I am interested in hand-laying track work and would use a Homasote sub roadbed. What national/Wisconsin craft stores carry Homasote or variant, and how is scenery usually blended into the homasote roadbed? Layout will be N scale around-the-walls shelf layout based on a generic mid-west theme with an emphasis on switching. Scenery will be mostly indeginous trees (for the area), at least one creek, and mostly flat terrain but some smaller hills.
I’m in Chicago, but my (almost) local Menards carries 2X4 and 4X8 Homasote sheets. (I hate Menards BTW - worst customer service I’ve ever encountered, but I digress…)
I’d use extruded foam for the base and laminate Homasote roadbed onto that, but I’m sure you’ll get a variety of suggestions.
Homosote can be easy or difficult to find depending on where you live. Here is the website for homosote. At the very top in the right center you can click on “Where To Buy”. Hope this is useful.
markalan
I model in HO and use Homasote on plywood base. I bought it in a 4x8 sheet over 20 years ago at a lumber yard near me. I am about out and called and they still handle it. I cut my roadbed to follow the sub-base plywood that I cut to follow my route. I handlay all my switches and a lot of the remander but do use flex track to speed the process. I like the way it holds spikes and although somewhat tedious, cut the homasote with a box cutter / utility knife. I hope this helps.
Do you really mean “sub-roadbed?” Or “roadbed” or both? If you want to save the hassle of cutting the “roadbed” out of Homasote sheets, check out Homabed online, a product already milled out of Homasote. You can get a sample kit to try it. I have and intend to use it.
Dante
You can find 2’ by 4’ ‘Handy Panels’ of Homasote at your local Menards in Wisconsin. Menards or Home Depot will special order 4’ by 8’ sheets for you. Myself, I like to use Homabed roadbed - no messy cutting of the sheets(you will make a big mess cutting sheets with a sabre saw). The Homabed is curveable and comes in strips like cork roadbed.
Jim Bernier
I use sheet Homasote glued on plywood (white glue), and then cookie cutter the combination using a jig saw. The plywood/Homasote roadbed is raised above the benchwork by a few inches using risers and cleats. Scenery shell is fastened to the edge of the plywood or Homasote, depending on how much I want the roadbed above the surrounding scenery.
I have also glued the Homasote to foam instead of plywood, it works just as well for hand laid track.
In your shelf layout situation, with flatter terrain, higher track density, and likely more structures than my Oregon coastal mountain logging scenes, I would consider using stacked foam slabs for scenery on top of the grid. A 1/2" foam sheet will match the thickness of the Homasote roadbed, so the roadbed is not raised too far above surrounding scenery. And the foam would be easy to cut to fit between roadbed pieces.
How you handle the creek depends upon your scenery base and the type of creek crossing for the track. In any case, if there is significant scenery below track level, life is much easier if the roadbed is raised above the benchwork frame on risers. If the creek crosses under the track in a culvert, you can leave the roadbed intact and install the culvert underneath. OTOH, if you use a trestle or bridge, you are going to have to cut away the Homasote and underlayment for the trestle or bridge.
my thoughts, your choices
Fred W
My Santa Fe in Oklahoma has a base of 1/2plywood, 1/2 sheet homasote bonded to the plwyood, and the I use the commercial homabed on top of it. Strong, easy to work with, have had parts of it laid since 1983.
Bob
You could also check your local lumber yard. Most carry it, at least in my area of Wisconsin
I use a utility knife for cutting this. Less mess.
Jimmy