At my club, one of the members (of the HO layout group) has stated that N scale roadbed (cork or foam) is more proper from a prototypical and esthetic view. I happen to dissagree, everything I’ve learned over the years says that HO cork (or foam) is nearer to what a mainline roadbed should look like, (although technically in the protype world there is also a subroadbed as well). I can remember in the 70s some modelers even making roadbed templates and creating their own road and sub-roadbeds from plaster just to get it rightand even their roadbed profiles were about the same height as HO cork.
from the looks of the mainlines around here, I would say the HO scale roadbed would make it look more prototypical.
There is a “shoulder” of ballast AT tie heigth, then a “shoulder” of ballast about 8-10 inches out and 6-8 inches down from the “tie shoulder” sitting stop the ground. So I would say balasting track on HO raodbed would give it the “tie shoulder” and the “lower shoulder”{laying on the layout base at the base of the cork or foam roadbed} look for realism. N scale, I think, is too small, except for maybe sidings or yards where tehre is less ballasting, as some modelers are wont to do.
I hope I explained that well enough to give you a mental picture of what I see around here on the NS mainlines…
I would have to say that HO scale roadbed looks more prototypical. One can use the N scale cork roadbed for sidings (which is what I do). One should have the mainline higher than the yard tracks or industrial spurs. I use code 83 track for the mainline and code 70 for the yard and spurs. Again, the lighter rail is what the prototype does.[8D]
For a well maintained line, standard HO ballast would be good. If you wanted to be even more exact, the ‘slope’ of the ballast should be a gradual 1:2(60 degrees), not 1:1(45 degrees) like cork ballast. On my layout, I use 1/4" Homabed for my mainline, and 3/16" cork for all of the sidings/spurs.I lay the Homabed about 12-16" into the siding, and then use cork. I use a Stanley ‘Surform’ tool to taper that last 12-16" of Homabed to the same level as the cork. This provides a real nice transition and the effect is great. It is nice to see a train drop down into a siding.
Jay, you are right, but Jim makes a good point, the degree of cork ballast is too steep, making the transition of ballasted main to ground level seem high. That’s why your friend likes "n"gauge roadbed, the transition looks better. Another thing is many modelers, who use a plywood, homasote or foam base, then glue down roadbed and track, leaving the level of the rest of the layout perfectly flat, it looks to unreal.mh