I read several threads in this forum, but my question is:
- Do I phase out the cork roadbed, put the track directly down on the foam benchtop, and build the streets and houses up around them with plaster+styrene sheets? Or
- Do I keep the cork roadbed for all track and put 1/8th inch cork on top of the “city” foam, and build streets and houses on top of that then with plaster+styrene?
I read
I planned the non prototypical little village very functional around some tracks (yes, with a crossing to a parking lot over a switch, I know!) using xtrcad
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/428420/trains.com/5-3-201212-33-11_smaller.png
and then used a pounce wheel to transfer the printout to the foam base (the white in the back is also foam base, just painted)
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/428420/trains.com/Berkeley-20120503-00159_Copy.jpg
When I go from the cork to the foam I lower the cork right into the foam. You could cut the trench in the foam a little deeper so the tops of the ties are level with the foam and then put styrene over the ties.
I did this in several spots on the layout where the track goes from the cork to the foam for yard areas.
Brent[C):-)]
I’m using a product called Electric Avenue from Proto 87 to do street-running track:
I really like the way this looks. In the picture, the cobblestone pattern has been fitted, but I’ve only painted and weathered it on the right, so you can see that before-and-after.
The rail comes in short, pre-formed sections with your choice of radius, or straight. It’s rail, not track, so you have to fasten it down and maintain the gauge. The sections are only 3 or 4 inches long, so they are easy to work with, but that also means you have to maintain power. I found that to be a real problem, as solder wanted to flow into the groove and mess up the track. I’ve got some more of this to do, and my plan is to solder a feeder wire to each section on the underside so I don’t have to solder the rail itself.
Earlier, it looked like this:
This shows the cobbles a bit further along, still not perfectly in place and glued yet. It’s where I am right now on the project. For the base here, I used plastic-coated Masonite, sold as shower liner at home stores. Plain Masonite might work better at holding the glue. I outlined the buildings on the cobblestone sheets, and cut out the base, so the building sits beneath the level of the cobbles. This is a nicer look, and it keeps light from leaking out under the wall if you illuminate the structure.
Their web site has more information. They have a lot of different pavement options, or you could just use the right thickness of styrene sheet. This is HO only stuff, I believe. They also have all the parts you need for tu
MrB, that appears to be a tedious job of track laying. I wonder why the sections are so short. Would seem that placing girder rail spiked to ply would work better. Is it that is is designed to work w/ the cobblestone paver thickness? Does look quite nice though.
Given that its proto87, it wouldn’t surprise me if they were 39’ lengths.
Your questions about level have a couple of aspects to them.
What type of in street track system are you using??? How tall is the track and street combo?
I use Orr rail soldered to PC ties. The sandwich of materials makes a street level of about 1/8" above the surface. I based my other levels relative to the street. The ground in most areas of my industrial district will be slightly lower than the street to allow for drainage. That means that there is some shimming and filling in of the surrounding area to reach correct level relative to the street.
How tall do you want the street relative to your mainline??
My street level is lower than the mainline so I have a transition section of track that drops down to the street level. I basically used a graded cut in the homasote over a few feet to drop the required distance to the street. You might want to handle this differently. If you have switches next to the street area not in the street, consider putting those sections directly on the layout surface with minimal ballast profile (no roadbed) for an easier street transition.
Levels in areas like this can be fussy. Take your time and do some mock ups to see what looks right.
Guy