to attach the WS foam roadbed, then grey latex caulk to attach the rail to the WS foam roadbed.
I tried laying down a 10 foot stretch of track with coark roadbed, although the cork wasn’t glued down, I layed a ten foot stretch of track, without any glue,etc.
Then I ran one of my steam engines ( HO) on the cork test section, then tried the same on my
WS foam which is a complete loop around( first mainline) a 24 foot long by 6 foot wide walkround layout, built up from 3 - 6 foot by 8 foot tables, with 1x3’s every 16 inches, and 1x4 sides.
The cork section ( unballasted and not glued down, just layed on the cork, and the cork just layed on the 2 inch foam base) was much quieter.
But I am thinking of trying something once I get all my wiring and under table work done.
Taking and putting fiberglass insulation( like you use in between wall studs when insulating a room) stuffed up under the table in between the 1x3’s to absorb sound. I won’t permanently attach it, but perhaps just tack it in place with either DUCK TAPE, or something similar.
That way if I need to work under the table, just pull the insulation down and lay it out of the way.
I am thinking this will absorb sound, and eliminate the drum board effect.
As far as super elevation, I super elevated both my ends of my layout ( 34 inch radius) by using 1/8 inch wide by 1/16 inch thick balsa strips, and using Elmers white glues. layed down a bead of glue, and using modelleres pins, pinned them in place so they would be underneath the outside of the track ties,raising the outside of the track by 1/16 of an inch, then when that dried, I attached my track w