When I was at one of the hobby shops around here, they had a bunch of cork roadbed for track, but it was all straight. Does all cork roadbed come straight? And if so, is it flexible enough to bend for sharp curves? I just want to know for when I finally build a layout, because having cork under track instead of plastic roadbed seems like it would be cheaper and quieter than the plastic.
Yes, it is usually split down the middle, and placed so that the vertical edges are placed adjacent to one another, and the beveled edges outward so that you can ballast realistically. And, yes, it is meant to bend easily.
Ooohh, so that’s what that split in the middle’s for. And while I was there I noticed there was an interesting price tag on flex track that said something like:
Retail:$2.30
Our price:$2.60
I thought that was kind of weird. And do you split the cork in half and then bend each half at a time?
If you draw a line on the benchwork to represent the mid line of the track you are laying, you can use the line as a guide. Spread your glue and then take one of the half strips and align the non bevelled edge to the guide line you have drawn. The cork will easily bend to follow a curve. You will likely have to pin it in place. Then take the other half and glue it to the other side of the line. I like to stagger the cork so that the ends are offset. Once the glue has setup, you can sand the joints flat if they are not perfect.
Did you ask the hobby store clerk for help with the cork and point out the price tag that seemed odd? The clerk may have had as good or better answers than you’ll get here.
My LHS gave me a new Atlas catalog. It lists Atlas 36" Code 100 flex track as $3.15 each. Regardless of the tag, $2.60 a stick is a discounted price.
The hobby shop with the cork I mentioned has more race car stuff then model trains, and the clerk that’s usually there doesn’t know to much about model railroading, I don’t think.
You can get roadbed pre-cut to various curve radiuses. It’s called Ribbonrail, most hobbyshops don’t carry it, but you/they can get it thru Walthers. It’s made of Upsom board, has curves and straights. I like it much more than cork roadbed, has the advantage of allowing you to lay the roadbed out before laying track to see where the track will go, be sure everything fits the way it did in the plan etc.
you just never know what cool tips you can get on an online fourm
most train clubs dont use cork or cork and rubber
they use wood
so it wont dry out
Bud-
Ho scale cork is good for your main line but you may want to use N scale for sidings and spurs, On the prototypes sidings are usually lower than the Main.
bill
[2c][2c]I draw my center line then lay the cork useing a stapple gun,works great,stapples are covered up by the track,or you can dab paint on them.this way if you need to move some track just pop the stapples and get’r done[tup][tup]
Jim
[#ditto] Well, oleirish, you beat me to the punch!
I’ve been wondering why nobody has mentioned using staples yet; it works GREAT! [tup] [tup] I laid yards and yards of track on my HO layout that way. I used 1/4" staples in an Arrow JT-21 stapler, and the MIdwest Products cork roadbed went down in a SNAP! SNAP! SNAP! (stapler sound effects) with no fumes and no waiting for adhesives to dry. Even better, as you said above,
As for aesthetics, I don’t even notice the staples under all those ties, and once the track is ballasted, they’re buried and completely out of sight. [:)]
-Dave
SOUND’S LIKE
your LHS has a sale price on a regularly discounted price - unless it is two different brand’s. In any case buy at the cheaper price, and nail - or staple - it down, and use a yardstick or string as a trammel to scribe the circular segments, THEN lay the cork down - (1/2 strip at a time) an track on top of that.
Your LHS should have a Kalmbach book on laying track and cork. If not, he cab get it…